Why Merchandise Is Becoming Part of Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

 

Corporate merchandise was once a relatively small part of the employee experience. At annual meetings, companies handed out branded T-shirts, or notebooks and bottles to employees, or had welcome kits for new hires. 

The intention behind these products was to promote the brand but they were often seen as promotional products rather than an addition to the organisation’s bigger people strategy.

That’s beginning to change. With companies placing more of an emphasis on employee experience, workplace culture and employer branding, merchandise is becoming another way to convey what it’s like to work for a company. 

Instead of just slapping a logo on a product, companies are using merchandise to create moments of recognition, belonging and connection. It’s slowly creating merchandise as an interesting part of the Employer Value Proposition or EVP.

EVP Goes Beyond Compensation

An Employer Value Proposition is what an organisation offers to employees in exchange for the skills, contribution and commitment of the employee. While salary and traditional benefits still are a part of this equation, today’s employees often are viewing their employers through a much broader lens. Workplace flexibility, professional development, company culture, recognition, wellbeing and the overall employee experience can all influence how someone feels about their organisation.

But many of these elements are difficult to bring to life. A company might say it values creativity, collaboration or sustainability, but those values are more convincing when employees experience them in their everyday lives. Thoughtfully designed merchandise can be one such physical touchpoint. The products a company selects, their design and their presentation can speak about the employer behind them.

Starting with Belonging

The onboarding process is often an employee’s first real experience in the culture of a company. Contracts, induction sessions and introductory meetings will discuss the practicalities of joining but merchandise can add a personal touch to the experience.

A well-prepared onboarding kit can make a new employee feel welcomed and anticipated. Rather than a set of generic promotional products, they could be given useful work accessories, personalised stationery, apparel or products related to the culture of the organisation. 

Packaging, welcome messages and personalisation can further reinforce the experience. This is especially important for remote and hybrid teams, where employees don’t have the in-person office environment that naturally helps to foster a sense of belonging.

Company Culture Comes Alive:

Company values are often expressed through presentations, internal campaigns and culture documents. Merchandise enables an organisation to take those same ideas and turn them into something physical and useful.

For example, a sustainability-minded business might select products that are made from recycled or ethically-sourced materials and reduce unnecessary packaging. Wellbeing organisations could offer products which would help to encourage healthier work practices. 

A creative company might create limited edition merchandise with designs from within their own employees. These choices help the merchandise to be a reflection of the personality of the organisation, not just a logo.

Merchandise is a silent internal communication tool when merchandise and corporate values are in harmony. Employees experience the brand through something they can use, not simply by reading what the organisation says it stands for.

Personalizing Employee Recognition

And merchandise can help make those moments more memorable too, as recognition is a huge part of the employee experience. 

Work anniversaries, promotions, successful completion of projects, milestones for the company or individual performance – all are opportunities for organisations to recognise employee contributions.

Instead of giving the same gift each year, companies can develop products or collections based on particular accomplishments. For example, a limited edition gift to commemorate five years with the organisation may have more emotional value than a standard corporate gift. Related merchandise can also serve as a reminder for employees about the team and experience of a particular project or milestone.

The price of such products is not necessarily the value. It's the thought that has gone into the creation of the experience and the meaning attached to it which gives it its value.

Employees: Your Natural Brand Ambassadors

Good employee merchandise can also help with employer branding externally. Employees take company swag to meetings, cafes, airports and industry events in tote bags they bring, bottles they use and jackets they wear. If goods are genuinely useful and attractive, employees may elect to use them outside the workplace.

This voluntary use is a great deal more valuable than just passing out products with big company logos on them. If staff are happy to wear or carry branded merchandise in their daily life, the product becomes a natural extension of their relationship with the organisation. It can give some visibility to the company, and also say something about employee pride and belonging.

Personalisation is driving up expectations

Personalization is also altering the way companies view employee merchandise. It might be easy to provide the same product to every employee, but that doesn’t always lead to the best experience. Increasingly, organisations are considering merchandise programmes where employees can choose products based on their preference, need or location.

This can make corporate gifting more thoughtful and reduce the number of products that go unwanted. Personalisation can be as simple as putting an employee’s name on something, or it can be offering a choice of products for them to pick from. The goal is to ensure the employee feels the goods were made for them and not given to them.

Merchandise as a Point of Contact of the EVP

Merchandise can’t replace a bad workplace culture, lack of advancement opportunities or poor employee benefits. In an EVP it is much more supportive. It can reinforce the values and experiences the organisation is already trying to create .

From the welcome kit an employee receives on their first day to a product that marks a major milestone in their career, merchandise serves as a tangible reminder of the employee’s relationship with the company. When those products are considered, useful and in line with the organisation’s values, they become more than promotional items.

Corporate merchandise is thus moving from the marketing cupboard to the wider employee experience. Companies that see this shift aren’t just asking what they should give their employees. They are considering what each product says about the organisation for which people have chosen to work.