Gifts that work: the business of giving gifts.

• Author: Hengesbaugh, Mark Gerard
• Position: Giftgiving

Business gifts do extra work today. Modern methods of communication--e-mail, telephone and fax--are efficient but cold, and face-to-face encounters with clients and vendors are less frequent. So the traditional art of giving business gifts helps provide that warm, personal touch without which working relationships suffer over time. If done tastefully and within ethical guidelines, business gifts can cement relationships, foster goodwill and possibly open new accounts. It's a thorny issue, though; a gift may easily turn into a gaffe.

The factors to consider are complex. "Gift-giving can be an effective business strategy when it's carefully thought out," says Gary Garber, general manager of Bonneville Communications, a Salt Lake City-based ad agency and public relations firm. "But it's tough. You have to make the gift personal, relate it to the work you do and show you appreciate the enterprise you're involved in together. Many of our clients, including the LDS Church, are very conservative and have strict limits on gifts."

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The point of a present is to personally acknowledge the human being receiving it. The implication is that the gift-giver knows the recipients well enough to understand them and to appreciate their needs. So giving a present to a business associate prohibited from receiving one is as thoughtful as giving sweets to a diabetic.

Restrictions on business gifts are not about the gifts themselves but about the expectation of payback. Though a gift is ideally something of value given without thought of recompense, in the world of commerce, a present always has at least one string attached. That is: if there were no business relationship, there would be no gift.

Business gifts to government employees are usually restricted because of the risk of favoritism in spending public money. "Salt Lake City's gift-receiving policy is very strict," says Eric M. Kankainen, owner of a structural engineering firm that works with local governments. "They don't even like you to take a city employee out to lunch. The state of Utah is strict, too. They give all gifts to charity." Professional organizations have rules to note on gifts as well, notes Kankainen. "For example, engineers have a very strict code of ethics concerning soliciting or acquiring gratuities."

Business-gift customs evolved over time to quell the personal turmoil or unethical appearance a business gift may carry with it. For example, $25 is often cited as...