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Forum Gandhi From customised card games to crowd sourcing gifting ideas to seed boxes, Indian Inc is moving away from the mundane dry-fruit boxes when it comes to gifting employees and clients this festival season.
For instance, financial services provider Avendus Capital has designed a strategy game to gift its employees and clients this Diwali. Ranu Vohra, MD & CEO, Avendus Capital, said the game was inspired by the ‘cards night’ culture during Diwali and its entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Avendus got some of the best game designers in the world along with its own team members to design a two-to-eight player games with different difficulty and strategy levels.
Ankita Jain, co-founder, GoPaisa, said: “Corporate gifting trend has evolved from just a handwritten Happy Diwali card with sweets which our fathers used to send their business partners to customised gifts now.” This year, GoPaisa will be sending spa or hotel- stay vouchers to its employees and partners.
Customised hampers
According to a survey by Zeta, a fintech start-up, 48 per cent of employees find sweets and dry-fruits least desirable.
Astha Khetan, founder, The House of Things, said: “Customised hampers have been witnessing a new high this season as companies choose these as a medium to motivate, recognise and appreciate clients and associates personally.” While some corporates follow the idea of hampers, others crowd-source the idea itself. According to Aditi Shrivastava co-founder, Pocket Aces, employees were asked to list a couple gift ideas of their choice. The selected top-three would get any one. This year, power-bank, backpack and hair straighteners made it to the top.
Unique concept
Digital-age companies like PayU India follow a unique concept of ‘choose your own gift’. Chetna Gogia, Head HR, PayU India, explained that employees follow a link sent by the HR which has vouchers for e-commerce portals, appliances, apparels, gadgets and so on, all in a pre-decided price range.
With green-Diwali being the flavour of the season, brands like Gift A Life have come up with a unique Diwali hamper called ‘Grow Boxes’. These grow boxes contain six types of easy to grow seeds of various vegetables and flowers which can be planted at home.
Harshit Baveja, co-founder, Gift A Life Agricare, explained the box fulfils the desire of consuming nutritious and unadulterated fruits and vegetables with a bit of fun and learning. The inspiration behind this product, according to him, is “To encourage and promote the concept of growing your own food for all ages, encouraging anyone, anywhere to grow by our innovative products.”
Eco-friendly gifts
Auxilo Finserve Pvt Ltd, a non-banking financial institution, has decided to go eco-friendly, too. Vaishali D'Souza, Head HR and Training, said, “We will be giving our employees coir pots with Auxilo branded ‘sharpen-able’ seed pencils along with fertiliser tablets which convert the seed pencil into a fresh plant after 20-28 days.”
Where some companies will focus on growing trees, others are turning to ‘Growth with Goodness’. This Diwali, Adani Group will give its employees goodies and handicrafts made by artisans supported by Adani Group Foundation from the interiors of Gujarat. This initiative is to give the artisans a platform to showcase their skill.
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