As the year draws to a close, many employers are starting to think about gifts, holidays, and everything associated with this time of the year.
Regardless of what employees celebrate, one thing remains: the enjoyment of receiving a thoughtful gift is undefeated. When searching for a touching holiday gift, look for options that appeal to all five senses.
Here are 13 corporate gift ideas for this holiday season.
Taste
When it comes to tempting subscriptions, appealing to a person’s sense of taste is one that packs a punch. The gift of food is a way to show someone we care about them. It provides comfort and convenience during a time when everyone wants to relax.
1. DashPass for Employees
When you’re thinking of a way to bring ease and flexibility to your food gifting plan, consider the DashPass for Employees as an option. We know that 100% of employees eat. DoorDash DashPass for Employees is a yearlong membership you can gift employees and it’s a corporate perk your team will love!
One of DoorDash for Business' customers, Synopsys, loves the program. “We chose DashPass mainly because of our employees working from home,” Gloria Lee, Benefits Administrator explained. “Everybody knows it’s been a tough year. And it was just another way of helping our employees out. Whenever you order in, you get $0 delivery fees, saving a little bit of money and saving time on cooking. It just helps our employees out.”
2. Ongoing meal allowance
If you’re like many leaders, you have a gift budget for employees. Well, this option is perfect for you. DoorDash offers their Expensed Meals program for leaders who want to offer an ongoing free meal budget for their teams. It’s simple to use and cost effective. Just choose your participants, assign a monthly budget for each person, then use the Admin Portal to monitor their use.
Employees love Expensed Meals because it makes their lives easier. They get individual meals when they want and they don’t have to save receipts. All meals are charged directly to the company account. It’s a win-win for employees and leaders year-round. Set up specific days and times with specific budgets and plan a theme. Friday team lunch, anyone?
3. Monthly Cooking Class
What’s a gift that keeps on giving? A cooking class. Teaching employees a skill they can use not only for themselves, but for their families is a great gift. Allow employees the opportunity to sign up for a monthly cooking class. For a good in-person option, check with your local supermarkets. They often offer schools of cooking featuring a variety of recipe options at all skill levels. Some even offer options where the whole family can attend and learn a new recipe or two. For online options, you can easily find a variety of sources by searching for virtual cooking or local cooking classes.
4. Wine Club Membership
While more specific and only appropriate for certain employees, a monthly wine club subscription is a good option to tempt the taste buds of the wine connoisseurs on your team. There are numerous options of types of wines that can be mixed into different case portions. Wines are also fun to pair with foods. Whichever plan or subscription you choose, you’re sure to find one that will appeal to a wide variety of employee taste.
5. Coffee Subscriptions
For a coffee lover, a good cup can tempt all the senses, especially taste. Much like the wine clubs, there are a wide variety of coffee subscriptions available. You can support local brands, organic brands, or focus on global brands. Most come with information about the types of beans included, where they are from, how they are selected and roasted, and how to brew the perfect cup. Coffee is a gift that contributes to employee wellbeing by providing a sense of comfort. It can also energize you when you need an extra boost in your day.
6. Seasoning Subscriptions
A final, delicious way to engage your employee’s sense of taste is by choosing an employee holiday gift of olive oil, vinegar, or spice subscriptions directly from the producers. These holiday gifts for employees will engage even the most discerning taste buds and they come at various price points to fit your holiday gift budget. Look to support your local markets and farms or find a global provider online.
Sight
Appealing to your employee’s sense of sight can not only be visually stimulating, these can also be some of the most inclusive gifts.
7. Jigsaw puzzle subscription
The joy of opening a new, brightly colored puzzle makes you feel like a child again. What better way to include the memories of childhood for your employee holiday gift giving than to give a jigsaw puzzle. And puzzling has numerous benefits including reinforcing hand-eye coordination, engaging both sides of your brain at the same time, and bringing family together in a shared activity. Jigsaw puzzles are also helpful in improving your employee’s spatial awareness and reasoning skills. With all these benefits, it’s the perfect gift for employees of all ages and skill levels.
8. Book of the Month Club
Reading can help calm nerves; it can provide education and skill building. It can also provide a good monthly variety of reading material to employees that typically do not read. A quick online search serves up multiple book subscription providers. Many allow you to narrow down a type of book for your employee. These providers can also help you find the perfect book category when you’re gifting the subscription.
