As effective as they are for marketing your brand, promotional products can also be used for internal branding. According to the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), Employee Relations and Events, take up approximately 8.39% of promotional products sales. This general category covers morale and motivation, corporate / employee events, employee orientation, organizational commitment / corporate identity, corporate communications, employee training (other than safety) and employee referral programs. Meanwhile, Internal Promotions ? which covers sales incentives, TQM / quality programs, productivity, inventory reduction, error reduction and attendance improvement ? take up about 4.31% of sales. Promotional items used for Employee Safety Education / Incentives are about 3.05% of total product sales. Finally, the PPAI survey also indicates that Employee Service Awards (including anniversary recognition, service awards, etc) comprise about 5.45% of sales.
In total, 21.2% of promotional products are geared towards employees. This shows that most employers recognize that motivated employees are an asset to increasing the bottom line. If you haven't taken advantage of promotional products for this purpose yet, now is the right time. Here are some ways for you to use promotional products in the corporate world:
Recruitment and Retention Use promotional products for recruitment like you would trade show tchotchke. Hand them out to job fair attendees to increase traffic to your booth. You can also set aside special gifts to be given out to qualified applicants to encourage them to pursue their application.
Once you've gathered the best personnel, you would naturally want to keep them within your organization. As such, you can begin by making them feel welcome with simple gifts. When packaging your orientation or welcome kit, you can include the following:
- Branded office supplies like pens, sticky notes and other desktop accessories - Personal items usable in the office like mugs, food items, etc.
Long-term plans for improving retention could also include structuring a loyalty program. Reward employees who have spent a considerable amount of time with the company with:
- Premium gift items such as watches are perfect for employees who have been with the company for over ten years. - Smaller and less expensive gift items can also be given to employees on the anniversary of their hire date. Folios, tumblers and lapel pins are good gifts for this purpose.
Motivation and Morale Boosting Recognizing and rewarding achievements is one way to motivate employees and boost their morale. This, in turn, can greatly increase your company's productivity level. A rewards program is one way to go about this. The first thing you have to do is to set a clear criteria for qualification. Let your employees know that the goals you set for them are practical and achievable. Then, conduct surveys to find out what your employees want as part of the program.
- Plaques and awards are best given out when you're honoring specific achievements. For instance, in sales, you can use an engraved award to recognize the employee who has garnered the highest margin or the top sales volume. - Premium gift items can be part of your rewards program. Try to keep your selection as diverse as possible. Have some thing for both men and women. Get unisex gifts as well. Especially for rewards that require points in exchange for items, it is recommended that you get a little bit of everything into the mix.
Building Team Spirit and Office Camaraderie A fun way to use promotional items in the corporate arena is for building team spirit. Sports events and company picnics are a great venue for distribution. Ideal items would include:
- Color-coded caps, shirts or jerseys to separate employees into teams during sport events - Cheer gear like megaphones and giant foam hands for games - Golf gear (golf shirts, bags, memorabilia) for office tournaments
As the well known saying goes, "Leaders are made not born." Leadership is not an easy feat. This is particularly true and tough when leading as a manager in a corporate setting. The moves that a manager makes influence not only his work, but it affects the performance of the staff and subordinates as well. Even if the members of your team are considered to be the best and brightest there are, it would be difficult for you to produce great results if you are not able to relate and connect with them effectively. It is important that you are armed with good management and leadership skills and qualities that would not only improve and increase your team's productivity as a whole.
Employees generally look up to managers to be in charge and guide them through their corporate tasks. For people to follow and adhere to the directives and advice of a manager entails a lot of respect. And respect is not something that you can automatically get but it is earned. You should be able to establish and show your staff that you are someone who is skilled, competent and committed to his job and who is fair in his dealings. People will expect you to be professional at all times so avoid engaging in useless office gossip, control and if possible, abandon all your fault-finding tendencies or unreasonable actions and assertions. In contrast, be generous with praise and kind words. Make sure to recognize a job well done. Kindness is always a greater motivator than brutal remarks which only cause your staff to lose their self-confidence and even make them question their skills and capabilities. Congratulations should be announced in a timely manner too, the perfect moment to give your subordinate that well earned tap on the back is now. Delay may portray you to be insincere or even thoughtless in giving out appreciation.
Be approachable. A manager need not be an image of terror but an ally that every staff can turn to for questions and advices. Take a moment to share a joke and enjoy a moment of laughter with your staff. This not only takes the stress off managing your team but it also eases out the pressures of serious workloads. Being positive is always a good thing. A pessimistic boss can cause people to be frustrated and depressed about their work performances. Things may not always look your way but know and make sure to let your staff know as well, that failure is not the end of the road. There are ways for you to go back up and improve your performance.
Be open-minded. Even if you may be on the top of your game and is considered to be the best, you can never be too smart to know everything. It might surprise you to know that you will be able to learn a thing or two from your subordinates. Like most relationships, leading or managing your team works as a two way street. You give off and receive ideas, proposals and suggestions. Sessions like these could not only allow you to explore different options but it gives you the benefit of being able to choose the best solution for your projects. Further, delegate as much as you can. Your staff was hired for a reason and that is because they are the best persons to carry out your instructions. This will also encourage them to take responsibility and accountability for their actions.
Both Remy Lebeau & James Brown are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.