Decide if it should be a gift for the whole team or something for each team member. Whether the gift is part of a recognition program being planned or as a way to remember a holiday season, determine if the gift should have practical, unique, or fun features, or some combination of them. And of course, consider what the team gift should say besides thank you and whether it should be a single gift, prize, giveaway, or a gift basket containing multiple items.
1. When considering practical gifts for the team, think about what work-related items, food, or personal items might be appropriate. If you’re considering a gift basket, a coffee mug allows you to make individual miniature gift baskets for each team member by placing various small items in the mug, then wrapping it in cellophane and tying a bow along with a note of thanks or celebration.
If it is going to be a gift basket for the team, it should be larger and contain office supplies, food, or work items for the entire team where multiple items are placed in a bucket, tote bag, or plastic container than the team can be used to transport equipment. Materials Then wrap the container and items in cellophane and add a ribbon to keep it closed along with a purchased and signed card. To make a more specialized gift basket, consider building it around a theme by including a business book that helps members with their team or project roles and includes materials that are appropriate to the theme of the book. Sample book topics include time management, goal setting, process mapping, meeting management, giving presentations, project management, and team building.
2. For a more unique equipment gift, consider office supplies that members normally can’t get out of their office supply cabinet. It may be worth someone’s time to walk through the local office supply store to find something unique and within a set budget for equipment. The uniqueness of the gift will show the team that an effort was made to find something that only those especially recognized for their contribution to the team would get within the organization. If a unique item cannot be found then a standard office item can be used which may have the team name on it to make it more unique.
If it’s a thank you gift at the end of a long project, then give it the name of the project team and the project timeline, which would be from the project start date to the desired end date if it hasn’t already happened. If these ideas take too much effort, the old standbys of a golf tee or shirt with the team name and logo will also work as a unique gift idea. These shirts can be both practical and fun depending on how they are presented to team members. If a shirt alone doesn’t seem like enough, turn it into a unique gift basket by wrapping it around an award or other office gift and tying it in a package so the shirt is an added bonus to the gift rather than the main thing. .
3. A fun gift lets the team know it’s okay to take a break from what can be too much work or stress at times. Taking a break can increase future team productivity because a few minutes of relaxation can often reinvigorate everyone. Fun can be incorporated into that downtime as a way to increase group and individual creativity and serve as a motivator to do better work on any project that comes your way. Fun items to consider include playing cards to use in the break room, team toys or stress squeezers to use during long meetings to encourage creativity, or a book of games or team building activities as meeting starters.
Another option is to create fun outside of the workplace to encourage interaction and deeper relationship building among team members. This outside activity could be something like passes to a game the whole team could enjoy, tickets to a local concert, or a group gift card to dinner at a local restaurant. While individual gifts may be the easiest way to create fun, with a little thought you can make a great gift basket for the entire team that includes various items for on-the-job and off-the-job activities.
When planning the gift, consider whether it will be: a single item or a gift basket containing multiple items. Should it be for the whole team or for individual members? Should the gift be practical, unique, fun, or a combination of these? If it’s a gift basket, be sure to consider the portion of the basket something unusual or practical for the team to reuse. Always remember to verbally thank your employee, vendor or customer teams and then consider going the extra mile during a recognition program or holiday with a gift or gift basket and thank you in writing as well.
