...and it's not just about home office swag, but it also kinda is.
In times of “Great Resignation” people are reconsidering their work-life balance and are looking for more fulfilling ways to spend their 8hrs in the office. Companies feel the pressure and the impact of high attrition on their corporate processes and culture.
Photo by coco tafoya on Unsplash
Nurturing a rich corporate culture is a multifaceted endeavor. Needless to say, corporate culture should not only be skin deep. We believe that bustling employer brand & culture grow and develop through time with the values your company pursues and lives out loud each day. In other words, it isn’t only about what you do, but how you do it, too. Daily.
While there are many ways to enliven the employee experience, at SOOT, we focus on the way corporate apparel adds to your brand’s internal value. According to Promotional Products Association International research, 59% of employees who are given a promotional product at work have a better impression of their employer.
A high rate of employee turnover is a tell-tale sign of a culture where people are expendable and treated as a cost, instead of an investment into the company’s future. Moreover, keeping your employees happy is good for the bottom line. Not only does it result in higher productivity, but is also cutting costs. Incessant hiring and firing/quitting are expensive for the company and detrimental to the overall morale of all the people that do stay.
Keeping and nurturing the contribution and culture of an organization can also be done viscerally and visually. That’s where we come in. Working with our clients, we notice the following trends in corporate gifts and apparel:
Home Office Swag
Whether your people work from their home, company’s premises, or in a hybrid arrangement, everyone loves branded gifts that are useful for their productivity and keep them engaged with the corporate culture. Companies investing in their employees’ well-being always pays dividends.
Sophisticated Smart Casual Corporate Wear
We see some companies gifting their 1000+ employees with branded t-shirts that they never actually wear. Cheap promo clothing not only pollutes the environment after purchase but also has little effect on its intended marketing purpose. That’s why we firmly believe in our concept of “sponsored fashion”. A high-quality t-shirt or hoodie with your brand’s story that people are going to love wearing is worth the slightly higher price.
Welcome Package
Here's a little anecdote from our CMO:
"I will never forget my first employer. It was IBM, back in 2010. As with all major corporations, as newcomers, we were properly initiated, trained, and welcomed. Looking back, it was one of my favourite employments in terms of organization, relations, and management. On my first day, new recruits received branded items and a well-made thermo coffee mug which I used for years and still keep as a souvenir of my first ventures abroad. In my 20-something mind, I felt I was in a good company, a company that wanted me there. It meant a lot." - Ana
To keep good people on board, they’re worth this and more. But most importantly, employees should not be treated merely as an “asset” or a human “resource”. In our human, biased minds, we tend to cluster people into groups. Yet, behind the word “employees” are actual people who want their companies to see them well beyond the corpo-speak label. That’s what will make (and take) for the new generations to stay.
We hope you enjoy our workplace musings. Do subscribe to receive an occasional hello from the SOOT team and follow us on Linkedin. Do you want your company to have that next-level sponsored fashion wear? Shoot us an email at info@soot.si and we’ll get the wheels in motion.