Whether giving is on your mind because of Employee Appreciation Day or you want to thank your team members, employee appreciation gifts are the way to go. From a simple heartfelt note to a personal vacation budget, the perfect gifts can express your gratitude to the excitement of your staff.
Like most gifts, the best employee appreciation gifts feel personal, unique, and special. They’re based on the recipient’s interests, so a cookie-cutter approach isn’t necessary.
Instead, an employee appreciation program that features a mix of rewards, gifts, and experiences to suit individuals is a game-changer. Have a bank of ideas you can use as regular monthly or quarterly gifts, plus some surprise gifts you can send to individuals to honor personal achievements.
Employee recognition is a vital part of maintaining employee morale, so gift-giving to your team regularly is essential. Research shows that while 29% of workers have received praise in the last week, achieving a figure closer to 60% can lead to higher quality work and reduced absenteeism.
Create a company culture where showing appreciation is ubiquitous, and strive to create moments of thanks in your everyday routine to increase employee engagement. Choose gifts that are:
It’s also important to consider your recipients’ “love language” regarding gifts. Some people prefer words of appreciation; others enjoy receiving physical gifts or experiences. Tailor your employee appreciation gifts to each team member to really create a meaningful exchange.
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Looking for an incredible Employee Appreciation Day gift? Want to treat your team members to a memorable experience for their hard work? You’re in the right place. Celebrate your employees and let them know how grateful you are with these 26 fun, meaningful employee appreciation gifts.
You want our employees to feel appreciated daily, but sometimes, you want to truly make an impact with an especially impressive gift. If you want to say thank you to someone in a big way, here are some of our favorite unique gift ideas to surprise them with.
Gift cards are hardly unique employee appreciation gift ideas. They've long been the fallback holiday gift for the procrastinator or absent-minded individual. Yet Hoppier's one-of-a-kind approach makes it an excellent appreciation gift in its own right. Check out how it works and decide for yourself.
Set up a program that's specific to your event so you can send out virtual cards to your guests and keep track of spending. You can even brand the virtual gift cards with your company logo and colors, or with colors that match the theme of your event.
Choose how much each employee can spend. You can look at your overall event budget, select a flat rate for each employee, or choose an amount based on the productivity or achievements of your employees.
Set a start and end date to create a timeframe when employees can spend their funds — even if it's a year away. Why? Because Hoppier will refund any money your employees don't spend right back into your account. Or, you can leave the timeline open as a gift and allow employees to treat themselves until the balance hits zero.
In addition to setting a budget and timeline for your virtual credit cards, you can limit where employees can spend the money. Choose from broad categories or select specific vendors, like DoorDash, Amazon, or office supply companies. You can also leave your program open to all vendors.
The final step is to send invitations to your spending program. Getting your employee appreciation gifts to staff is as easy as uploading a CSV file with all their emails. Hoppier even has email templates you can send out to let your team know how to use their funds.
With Hoppier gift cards, you have a simplified way to send gifts in the new year. Plus, you’ll feel glad to know virtual gift cards are entirely eco-friendly — you don’t need to worry about the waste and packaging you’d get from physical gift cards.
We all know how valuable investing in well-being and self-care is, but many employees don’t take the initiative alone. Thankfully, a gift from someone else can nudge them in the right direction after a stressful workday. Use Hoppier to send your employees a virtual card to spend with vendors like Spafinder, Classpass, Headspace, and more.
You can even purchase virtual bulk gift cards to prepare you for every employee appreciation gift occasion. With a mix of healthy snack boxes and some self-TLC, your employees will feel loose and ready to get back into the office. Sometimes, the best employee is the stress-free, healthy one.
Most people have something they’d love to learn more about. Invest in your employees’ passions, interests, and future with the gift of extended learning, and you may see that gesture reflected in your staff’s new talents or zest for life.
Give your team employee appreciation gifts that reflect your willingness to help them grow professionally. Armed with a budget that they can spend on any learning experience, class, or course that interests them, applied curiosity can turn mere interests into life-changing skills.
Work-life balance is an essential part of the modern office. The largest and most successful companies have upped their perks and stipends and even offered unlimited PTO to account for the change in workplace dynamics.
