Happy Box Blog — Corporate Gifitng
2023: The Year Your Team Gets Holiday Gifts They Don't Hate
Our gift to all employers this holiday season is not gate-keeping this critical gift-giving truth nugget. So here it is: the one thing that takes a team gift from lame to LOVE IT is personalization. Here’s why:
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By customizing a gift to their preferences, you’re making your team feel like you really see and appreciate them (which is so critical in a remote-work world). Plus, it means avoiding the dreaded, “I’m allergic” and “oh…I don’t drink,” convos. So you’re welcome.
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Personalizing shows you’ve spent time and were thoughtful. Unlike, say, a digital gift card which screams, “I spent 2 minutes thinking about this.”
- It may be the thing that keeps them from job hunting in the new year. 80% of employees who quit their jobs say lack of appreciation was a core reason, even above salary and bonus (Source: OC Tanner). In remote environments the feeling of appreciation and being “a part of the team” is hard to accomplish, which is why moments like these are the perfect opportunity to make a real difference.
It’s the holiday season - show your team you love them and appreciate them in the most professional and seasonally appropriate way with something unique this year. Happy Box is a great place to start. We’ll help you curate the PERFECT personalized gift, and we’ll handle all the details (like handwriting your cards for you and shipping to each doorstep). Think of us as your personal gifting assistant. What’s more, we’re certified women and minority owned and we source many of our gifts from other diverse-owned businesses, so you can feel great about gifting with us.
Ready to get gifting? Shop all holiday gift offerings here. You can build an individual care package in a few clicks or let them pick their own gift with Gift Instantly. Want bulk orders and robust branding on items and packaging? We do that too: reach out to our team about custom corporate gift offerings for the whole team.
Amanda Green, Content Writer
Three Ways to Engage Employees this Summer
It's no surprise that summer results in employees being a little less engaged. The sun is shining, and people are thinking about being outside, at the beach or pool, or are excited about an upcoming vacation (that - let's be real - they're probably partially planning during work hours).
Here are three ways you can lean into the summer fun and engage the team:
1. Have a surprise ice cream day at the office - this doesn't have to be fancy - think ice pops from the 3rd grade. It just gives everyone a reason to stop and be social for 20-30 minutes and take a little break. Send an email or all-office slack saying "Let's celebrate summer - ice cream and ice pops at 3:00 today in the kitchen!" and order via Instacart or Uber Eats variety of ice pops and single serve ice creams (the more nostalgic the better) and enjoy the time as a team.
2. Send everyone a small, themed gift with a note from leadership wishing everyone a happy, safe, and fun summer - lean into the fact that they are going to spend time outside and tell them to enjoy it!
We hear it again & again from our clients: "Can you suggest a quick and affordable way to drive employee engagement for my team this summer?" We've shipped 500,000+ custom gifts, so we know a thing or two....
Some gifts we've done in the past for our clients: summer lemonade kits, s'mores making kits, branded beach balls, & the CEO's favorite "beach read" book about leadership. Want us to brainstorm for your needs and budget? Submit an inquiry or book a call today.
3. This is definitely easier if you have a small team, but you can always do a "walking meeting" - or do an outdoor activity. It could be as simple as taking lunch outside together at a nearby park, or do a full-on outdoor picnic or a team lunch at an outdoor restaurant. Even better - schedule an afternoon to volunteer together at a local community event or charity like painting park benches or painting a school.
Happy summer!
by: Hannah Redmond, Co-Founder, Happy Box
3 Mistakes Companies Make When Gifting Employees
Gifting employees? Don't make these three common mistakes companies make when sending corporate gifts to their employees according to our co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Hannah Redmond.
Celebrate Moms at Your Company this Mother's Day
Moms are some of the hardest working people on the planet. Many are juggling careers, nap time (or lack thereof), household chores, feeding kids, and so, so much more.
As a new working mom myself, here are some tips for employers to make working moms feel supported.
1. Flexibility
This is definitely the most important way to support the working moms on your team. Moms are great at multitasking, juggling tasks, and getting things done. Sometimes she will need to run out at 3pm to pick up her kids, or take a break at noon for tummy time - but rest assured she’ll always still find a way to make sure the work gets done.
2. Open communication
According to Harvard Business Review, employees who say they feel respected are more satisfied with their jobs and end up being more loyal to their companies. Talk to moms about when they may need a flexible schedule, or when they can make up work, or what they need to feel supported. It will go a long way with earning respect, managing expectations, and keeping employees long term.
3. Send an appreciation gift
Sometimes a small gift to show appreciation can make a big impact. This Mother’s Day, send the working moms a treat to show them how much you appreciate their dedication to both their careers and their children!
We're Celebrating International Women's Month
March is International Women’s Month! This is super important to us as a women-owned small business. We make it part of our mission to support other women-owned businesses year round. This month, to celebrate, we’ve partnered with some incredible women and organizations. Check out all that we have planned and the ways you can contribute to some amazing organizations that support women.
These Stickers Give Back: Happy Box + Feminist Voice Supporting Planned Parenthood
We've partnered with Feminist Voice - one of our fave Instagram accounts that is all about empowering women - to create fun, empowering stickers that you can add to your Happy Box for a limited time. With each purchase of the 3-sticker pack on our Box Builder, we will be donating a percentage of the profits to Planned Parenthood.
International Women’s Month Curated Gift Box Collection
To honor and highlight the achievements and progress of women everywhere, we have created a curated collection of gift boxes that supports women owned businesses and female entrepreneurs!
“Who Run The World” Box: Features several best-selling, women-owned gifts. From March 1-31st, 2022, 10% of all profits of this box will be donated to Girls Who Code, an organization on a mission to close the gender gap in tech. Learn more about GWC here.
