An employee gift questionnaire is a short set of questions that helps you choose gifts your team would welcome. Ask about preferred formats, how people want to receive them and anything they would rather avoid. Then use the answers when you place the order.
You do not need to know everyone’s favourite colour, coffee order and weekend plans to say thank you well. You need enough information to avoid a poor choice and give people a little control over what they receive. The ten questions below are ready to copy into your company’s usual form or document.
If your team would welcome tree planting as part of its recognition, ForestNation offers physical Tree Kits and digital Gift Stories. Explore employee recognition options once you know which experience suits your people.
Key Takeaways
- Ask questions that will change a real gifting decision, and remove the rest.
- Offer a choice of formats without making one answer sound more generous or thoughtful.
- Keep personal delivery details separate from the preference questionnaire.
- Tell employees how you will use their answers, then follow through.
What should you ask in an employee gift questionnaire?
Ask which formats people prefer, what they would avoid, whether they want to choose an item and how they would like the thank-you delivered. A short, usable questionnaire is better than a long profile nobody consults.
The NIH recognition preference questionnaire provides a useful example of the principle. It lets employees select from several forms of recognition, including gifts, written thanks and development opportunities. It does not assume that everyone wants the same thing.
This template focuses on a gift you are actually planning. Remove any option you cannot offer within the approved budget. If the company has already chosen between three gifts, show those three options with accurate descriptions instead of asking a broad question you cannot act on.
Can I copy a ready-to-use gift preference questionnaire?
Yes. Copy the introduction and questions below, fill in the brackets and adjust the choices to match your plan. These are suggested questions, not a scored assessment of employees.
Introduction: “We are planning a thank-you for [occasion or contribution] and would like to choose something you will enjoy. Please answer the questions you are comfortable answering by [date]. [Name or team] will use the responses to plan the gifts. You can also contact [person] privately if you would prefer.”
- Which of these gift formats would you most welcome? Choose up to two: a useful physical item; a gift card from an available retailer; a shared experience; a digital gift connected to tree planting; a physical tree-growing kit; a personal note without a gift. Add “another suggestion” if you can consider alternatives.
- Would you rather choose the specific gift or have us choose within your preferred format? Choices: I would like to choose; I am happy with a surprise in that format; either is fine.
- Are there gift categories you would prefer us to avoid? Examples: food, alcohol, scented products, clothing, plants or branded items. Make this optional and leave room for another preference.
- Which way of receiving the gift would suit you? Offer the routes you can support: collect at work; physical delivery arranged separately; digital delivery. Ask for a preferred route here, not a home address.
- Would you prefer the thank-you privately or as part of a team moment? Choices: privately; with the team; either is fine. This is about the recognition, which can be separate from delivery.
- If you selected a physical growing kit, would you enjoy caring for a tree? Choices: yes; I would like more information about the space and care needed; I would prefer another format. Show this question only when relevant.
- If you selected a gift card or useful item, is there an available option you particularly like? List the choices you can supply. An open request for any brand or product can create expectations the budget cannot meet.
- Would you like us to use your preferred name on the gift or message? Provide a short optional field. Check spelling before anything is printed or sent.
- Is there anything practical we should check before arranging your gift? Invite the employee to contact the organiser privately if they need an alternative or assistance. Do not ask them to explain medical or personal circumstances in a shared form.
- Is there anything else you would like us to know about this thank-you? Leave a short optional space. A final “I would prefer not to receive a gift” choice makes declining easy.
For a quick version, use questions one to five and a contact name for anything else. If the gift is already selected, use only the questions that still affect the recipient’s experience.
Should responses be named or anonymous?
Use named responses when you need to match a choice to a person. Use anonymous feedback when you only want to understand broad preferences before deciding what to offer. Explain which you are doing.
An anonymous survey might tell you that many people would prefer a gift card, but it cannot tell you who should receive one. You can begin with a general preference check, then collect individual choices once the options are approved.
Limit access to the people organising the gifts. Keep postal addresses and other fulfilment information in the approved delivery process, rather than adding them to a preferences sheet shared with managers. Ask your HR or privacy contact how the form should be stored and when it should be removed.
How do you turn the answers into a gifting plan?
Group responses by the choices people made, check the total cost for each format and resolve exceptions before ordering. Keep a note of what you decided so an employee’s preference survives the handover to the supplier.
Illustrative example: a 40-person team returns 18 requests for a gift card, 12 for a physical gift, six for a digital Tree Gift and four for a personal note. That does not mean one format has won for all 40 people. It gives the organiser four groups to cost and arrange.
Use the same approved spending principles across the groups. Where one option is unavailable, contact the person and offer the choices you can deliver. For anyone who did not respond, send one gentle reminder or ask how they would like to be included. Silence is not a preference for your favourite option.
Before approval, include delivery and personalisation in the total. The year-end employee gift planning guide includes a budget worksheet and approval checklist. For recognition across several occasions, use the wider employee gifting guide.
Where can Tree Gifts fit in the choices?
Offer a Tree Gift when it matches what the recipient wants. Describe the experience clearly so people can make that choice.
A physical Tree Kit gives someone a tree to grow themselves. Confirm delivery availability, growing conditions and care requirements before offering it. A digital Gift Story carries a personal message and connects it with tree planting in Tanzania. It can suit someone who welcomes that contribution but does not want a physical plant to care for.
Keep the personal thank-you specific whichever format people choose. “Thank you for helping our new starters find their feet” says more about the person’s work than a generic seasonal greeting. When discussing the planting contribution, use documented facts and the ForestNation impact methodology to understand how impact estimates are calculated.
What should happen after the gifts arrive?
Ask whether the gift arrived as expected and whether the person would choose that format again. Use that feedback to improve the next decision.
A short follow-up can be enough: “Did your gift reach you, and was it something you were pleased to receive? If you would prefer a different option next time, please tell me.” Make it easy to answer privately. People should not have to praise a gift to avoid embarrassing the organiser.
Update preferences when people tell you they have changed. A questionnaire saves useful information, but a conversation can correct it. If Tree Gifts are among the options your people want, discuss your employee recognition plan with the recipient choices and budget already clear.
Research and References
- NIH Office of Research Services. Recognition preference questionnaire. A primary example of asking employees which recognition they appreciate.
- The ten-question template and 40-person example are original planning examples. They are not survey findings or a validated research instrument.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should an employee gift questionnaire be?
Use only questions that affect the gift you can offer. Five core questions may be enough for a simple order; add the relevant follow-ups when recipients can choose different formats.
Can I use this as an employee favourites questionnaire?
Yes. Keep the questions relevant to gifts and recognition you actually arrange. You do not need a detailed profile of someone’s private life to choose an appropriate thank-you.
Should everyone have to complete it?
Make participation comfortable and provide a private contact route. Explain how you will handle non-responses and give people a way to decline a gift.
Does a questionnaire make a gift less personal?
It can help you choose something the person will enjoy. The personal part still comes from the message: name what you appreciated about their work and thank them directly.