Perfect as a work anniversary gift, you can increase the recipient’s per diem if they travel, offer extra vacation days, or include a gym membership. The more an employee learns to get away from the office, the more productive they’ll become when they’re in it.
Interest clubs are easy to set up and are a mindful way to unite people based on shared hobbies like reading, gaming, cooking, sports, or crafting. Use some of your corporate gifting budget to provide drinks and snacks using a Hoppier card, or buy supplies like books, games, and ingredients.
Company retreats — when planned correctly — are a valuable way to gather everyone in one place to share ideas, make personal and professional progress, and get to know one another. However, they’re also rewarding employee appreciation gifts, especially when the focus is on wellness and personal growth.
Make time at your annual corporate retreat for moments of gratitude or host a dedicated mini-retreat around these themes. Ask your team members which activities they’d most like to try, then plan a schedule that features sessions based on their interests and passions.
You could even make the planning of the whole event collaborative, giving your employees the gift of choice over locations, venues, restaurants, activities, and more.
Research shows that recognition from management matters, but peer-to-peer recognition can be even more impactful. Empower your team members with a small budget to spend on gifts for the people they work with.
Earmark money for this perk, and surprise your employees with this new policy. Encourage them to send thank-you gifts, as well. They don’t have to be too elaborate; even customized t-shirts, tote bags, keychains, or company swag will work. Ask your team to accompany these employee appreciation gifts with sticky notes of gratitude. This is a great way to invest in your team and create a culture of gratitude and appreciation.
You don’t have to spend hundreds to let your employees know they’re doing an incredible job. At under $25 each, these employee appreciation gifts are perfect for a birthday, holiday, Christmas, or the occasional treat.
Surprise your hardworking team members with a stainless steel tumbler, coffee mug, drinking glass, or water bottle that’s uniquely theirs. Personalize the item with their name, their favorite quote, or your company brand. Paired with a gift box and a message of appreciation, this drinkware is eco-friendly and sure to keep your team caffeinated or hydrated.
Give your employees the gift of something fun to liven up their home office space with personalized art. Ask them for their favorite song, movie, or location, and have some wall art, a desk-friendly photo block, or other desk accessories, such as a custom mousepad, to showcase it.
Fresh flowers and houseplants are always a winning gift idea for remote employees and onsite staff members, and they make great employee appreciation gifts to boot. Express gratitude for someone’s hard work, loyalty, or creativity by sending them beautiful flowers, succulents, or other plants from a local florist — or a letterbox arrangement they can style at home.
Appeal to the philanthropic side of your team members by making a charitable donation in their name. Ask everyone for their favorite charity so you can make a surprise donation on their behalf, or offer it as an option they can choose for milestone moments.
A personalized gift basket or care package basket can make a person’s day, especially when catered to their tastes and interests. Take notes on which items, hobbies, snacks, and trends your employee appreciates the most, and craft a mini gift basket to send their way.
Though it may seem counterintuitive, a great way to make your small budget go further is to send mini versions of gifts to your employees. Put together a thoughtful gift set, complete with mini treats like candles, lip balm, candy, and accessories that reflect the season.
Employee of the month isn’t dead yet. To give back to those who make your job easier, celebrate achievements as part of your regular activities with a monthly staff appreciation award.
Award your winner a physical trophy, a Hoppier virtual gift card for things like Amazon or Instacart, or simply the kudos of knowing they’re the current employee of the month award winner.
Treat your team members to a much-needed escape or a deeper understanding of the world around them with a physical book or audiobook credit. Ask them to put together a wishlist and surprise them with one of the books on their list, or use Hoppier to send them a virtual card to spend with Amazon’s Audible.
You can pick up some fun and quirky employee appreciation gifts for under $15, and one of our favorites is a desk plaque. Look for a ready-made design that matches your gift recipient’s personality and livens up their workspace.
Not every company has a huge budget for employee appreciation gifts and employee engagement ideas. But you don’t need a sizable budget to please your staff and offer recognition. Staff appreciation gifts are easy to achieve on a shoestring budget. As the saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts.”
