The Power of Gifts: Feel-Good Moments That Last

By Karen Cates.

Learn how the gifts that you incorporate into your employees’ lives can really make an impact – especially when it’s something that enables parents to share their experiences with their children.

When I’m not consulting, coaching, or writing children’s books about roofing, I am an Academic Director at the Kellogg School of Management. This means twice a year for the past 15 years, I lead a team of experts, academics and event planners to put on what I call a “three-day show”.  In fact, our event coordinator used to be a stage manager, and she uses every bit of her know-how gleaned from a career in Chicago theater to help us create a unique and engaging executive education experience.

I hire best-in-class experts to teach, and we engage our participants in a tightly scheduled, well-choreographed gauntlet of education, exhilaration, and revelation. The aha moments we plan are only exceeded by the ones our participants bring to our three days together.  We become co-conspirators as each iteration of the program takes on its own direction and personality.

I am convinced that one of key elements of our success are the “gifts” that participants walk away with at the end of the program.  The gifts serve a number of purposes.  For the most part, they are intended to be tangible reminders of a positive visit to our campus.  They also have our logos emblazoned on them, so our marketing folks check their branding boxes.  But most importantly, they serve as a tool of reciprocity.  Let me explain.

The opening volley is mine.  Instead of offering a mere pencil and pad of paper to jot notes during the educational sessions, we place a bound journal and a Kellogg, executive gel-ink pen at every seat. The message I hope to convey is that your notes are going to be important, so they should be recorded in a vessel worthy of that importance.  Not everyone used the pads of paper.  Now everyone uses the journal.  The ball comes back into my court.

On day two, we hand out the Kellogg athletic jacket.  We keep our classrooms a touch cold to help folks stay alert, especially after lunch.  The jacket is another gift.  Everyone puts it on when it is received, and most continue to wear it throughout the program.  They are Kellogg people now.  Last serve….

On day three, every participant receives their certificate of completion.  Our intention is that not only will our people go back to the office and try some of the new things we shared during our time together.  We hope they will come back, and many times they do.

Reciprocity.  What are the gifts you incorporate into your workers’ lives?  Do they have an obvious reciprocal purpose like the journal or the jacket?  What gifts do you have at the ready for the second volley?

Karen highly recommends you consider her children’s roofing books as a gesture of reciprocity.  They reinforce the importance of family, providing a vehicle to share parents’ work with their children.  Be Safe, Rafe! reinforces the message of safety, sneaking in one more safety lesson as parents read the story before the kids go to bed.  Consider the gift of a children’s book to your workers for picnics and other events.  The ball’s in your court!