Finding the right gift for your boss is never an easy task, especially if you work in a stuffy, corporate environment. Gifts to your boss act as a gesture of appreciation and acknowledgment for your faithful team leader. Unfortunately, no matter how polite your boss is, the gesture just isn’t the same when you gift your boss a jar of stale nuts or a rotation of goofy ties.
Picking a gift for your boss can be intimidating, however, there are a few simple steps you can take to make the process easier. This blog post takes a look at six different tips to help you pick out the perfect gift for your boss.
1. How To Pick A Gift For Your Boss?
Traditional business etiquette doesn’t require you to get a gift for your boss and there isn’t really any rule on what’s appropriate. The best gift for your boss has a lot to do with your work environment and your boss’s personality. The wrong type of gift can come off as trying to “buy” your way into your boss’ good graces, so it’s important to think your decision through.
2. Be Discreet
If you decide to give your boss a gift on a personal level, it’s best to deliver it privately. Let your boss decide if they feel comfortable telling others about your gift. Trying to “out-gift” your fellow teammates comes off as manipulative. Even if manipulation isn’t your intent, making a big deal about your gift to the boss can create these thoughts. Being discreet is especially important if your team agrees on a group gift, but you still want to give something of your own.
3. The Goal Of Your Gift Shouldn’t Be To Impress
Over the top gifts never work out. Even if the recipient enjoys the gift, they feel pressure to respond favorably with some type of gift or gesture of their own. Unless it’s a group effort, it’s almost never a good idea to get your boss expensive gifts. Small personalized corporate gifts, especially unique gifts like wooden wine boxes, make excellent gestures that don’t send any unwanted signals.
4. Stay Away From Cash
While cold, hard cash may be a great gift for family members, it definitely sends all the wrong types of signals to your boss. Cash also makes it appear as if you thought of the gift last minute. Gift cards are appropriate but not if they’re loaded with a ton of money.
5. Consider A Group Gift
Group gifts are often the best solution because they take the pressure off of you as an individual. All you need is one or two team members to coordinate an effort to agree on and purchase a gift for your boss. If your office is doing a group gift, don’t be the one employee who opts to stay out. Even if you don’t agree with the gift, choosing not to participate reflects poorly on you.
6. How Much Money Should You Spend?
Don’t feel pressured to break the bank while shopping for a gift for your boss. For anniversaries and milestone celebrations it’s ok to spend a little extra. Personalized corporate gifts make excellent choices for a group gift at milestone celebrations. Depending on your work environment, the event you’re buying the gift for and your relationship with your boss you’ll be able to determine what’s appropriate to spend.
Buying a gift for your boss may seem difficult, but it really isn’t. There are just a few nuances in your gift choice you need to be aware of in order to make an appropriate decision. If you have the option, group gifts always work out the best. Use the tips in the blog post to help you find the right gift for your boss!