Something that costs you nothing but can make a real impact is a handcrafted note of appreciation, thanks, or gratitude. Make your thank-you note specific to an achievement or moment, and deliver it handwritten or in an email — accompanied by a digital gift card.
If you’re a gifted baker, bringing homemade treats into the office is a lovely way to express your thanks. Freshly baked goods always make a wonderful thank-you gift, so if your budget is tight but you want to make your team members smile, this is a go-to employee appreciation gift idea.
For a simple yet impactful way to say thank you to your team, host a virtual office party. Invite everyone to join you for an hour or two to chat, play games, enjoy a drink, and bond over shared memories. Add another layer of thanks to your virtual party by sending a Hoppier card to your attendees, so they can order drinks or snacks for the virtual event.
Although you don’t see them in person, remote employees are integral to the success of your company. Though the delivery method or product might change compared to onsite employees, these employee appreciation gifts should do the trick.
Say thank you to your amazing remote team members at scale by hosting an epic virtual happy hour in their honor. Choose a theme, plan some activities, and cover the drinks by sending your attendees a Hoppier card in advance.
Hoppier is the only truly global partner for food and drink recognition programs, meaning your remote team can order food, drinks, and snacks wherever they are in the world.
When you work remotely, you’re home a lot — which also means you can quickly get tired of a cluttered space or a busy schedule. Give your team members employee appreciation gifts with practical value, courtesy of an at-home service gift certificate.
Encourage your staff to spend this on cleaning, decluttering, childcare, personal assistance, vacation planning, or any area that’s a hassle to their personal or professional lives.
Surprise your team members with some amazing new home office upgrades as a thoughtful way to express your appreciation. Let your budget guide you on this one; anything from a top-of-the-range ergonomic chair to a set of customized earbuds, a power bank, or a super-fast charger are excellent gifts. The goal is to give a thank-you gift that’s not only meaningful but practical too.
Work often takes your team members to new places — whether they’re part-time remote or not. If you have salespeople, event planners, or field marketers on the payroll, send them high-quality travel accessories to express your gratitude.
Headphones, laptop bags, luggage tags, travel totes, and document wallets are a few travel must-haves that make a great investment for both parties. You make them feel appreciated, they use the gift, and you reap the benefits of a well-rested, happier employee.
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Even though remote working has grown drastically in the past few years, remember that engaging in-person experiences and office gifts are still favorites. Let the people around you know they’re appreciated with these fun, office-friendly employee recognition gift ideas.
Employee appreciation gifts don’t have to be grand to make a difference. Surprise your team members with lunch provided by you — and give them the choice of where they’d like it ordered from. This team gift is a great way to boost the mood every month or show appreciation for recent achievements.
Use your employee appreciation gift as the perfect excuse for a team-building moment with an in-person experience day. Head to an escape room, VR experience, or skydiving center to try something new and embrace teamwork while doing it. Poll your team members to find out what they’d be most interested in trying, and build your experience around that.
Keeping your office fridge stocked with soda and plenty of fresh fruit in the kitchen is always a winner, but a food-themed surprise also makes a great employee appreciation gift. Turn up with fresh coffee and donuts to say thank you for working hard or to brighten up a team meeting.
Sending thoughtful, personalized gifts at scale is often challenging for thriving businesses. It’s not always practical to create those individual employee engagement moments with everyone you want to show appreciation for. With Hoppier, you can retain that personal touch while managing employee recognition and corporate gift programs across your whole company.
Hoppier makes team appreciation quick and easy, no matter where your team is in the world. Using the global Hoppier platform, you can set up a new program and have a virtual gift card on its way to a special employee in moments.
Get started with your employee appreciation program in minutes. Create a new program, give it a catchy title, and add a fun emoji to match. Customize your virtual card design with your brand colors and company logo, so it matches your style perfectly.
Hoppier is wonderful for one-off thank-you gifts to individuals and employee appreciation gifts for your whole team. Send a Hoppier card to a super supportive employee to spend on anything they like, or create a more tailored experience with a themed Hoppier card for a team-wide virtual office party. Our platform gives you the perfect outlet for creativity regarding employee appreciation gift ideas. Get started with Hoppier today.
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
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