Most of the nostalgia-struck corporates would remember now how Diwali marked a sharp departure from their typical meeting, clients calls, and sales target schedule. Dressed in traditional attire with an ambiance filled with the aromas of home-cooked Diwali snacks, the employees would receive sweets and words of greetings from their respective managers and senior colleagues. The reminiscence is much stronger now because the pandemic has made work from home as immovable as a pole star, robbing the companies of showing their humane side to employees. But humans have not just survived but thrived on this planet despite not being of the gigantic size of dinosaur nor having the olfactory faculties that can rival dogs; but because of their ability to find out a pathway, however thin and muddied it may be, when they are yet not out of the thin woods. Digital gifting for corporate Diwali gifts for employees in this Diwali is that pathway where physical interaction between company and employees is at its nadir.

Why It’s Important To Gift Employees On Diwali

1) Sense of belonging‍

The pandemic-forced lack of rejuvenating tate-e tate at coffee breaks, sudden dinner parties with colleagues, and a quick encouraging shoutout by CEOs have made employees outlier in the cosmos of companies. This cataclysm has given rise to the reduced sense of belonging in the employees, especially among the new joiners who have no memories deeply connected with their employer. Diwali gifts for employees can break the ice by making them feel part of the family - and thereby keeping them engaged.

Note that a workforce that isn’t thoroughly engaged is like a pistol without bullets - utterly useless. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, even a zilch that Gallup’s report on employee engagement shows that companies with a highly engaged workforce have 21% higher profitability. They also have 17% higher productivity than companies with a disengaged workforce.

2) Motivation and recognition

Employees indeed work for money. But the even bigger, undeniable, and proven truth is that employees don’t work only for money. They want to stand higher up in the eyes of their peers and family members by earning respect, and that’s what makes their hearts beat unanimously for one thing, for that fabled word - recognition. How deep this craving is can be gauged from the stat that 69% of employees say they will work harder if their efforts get better appreciated.

Since gifting as a tradition has solicited an absolute oneness with the festival of lights, giving sovereigns to your employees as a gesture of recognizing their efforts will not just motivate them but give rise to the bond of trust - the holy grail of the employee-employer mechanism. 50% of employees believe that getting recognized by managers not only improves their relationship but builds trust with their higher-ups.

3) Stop them from jumping

The relationship between job-seekers and available jobs is many-to-many. For an experienced employee, who knows his job like the back of his hand, opportunities are available at the drop of a hat. Among the usual suspects of job switch reasons- better salary, promotion, shiny prospect- the important one is the lack of recognition from the current employer. Though this innate connection between recognition and employee retention may be difficult to digest for the deniers of humanizing corporate relationships, the truth is 69% of surveyed employees said that better employee rewards would encourage them to stay back longer. Inserting the cog of Diwali gifts for employees, without looking un-occasional and tactless, in the yearlong customer recognition and engagement plan, thus, sounds like a reaction of a reasoned mind.

What To Gift

The mere utterance of Diwali gifting, particularly of Diwali gifts for employees, unmistakably conjures up the visuals of glitzy chocolate boxes and classy photo frames. Apart from being absolute commoners, their fogetibility stems from the realm of psychology. We derive happiness from the experiential more than the material, as humans are wired up to find more satisfaction traveling and enjoying live entertainment than getting typical objects. The truth is, happy memories endure while the value of material possession fades with time. We are, indeed, a sum of our total experiences.

That's why the old mindset of material-gifting-only needs to wither away, and a strategic admixture of fine experience and usable give-outs should sneak into your gifting philosophy. We have mapped out unique gift ideas to ensure that you ace in gifting your employees this Diwali.

1) Fashion and Lifestyle

Though the advent of online stores has somehow squeezed out the oomph element from the very act of buying clothes as people grab hold of fashionable clothes when they wish and will, the shine of buying clothes during Diwali is largely undiminished. Since it’s the festival of beginning everything anew, Indians have ritualized the age-old tradition of draping themselves in unique and fresh-off-the-boat apparel, particularly the ethnic ones, during the festival season. Give your employees vouchers of the big fashion honchos and make them look drop-dead gorgeous.

Though gifting high-end fashion vouchers is an infallible idea, as it gives recipients the freedom to choose from the countless options and thereby ups their happiness quotient exponentially, you can make it even more quintessentially memorable. Connect them with the who's who of the fashion world for the jazzy fashion ideas that germinate in the minds of experts only -  and help them in gingering up their appearance this Diwali.

2) Subscription and Entertainment:

If there is a one-time slot where every film star wants to get his film or show released in India, it’s Diwali. The festive mood, hibernated colleges and offices provide the conducive ambiance for the success of their collaborative creation. Gifting them subscription vouchers of OTT, therefore, is a sure-shot uplifter to their happiness quotient.

