Employee Gift Choice Survey: A Practical Template for HR Teams

Offering employees a choice can help you match a gift to different working routines. It also creates an  ordering task: responses must become accurate product quantities, approved artwork and a clear handover plan. A short survey works best when the options and decision rules are settled first.

This guide is for HR and office teams collecting preferences for a physical employee gift programme. For choosing the contents themselves, start with our welcome-kit contents by role guide. The process below can be run using your organisation’s approved form and spreadsheet tools; it does not assume a supplier-operated redemption platform.

1. Confirm a workable shortlist before asking staff

Choose a small set of options that meet the same purpose and complete budget. Ask the supplier to confirm current products, available colours, decoration, packaging, minimum quantities and timing. A preference survey does not reserve stock.

For example, you might compare a desk mug, a lunch box and a work bag. Describe each option with its exact product or option reference, photograph, key dimensions, confirmed contents and any important care or fit information. Avoid an option labelled only “premium gift” or “surprise item”.

Use the staff mug buying guide, employee lunch-box guide and employee work-bag guide to check shortlisted items. Keep each option practical for the recipients rather than assuming everyone needs the same format.

2. Explain the decision rules in the introduction

State who is eligible, how many gifts each person may choose, the response deadline and whether the choice is provisional. Explain what will happen if a product is unavailable or an option does not reach its required quantity. Name the person or team handling questions.

Copyable introduction: Please select one preferred gift for [programme]. Respond by [date and time]. The choices are subject to final availability and order confirmation. If your choice cannot be supplied, [team] will contact you about the agreed alternative. For questions or an option that does not suit your needs, contact [internal contact].

Decide in advance whether non-responses receive a reminder, a default option or a follow-up from a manager. Do not silently treat a missing response as an active preference.

3. Copy these survey questions

Field	Suggested question or instruction
Internal recipient reference	Provide the employee identifier your team uses to prevent duplicate responses.
Team or office	Select your team or collection location from the agreed list.
First choice	Choose one of the specified gift options, or select “please contact me”.
Alternative choice	If your first choice cannot be supplied, which listed alternative would you prefer?
Required variant	Select only the colours or sizes confirmed for that option. Link the exact size chart if relevant.
Personalisation	If offered, enter the name exactly as it should appear and confirm the spelling.
Handover	Select an approved office or collection route where applicable.

Collect only information needed for this programme. Keep delivery addresses out of a general preference survey unless they are required for the agreed distribution process. Use a separate controlled process for individual delivery details and share only what the fulfilment team needs. Do not request sensitive explanations for a person’s gift preference.

4. Turn responses into an order sheet

Keep the original responses unchanged and create a separate checked order sheet. Flag duplicate employee references, missing variants, invalid choices and conflicting personalisation. Agree which response is final when someone changes their mind, and close the list at a stated cut-off.

Group the checked list by exact product, colour, size, decoration version and destination. These are the quantities the supplier needs. A total headcount alone may hide a small variant split that cannot be ordered on the same terms.

A worked quantity example

Illustration only: 120 eligible employees submit 70 mug choices, 30 lunch-box choices and 15 work-bag choices, leaving five non-responses. The confirmed preferences total 115, not 120. Follow the announced rule for the remaining five before issuing an order.

If the supplier cannot fulfil one of those quantity splits, pause that option and apply the agreed alternative process. Ask for a revised quotation; do not assume mixed products share one minimum or that a reserve allowance is already included.

5. Approve the final list and exception plan

• Reconcile eligible recipients, valid choices, non-responses and any exclusions.
• Confirm current availability, minimums and the complete price for each product and variant.
• Check names and artwork against the approved recipient-to-item list.
• Assign an owner for substitutions, late starters, changed office locations and undelivered gifts.
• Approve packing labels and handover quantities without exposing unnecessary recipient details.
• Retain the approved order version and record any later authorised change separately.

For a new-starter programme, connect the choice process to the employee welcome-kit planning guide. For recognition programmes, use the staff appreciation planning guide to align eligibility and the occasion.

Send a consolidated brief for quotation

Contact GiftStore with your checked gift shortlist, quantities per product and variant, artwork, packaging, budget, required arrival date and delivery locations. Ask for availability and order requirements before you present options as confirmed. Any supplier support for packing or multiple destinations should be agreed in the quotation.

Frequently asked questions

How many choices should we offer?

Use a manageable shortlist that your budget and ordering requirements can support. Two or three clearly described options may be easier to administer than a large catalogue, but confirm the resulting quantity splits first.

Should we ask staff for a second choice?

It can help you handle availability changes. Explain when that alternative may be used and whether staff will be contacted before a change is finalised.

Does completing the survey guarantee the selected item?

Only if your organisation has confirmed that commitment. Otherwise label choices as provisional until stock, specification and the order are agreed.

Can GiftStore host the survey or manage redemption?

This guide describes an internal HR workflow. Ask separately about any supplier service you require; do not assume a survey or redemption system is included with the products.