The perfect end-of-year employee gift in 5 steps

December. A gift-crazy month that brings the last quarter of the year to a close. A month when you not only look ahead to next year, but also back to the year that’s just gone. You take stock. You analyse and evaluate your actions. And you thank your employees for all their hard work over the past few months. Did you know that 7 in 10 employees in Flanders receive a gift from their employer in December? In Wallonia/​Brussels it’s 6 in 10. But the Nether­lands is in the lead with 8 out of 10 employees receiving a gift*.

By giving your team an employee gift in December, you show them how much you appreciate them. Appre­ci­a­tion and recog­ni­tion have a positive effect on both the individual and the organ­i­sa­tion. Showing appre­ci­a­tion con­tributes to their happiness at work, engagement, motivation and retention. You create a unique company culture and strengthen the rela­tion­ships both with and between your employees.

Are you struggling to decide what to buy as an end-of-year gift? We’re happy to help you find the ideal gift with these 5 steps. Together with its customers, Kadonation has already put the biggest smile on the faces of more than 150,000 employees. Thanks to our expertise and market knowledge, we know exactly what makes your employees happy.

On average, employees receive an end-of-year gift worth €45**.

Note that for a Belgian employee, €40 is the most tax-friendly amount. Neither the company nor the employee has to pay any taxes on this. (Want to know more about the tax reg­u­la­tions for employee gifts in Belgium? Read all about it here.)

In the Nether­lands, the costs for employee gifts and Christmas presents are of a limited business nature. These are mixed costs that have limited deductibil­i­ty for income or cor­po­ra­tion tax. (Want to know more about the work-related costs scheme for organ­i­sa­tions in the Nether­lands? Check it out here.)

Our market research* shows that 1 in 3 organ­i­sa­tions give a physical gift (food or drink) in December. 1 in 4 leave the choice to the employees and give them a gift card. A smart choice, because 2 out of 3 employees think that a gift card that can be spent at various retailers is the ideal end-of-year gift.

Giving your employees a flexible gift card is clearly a winner. We see that in the wide range of categories that the Kadonation Gift Card is spent on. Fashion and elec­tron­ics are the most popular. But leisure and personal care also do well. See the variety offered by our gift partners here.

Do you like giving freedom of choice while still giving a physical gift? Then discover our gift choice concept: Kadonation Smile. This gives recipients the chance to choose their perfect gift themselves on your per­son­alised gift website, while we take care of everything behind the scenes. The ultimate choice concept for modern companies.

The Kadonation range of end-of-year gifts lives up to the expec­ta­tions of both employers and employees. In short, everyone’s happy.

An employee gift with a personal message stays with us much longer. Our market research shows that gifts with a personal message are also the most appre­ci­at­ed. At Kadonation we therefore combine personal experience with technology. Via Kadonation Select, our gifting platform, it’s really easy to give each employee a personal gift.

How do you make a gift personal?

• Include their name
  Add the employee’s name to the gift. This instantly makes them feel special.

• Deliver a message
  A heartfelt message, a few sincere words: now’s the time to express your appre­ci­a­tion. Get their teammates involved too. Peer-to-peer appre­ci­a­tion helps an employee grow and flourish.
  
  Prefer to do everything digitally nowadays? Make a video message and be sure to put enough thought into the non-verbal elements.

• Apply your company branding
  For a gift in your company branding, Kadonation Select is the place to be. Via our customised formula, you can put together a gift package of your choice, per­son­alise the packaging in your company colours and even add your logo to certain items in the package.
  We also have various per­son­al­i­sa­tion options for the Kadonation Gift Card. You can choose one of our suggested designs and add your logo, or go for the fully per­son­alised option and upload your own design. From gift card, email and sleeve around the gift box to even a company landing page.

We can’t ignore it anymore. In everything we do, we must focus on taking care of both people and planet. Choose a gift that will leave a lasting impression on your employees, customers or business contacts and show that your company cares about sustain­abil­i­ty. Together we can build a better world, one gift at a time.

Would you like a sus­tain­able, physical gift? We’re happy to help:

• A large part of our offer is filled with fair products, made with respect for people, animals and the envi­ron­ment.
• We work with a lot of sus­tain­able, pro­gres­sive suppliers such as Wondr, Iwas, Redopapers.
• We have gifts in bamboo, from recycled fibres, flowers and plants, recycled paper, sus­tain­able chocolate, little trees, …
  

The Kadonation Gift Card checks all the boxes here and for these reasons:

• For every €500 we sell in Kadonation Gift Cards, together we plant 1 tree as part of the WeForest project. They’re taking up the fight against global warming with projects in Tanzania and Zambia.
• Our gift cards and boxes are printed on FSC paper. This means that at least 70% of the fibres come from sus­tain­ably managed forests and/​or recycled fibres.
• To reduce our carbon footprint, we work with local producers as much as possible. You’ll find a nice range of their products on our gift platform Kadonation Select.
• Completely paper-free? No problem! We offer digital alter­na­tives too.

But when is the right time? This depends a lot on the organ­i­sa­tion.

If you organise a New Year’s reception or hold a company party, then this is the perfect time to express your appre­ci­a­tion. If possible, deliver your end-of-year gift in person. Or let your team leads take care of this for you.

Are some of your team unable to make it? Then set up a shared ​‘digital’ occasion for the moment they’ll receive the gift in their inbox.

Looking for a real Happy New Year surprise? Send your employees your digital (video) wishes together with your gift at midnight on 1 January.

Discover our end-of-year gifts

*Research com­mis­sioned by Kadonation and carried out by InSites Consulting – 2,000 employees – Spring 2021

** own analysis based on more than 100,000 gift cards sold