But never forget the lure of the big screen that still carries unmatched pull. In fact, it has manifolded since the pandemic has deprived people of that big screen magic. Gifting them gift vouchers of top multiplexes and grand movie houses can put them in the lap of that most desired experience.

All OTT platforms aren’t created equal. They are as varied as colors, letting them cater to different taste buds. Mubi strives out for niche content with a more arty streak, where Netflix tries to balance the class and mass. Disney-Hotstar is a great package for film/show lovers as well those who can start the 3rd world war over a Mess-Ronaldo GOAT debate. Get to know what your employees are passionate about, and give them the vouchers accordingly.

3) Grocery:

Diwali snacks are to Diwali what mainstay is to ship - almost indispensable. People, even the health-conscious ones, indulge in mouth-watering sweets and savories - and your employees are no different. However, the road to this treat goes through supermarkets, as it needs various ingredients. Gifting them grocery vouchers of the biggest retailers, and thereby letting them to choose the spice and dollop of taste-enhancers can sweeten their gastronomical quest with unique preparations -mawa kachori, beetroot aloo tikka, and chocolate kheer are just a few to name.

Almost all giant retailers roll out an early-bird discount offer or members-only access offers. Since the sole purpose of gifting to your employees in Diwali is to make them feel valued, nothing can serve this purpose other than letting them avail these benefits along with grocery gift vouchers.

4) Home Decor

From the time Ayodhawasis welcomed Lord Rama when he returned from a 14-year long exile by cleaning their homes and making decorations on the floor, cleaning and renovating homes is the most performed ritual of the Diwali festival. Rich and poor alike, everyone starts sprucing up the house in anticipation of the flurry of guests and relatives arriving with boxes of sweets and Diwali snacks.  

Nothing, thus, can be more apparent, timely, helpful, and value-adding Diwali gifts for employees than giving a capacious avenue to your employees to choose from thousands of eye-pleasing and aesthetically enriching home decor options.

It’s a myth that when the room is super tiny and there simply isn't enough space to play with, it is not-fitted for resplendent decor. All it takes is a fine deft of creativity and the right purchase of the decor items. This powder room is a case in point here. With a light grey wall color and a surrounding ambience amped up by eclectic artwork, the small room itself looks like a piece of art.

5) Fitness and Sports

Amidst the office deadlines and familial responsibilities, meandering through the serpentine and endless traffic in between, what is getting sacrificed is your employees' motivation to break a sweat and stay fit. Procrastination, the cardinal bane, speedify that scarification. Gifting them gym vouchers this Diwali will help your employees in overcoming all the obstacles that are standing between them a perfect and much-fitter mirror image of themselves.

Don’t just show the fitness path to your employees, but ensure that they tread it well and consistently. Gamify all the possible health indices and reward your employees with extra points for imbibing a healthy lifestyle. The greatest benefit of this trick is it gives a clear message to your employees:  More than sending a gesture of token, you really care about their well-being.

6) Hobbies  

The research suggesting that creative endeavors and hobbies outside the office demonstrably boosts work engagement and performance doesn’t spell surprise. As hobbies decorate every moment with meaning, they make you relax and inculcates into you a sense of creativity - letting you score 30% higher on performance rankings than those who rarely exercised their right brains. Clearly, gifting vouchers of hobby classes as Diwali gifts for employees is a win-win deal. Your employees get to do what is close to their hearts - and you get the most creative, fully invigorated, and the most satisfying part of their being as an employee.

Be sure that your employees' hobby pursuance doesn't fizzle out after a brief moment of novelty - and endures till it becomes a steady movement. Tie up with hobby tutors that focus more on workshops as opposed to theoretical sessions. Your employees should experience the art and craft closely. The more intimate they are with it, the deeper they can dive into it.

7) Travel and Leisure

Being the most important and widely celebrated festival, Diwali is the archetypal and de-facto holiday season in India. Being the most important and widely celebrated festival in India, Diwali is the archetypal and de-facto holiday season. With offices closed down and colleges going into temporary hibernation, it’s the only time in the year where long vacations can be planned and implemented - saving them from being a castle on sands. Leverage this tiny available time span, and help your employees in landing up in the most idyllic Meccas of vacations they have always dreamt of.

Do not just gift flights and hotel vouchers. Drum up a complete itinerary for your recipients, carefully covering the things to do, must-visit places, city-defining heritage walks, culinary that has become synonymous with the visiting cities, and the must-not-miss cultural experiences of the destinations. Remember: Traveling is as much for an outer eye as it is for an inner eye.