Employee Gift Portals

The Brief

A multinational technology and management consultancy required a seasonal recognition programme for a large workforce. Delivered white-label on behalf of a boutique international event management agency, the project demanded a secure, custom-built digital portal where employees could browse a curated range of gifts, select their preference and direct their own delivery. Crucially, the platform had to comply fully with strict enterprise security protocols while enforcing a one-gift-per-employee limit.

A Custom Portal

The project required managing 2 complex workstreams in parallel. The challenge was building a platform that cleared strict corporate security compliance while keeping the gifting experience premium and intuitive. Sourcing was equally demanding. Volumes couldn’t be fixed until all gifts had been chosen, so quantities and costs had to move with the programme.

Secure by Design: An off-the-shelf solution couldn’t meet the client’s security requirements, so we built the platform entirely in-house: personal data encrypted at rest, SSL throughout, IP-restricted server access, and a unique single-use access code issued to every recipient. It was reviewed by the client’s own IT security team before launch.

A Curated Selection: To move away from classic corporate gestures, we curated a diverse menu of gifts from premium brands, including Molton Brown, L’Occitane, The White Company, Whittard of Chelsea, Leatherman, Joe & Seph’s and TRIWA, with Nyetimber paired with Hotel Chocolat, alongside a bespoke technology pack. The selection was engineered to offer genuine value and choice.

Growing the Range: When the client requested an expanded product assortment, we restructured the menu promptly, consistently maintaining the balance of the categories. A subsequent request for more advanced technical options was also sourced and absorbed within the baseline budget.

Value Made Visible: Vouchers are the default choice in any recognition programme, and the one outcome the client had asked us to steer away from. We added recommended retail prices to the live listings so recipients could see exactly what each gift was worth. The balance moved, an 11% swing from vouchers to physical gifts, with much of the range carrying a retail value well above the per-head figure.

Operations & Issue Resolution

Operational execution had to stay fluid, as inventory volumes and logistics were entirely variable until the final selections were submitted.

Catching Internationals: While the programme scope was strictly restricted to the UK, several recipients inputted international address details. Our data filters flagged these entries instantly, allowing us to rectify the errors prior to the dispatch cycle.

Address Corrections: Failed or refused deliveries weren’t written off; instead, we investigated each case individually and communicated directly with employees to resolve address discrepancies and coordinate redeliveries.

Timeline Flexibility: At the client’s request we kept the platform open into the new year, so nobody who was away over the holidays missed their gift opportunity.

The Outcome

Take-up was prompt, with 4,063 gift selections made through the platform. Every item was finished in branded packaging and fulfilled against selection data that changed daily. Recipients posted their thanks on the company’s own internal platform and publicly on social media. 11 months later, our client, the agency, returned asking for a branded demo of the same platform to pitch to another client.