Dale Carnegie said, “People work for money but go the extra mile for praise, recognition, and rewards.” 

If you think about it, the same can be said about almost anyone. People will put in that extra bit if you show them your appreciation. In the professional domain, appreciation can be shown in multiple ways, including corporate gifts. 

The ‘industry’ of corporate gifts has grown even more due to the pandemic. According to Coresight Research, the corporate gifting market is set to touch $242 billion this year and will continue to show growth at 8.1% CAGR through 2024. 

Why companies need to reward & recognise people

Every business grows because of multiple ‘stakeholders’ such as employees, customers, suppliers, distributors, partners, social media influencers and others. By sending a gift to a recipient, a business can  enjoy mission-critical benefits such as:

• Better brand recall

• Higher employee morale

• Greater customer loyalty

• Increase in sales leads conversions

• Lower employee turnover

• Smoother online reputation management

And perhaps the most important facet is that a reward makes the recipient feel valued and validated. Rewards and gifts are one of the ways in which a business expresses gratitude to its stakeholders.   

The holistic approach

Rewards work at multiple levels and for every person who exists within the company’s ecosystem. If you are a business owner, you would be, well, rewarded if you have recognition programs for:

• Employees

• Customers

• Partners

• Suppliers & vendors

• Distributors etc

A successful business values relationships, and builds aspects such as employee morale, customer loyalty and trust with the right kinds of rewards. This is even more important when you think of remote teams and global networks of customers & suppliers. The fact that a business owner has taken the time to choose and send a gift to someone in the USA from even across the world makes the gift even more valuable.

Here’s another reason why saying ‘thank you’ to your people is important - gratitude helps increase the receiver’s ‘wellness quotient’ and by incorporating gratitude into your company culture, you are fostering holistic wellbeing and health.  

It’s even more important now

The need for employee rewards has become even more relevant today. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021 alone. It has been dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’ and is being fuelled, primarily, by employees who feel unappreciated and who feel a lack of gratitude in the workplace. 

There is much that can be done to stem employee turnover and one of the important elements in this scenario is rewards. The pandemic has brought about major changes in our social, economic and emotional mindset. Corporates are also responding by upping their rewards and loyalty programmes. For instance, Marks and Spencer has created a division called M&S Corporate Gifts to promote corporate gifting.

It is indeed safe to say that rewards and recognitions are a great way to help build and sustain relationships which in turn will help build & sustain your brand.