2021 Holiday Dental Team Gift Guide: Wow Your Team!

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about holiday appreciation for your team.

Let’s face it, no man is an island, and you could never keep your patients healthy and happy without your excellent team members. So, it’s nice to show them some gratitude, and the holidays are a perfect time!

But what do they want? Their service may be priceless, but how do you make sure they feel loved and appreciated? 

We have some suggestions for you – read on.

Some Preliminary Ideas

If you want to craft a holiday experience they’ll appreciate and remember, it’s essential to get to know your staff and find out what’s important to them. Spending time together as a team throughout the year helps you and your team build relationships. So, if you haven’t made that a priority for 2021, put it on your agenda and goals for 2022.

If you’re not sure of what everyone would want and appreciate, here are a few ideas:

• High-quality coffee or tea with a travel mug
• Food – Harry and David fruit, a gift card for a holiday meal, or luxury sweet treats
• Gift cards for restaurants, movies, Amazon, department stores, or grocery stores
• Premium alcohol – wine, champagne, scotch (figure out what your employees like)
• Gift baskets (or some type of box they can reuse like a hamper) filled with things your team wouldn’t usually buy for themselves. Think luxury chocolates, coffees, special yummy treats (cupcakes, muffins, cookies), etc.
• Food box subscriptions – make dinner easy for your employees with a subscription to something Blue Apron or Hello Fresh to help them cook meals
• Tickets for a local play or sporting event

If you know your team well enough, you might think of personalized gifts for each person based on their preferences. Whatever type of gift you choose, including a personal, heartfelt note will help to show your appreciation.

Gifts to Avoid

Here are some items to consider avoiding when you’re trying to make your team feel special and appreciated.

• Ham, turkey, or other meats that vegetarians on your team may not be able to enjoy
• Items containing nuts or other things people or their family members may have allergies to
• Items with your practice logo
• Office supplies – this should be self-explanatory
• A gift card to an expensive restaurant that doesn’t cover the meal

The idea is to put some thought into your gift so your team feels valued as a person, not just an employee.

What Your Employees Secretly Want

Most employees would really appreciate cash, a bonus, or some additional time off that doesn’t cut into their vacation time. However, take note that handing out raises is really not a holiday gift and typically won’t be seen as such. Likewise, bonuses may not be either, especially if it’s tied to performance throughout the year.

You could, however, give a cash gift to each employee (no strings attached) if your budget allows in lieu of other items. Or consider offering each employee a “family day” or time off they can take at their leisure that doesn’t impact their earned vacation time for the year. Note that this should not include their time off during the holiday season.

The Bottom Line

Your staff is the core of your “dental family.” They take care of your patients day in and day out. It’s important to acknowledge that you wouldn’t be able to run your dental practice without them. It is to your benefit to spend some time putting some thought into giving them holiday gifts that will make them feel appreciated and loved.