It can be difficult to come up with ways of thanking your staff, business partners or clients, rewarding them or simply cheering them up during a hard time. Corporate gifts have taken on a cold and neutral image, and often very little thought goes into what the gift actually is and whether it will truly be appreciated by the receiver.

To leave a good impression on people, you really should spend time on deciding what the gift will be. Generic, bland gifts are likely to be left in a cupboard to get coated in dust, or given away to a charity shop at the first possible moment.

It's time for a corporate treat revolution! There's still time until Christmas this year to sort out seasonal gifts. Why not give them some thought? More personal gifts could enhance employee morale, and give you a popularity boost within the company.

Small Companies

If you have a small business and are lucky enough to know all members of your staff personally or know that your secretary or office manager does, you don't really have an excuse for buying impersonal gifts. In this case, plan a trip to the local shopping centre in advance and invest time and money in picking something you know the person will truly appreciate. Or you can assign the task to the person you think knows everyone best.

Big Companies

Obviously, in big companies it can be challenging and even impossible to choose personalised gifts for individual employees. An easier way of personalising corporate gifts is to buy in bulk and add personalised elements such as cards, employee awards or alike.

For example, you could give out wine hampers and replace the existing bottle labels with personalised ones according to the employee's achievements or characteristics he or she is known for.

Another option is to order chocolate bars with employees' names written on them in chocolate. This tasty treat is bound to go down well.

If you're looking for something practical that will keep, and can't be gobbled down in a mere instant, nowadays you can also personalise useful office items such as USB sticks, notebooks and even staplers.

Alternatively, put someone from each department in charge of buying gifts, but allocate a set budget to ensure fairness among all staff. These people know the staff they work with on a day to day basis and therefore should be able to buy something to suit their interests.