“Carla Marie’s Small Biz Picks”: Small business owner and advocate Carla Marie chose her favorite small business-owned items from our gift selection to create this amazing care package, so by purchasing this box you are supporting various small businesses!
Girls Night In Box: Essentials for a fun and relaxing night in with the girls. These gifts were hand-picked by Happy Box co-founders (and sisters) Hannah & Ariel.
Corporate Focused Boxes
Sending a gift to your team or client? Check out our corporate curated gift options that are full of products sourced from women-owned businesses!
As always, we’ve have many women-owned gifts on the Box Builder!
As a women-owned business, we make it a priority to support and source other women-owned businesses. Be sure to visit the Box Builder and select the “Women Owned” filter to see all of the gift options and make sure to add these products to your next care package!
Keep an eye out for a special sale on International Women’s Day…
On March 8th, we will be offering a special discount so be sure to keep an eye out for a discount code on our Instagram and in your inbox! Sign up for SMS alerts if you haven’t already!
How to Create the Perfect Client Holiday Gift
Client gifting for the holidays is easy, if you know the right “formula.” Luckily, at Happy Box, we’ve curated and shipped tens of thousands of corporate gifts, so we have seen what gift thematics and what types of gift combinations work best.
5 Reasons Corporate Gifting is Great for Business
According to a recent corporate gifting study cited by Forbes, more than 80% said gifts have improved relationships with employees and/or clients, with 48% saying gifting delivered a substantial benefit. Key substantial benefits include: making the recipient feel valued, improved customer loyalty, and improved employee retention. Need help with your corporate gifting? Check out all of Happy Box's corporate gift offerings as well as our 2021 Corporate Holiday Gifting Lookbook for all the solutions we have to offer.
2021 Holiday Corporate Gifting Trends
A chill is in the air, which means the start of the corporate holiday gifting season! Here at Happy Box, we’re already designing holiday corporate gift campaigns for some amazing clients, as companies increasingly invest in corporate gifting as workforces continue to stay remote.A recent gifting study cited by Forbes says more than 80% of corporations surveyed say gifts have improved relationships with employees and/or clients. Learn more about working with the Happy Box Corporate Gifting team for custom-sourced and branded gifts for your team this holiday season.
“The pandemic has really changed how we interact in corporate environments among teams,” says Hannah Redmond, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer here at Happy Box. “Shipping an impactful, branded and meaningful corporate gift has made a real impact for the companies we service whether gifting has been used by sales teams for prospecting or engagement, or by HR/People teams to keep employees engaged and feel appreciated.”
Our Corporate Gifting team has put together the following list of top four trends for corporate gifting we’re seeing this holiday season:
Trend #1: Rest & Recharge Gifts
It’s been a crazy couple of years, and the Zoom burnout is real. 80% of Americans surveyed say they intend to regularly practice self-care after COVID-19 pandemic, as they have put various self care practices in place while on lockdown (source: Healio). Putting together a custom kit centered in self care has been one of our most popular custom offerings for the upcoming holiday gifting season. “A box coming from your boss or team encouraging you to relax and take some time off goes a long way,” says Ariel Redmond, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer here at Happy Box. “We’re seeing requests for creating kits like soothing candles, spa face masks, body balms, indulgent treats, sleep masks, and more self-care essentials.”
Trend #2: Location Themed Gifts
Many leaders and managers at companies have expressed that they miss being in their home offices and cities, with employees now scattered all around the country. We’ve been seeing a rise in location-themed and focused gift boxes with a taste of a specific city, state or country. Picking foods, local artisan/craft items, puzzles/games and holiday accessories all featuring a specific location or city theme has already been a big hit for this upcoming holiday season.
Trend #3: Gifts the Give Back
The season of charitable giving is upon us, and employees are actually more engaged and have more job satisfaction when they work for companies that prioritize charitable giving. We’ve been crafting various gift boxes for this holiday season full of products and gifts that each give back, whether it’s a percentage of sales of each product going to a great cause, or that the product itself is carbon neutral or drives awareness of a cause. It’s been really meaningful for our team to source and craft a gifts that do good for the world. Side note: all Custom Corporate Gifting Campaigns at Happy Box also give back, learn more about that here.
Trend #4: Cocktail Kit Gifts
Not hosting a company holiday party but want to say “cheers” to the team? We’ve been crafting a variety of “home holiday party kits” and “holiday cocktail kits,” which provide a mixology experience for the recipient, and let’s be real: they’re a bit more fun to receive than a standard bottle of wine or whisky. We’ve crafted fun custom branded recipes for clients as well, creating an extra personalized experience.
However you choose to gift this season, we encourage you to start planning early and cross it off your list. At Happy Box, our Corporate Gifting team works with you based on your budget, brand and goals. Our buyers can source almost anything and our creative team will design and brand the perfect curated gift box for your needs.
- Reach out today to get started on your proposal by emailing corporate@happyboxstore.com
- Learn more about our creative process in creating corporate gift campaigns
- Check out all Corporate Gifting Offerings and view our Corporate Gifting Lookbook
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Referenced sources:
- people.com/style/2020-made-americans-even-more-excited-to-practice-self-care-according-to-a-survey/
- www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20200612/80-of-americans-intend-to-regularly-practice-selfcare-after-covid19-pandemic
- www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2021/09/01/the-242-billion-business-of-corporate-gifting-turned-from-a-routine-to-a-priority-in-the-pandemic/?sh=7aabc5a86ac2
- https://smarthustle.com/giving-season-for-businesses/#.YViPR0bMJ6o
