One10's Guide to Holiday Gifts for Employees and Partners

Oct 21, 2019 | Rewards Programs |

It’s that time of year… #PumpkinSpiceLatte is trending and the trees in our northern hemisphere have almost dropped their leaves in the most beautiful fall hues. The days are getting shorter and our minds are starting to drift toward holiday planning… both at home and at work.

What do we get our employees? What do we get our partners?

Whether you are a part of an HR Team responsible for buying employee gifts, a manager looking to get something special for your team, or an employee seeking the perfect “thank you” for a partner, we’ve got you covered.

Our Top Picks:

1. Give points/dollars toward a gift of choice

If you know us at all, you know that we believe in choice when it comes to rewards. We feel the same way about gifting. All people are different, so their gift selections will also differ. If you have an incentive and/or recognition platform, you can give the gift of points or dollars within your reward platform for the holidays. This is sure to be a hit with employees or team members, but doesn’t necessarily address those who do not have a formal recognition or reward platform in place. More on that here.

2. You can’t go wrong with tech

Have you heard of the Bose Frames Audio glasses? We have. So have all the attendees at the 2019 HR Tech Conference. One10 gave away a pair of these bad boys at the conference and people went wild! Bose Frames are ultramodern sunglasses with Bose speakers built into the temples. They allow you to connect to your phone’s Bluetooth and listen to music, podcasts or whatever your heart desires. Even better, the person walking beside you on the street doesn’t hear what you are listening to.

Other popular tech gifts for 2019 include the Ring doorbell, Nest and the GoPro Hero8.

3. Do branded merchandise the right way

While gifting branded merchandise to your employees and clients is a marketer’s dream, you really need to be careful about what it is you are giving. No one is going to appreciate the same logo water bottle for the fourth year in a row. Branded merchandise has two requirements: creativity and usability. If you can strike the right harmony with both of these conditions, do it! Your brand is special; put it on something great, and you just doubled down on your advertising.    

4. Prepaid cards for the universal gift win

If you do not have the ability to give points or dollars through an incentive and recognition solution (yet…), Prepaid cards are the next best gift to satisfy all. One10 is a pioneer in the prepaid card industry and has offered prepaid cards for over two decades (yes, we are old). Our product is called Ready Rewards℠. Ready Rewards cards allow you to provide your employees or team members with a one-time issued card including:

  • Your company logo or program theme complete with the gift receivers name!
  • Any denomination/gift amount in U.S. dollars
  • ATM accessibility
  • 6- or 12-month expiration
  • 24/7 customer service
  • Replacement of lost or stolen cards

Prepaid cards really check all the boxes for employee and partner gifts: easy to brand with your company logo, flexibility to spend on an item of the recipient’s choice and personalization!

For more holiday gift ideas, we also love CSR gifts, check out Five CSR Gift-Giving Ideas this Holiday Season.

Gift giving in the workplace does not have to be hard this year. Talk to your incentive and recognition experts at One10 and we will get you started!

Samantha Decker

Samantha Decker

Samantha Decker is the Marketing Director at One10. Decker oversees marketing initiatives for all three of One10’s business segments – travel and events, incentives and recognition and marketing services. Bringing unique marketing experience to One10, Decker has led rebranding and growth efforts for every organization she has been a part of and is a strong advocate that purpose and profits can coexist in business. Decker was named a Corporate Connect 40 Under 40, has been published in industry articles, and is currently a member of Team Women in Minneapolis.