Sound
Holidays are just as much about the songs and tunes that put us in holiday spirit as the gifts we receive this time of year. So why not give both?
9. Music App Subscription
When it comes to engaging your sense of sound, a subscription to your employee’s favorite music provider is a win. No matter which music provider they like, tailored music options at no cost is always a good employee holiday gift. Because the services ask the employee to fill out or provide their favorite artists or music styles, it quickly becomes a highly personalized gift they will continue to enjoy all year long.
10. Meditation
Studies show meditation can relax your mind, reduce stress, and ease anxiety. It is an excellent way to boost your employees’ immune systems, and improve attention and memory.. Although the benefits of meditation practice have been known for years, it is still not widely accepted and put into regular routines. If you plan to give the gift of meditation to your team, ask if it’ll help them. If interested, it can be an amazing holiday gift for employees.
Touch
Here are a few corporate gift ideas that will satisfy employees’ tactile sense.
11. Needlework & Craft Subscription
When thinking of engaging touch, a craft employee holiday gift subscription is an excellent option. Like several others, you need to know if your employees like doing crafts. But once you do, there are so many options. You can give memberships to clubs for needlepoint, cross stitch, embroidery, quilting, crochet and knitting. Some involve online or in-person classes to go with them. Either way, you’ll be activating different parts of the employee brain. This activation can provide many benefits at work such as aiding in better concentration.
12. Gym Membership
What can be more hands on than a good workout? Whether the employee is a weightlifter or wants to get involved in yoga or aerobics, it’s all about health and feeling good. 78% of employees believe physical and mental wellness is essential to work success, yet many employees are unable to find time to prioritize workout programs.
There is something good about having hands-on exercise experience. Countless studies have shown the benefits of regular exercise. It can improve concentration, and enhance creativity, especially if done during work hours. By giving employees a gym membership, you can approve the use during work hours. It’s also a good alternative for remote employees too.
Smell
Smell can also evoke or create memories that last deep in the brain.
13. Flowers of the month club
. For employees, receiving fresh flowers is like receiving sunshine. It can lift spirits or make you feel valuable and appreciated. There are the tried-and-true national flower delivery companies. Check out the DoorDash app for florists near you. You’ll feel good supporting a local entrepreneur and your team members will feel good every month when a new floral arrangement arrives. And if you bundle this gift with a DoorDash DashPass for Employees membership, delivery will be free, saving your business even more.
Corporate gifts that last year-round
When it comes to holiday gifts, knowing you selected an option that will bring joy to the employee is compelling enough. But if you give them a gift that lasts year-round, you might see some long-term benefits to your business.
Retain Talent
Right now employers are doing all they can to retain top talent. Food as holiday gifts for employees remains one of the most effective ways to impact retention. In fact, 85% of employees said regular food delivery would increase their job satisfaction.
Improve Performance
In a recent study, 49% of those surveyed said they’ve had at least one work failure, including missing a deadline, a call, or other work matter, due to a need to prepare food for themselves or family. Taking this pressure off the employee will help them have greater focus at work. Increased ability to focus on the work at hand results in more engaged, more productive employees.
Strengthen Company Culture
As you think about culture, there are two factors to consider. The first is visibility. Visibility is particularly important as employers welcome people back to the office. Find ways to bring people together where they can see each other, where they can talk, laugh, and have those unstructured conversations. The second is to build in intentional mental health breaks. Do not expect everyone to be visible 100% day so normalize rest, moments of being alone, etc.
Make Employees Happier
Happiness leads to a 12% spike in productivity. In a 2021 survey of DashPass users, 76% said food delivery increased their happiness. Organizations everywhere have been trying to tap into increasing happiness and positively impacting productivity. Food appears to have a favorable impact on this connection.
Give Employees Recharge Time
In a 2021 survey of DashPass users, 82% stated that food delivery saved them time. With DashPass for Employees, employees can get free delivery of prescriptions, groceries, diapers and more, reducing the time it takes to do everyday errands. Whether employees are working in the office, in a hybrid situation, or fully remote, they are all appreciative of more time to recharge and be with their families.
Organizations are only strong when we have employees who are skilled, dedicated and inspired. While a one-time gift is appreciated, giving an employee more continuous validation throughout the year will improve their connection to the team. This connection will give employees more reasons to do all they can to be productive. Use year-round gift options to show employees how much they mean to you this holiday and every day.
Contact us and gift DashPass for Employees to your employees this holiday!
