Please stop buying plaques as gifts for retirees/farewells

[Anonymous]

The teachers I've know who have retired have gotten a card signed by everyone. That's it. ANYTHING would be nice, even a plaque.

[Anonymous]

How about fitbit watch or step counter watch?
Any health related spa or membership?

[Anonymous]

DH received a tiny grandfather wooden clock, WTH will we do with it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about fitbit watch or step counter watch?
Any health related spa or membership?

Suggesting they're fat? No.

[Anonymous]

How about collecting and donating to their favorite charity? Most retirees don’t need more things and like the pp upthread said, they may be looking to downsize and a plaque addition makes it harder.

[Anonymous]

You ask why we give plaques, it isbecause it’s substantial and cheap. It’s like a card. But more substantial. It’s like flowers that won’t die. A real gift requires thought and more than $60. So, whatever you would do with a birthday or congratulations card, do the same thing with the plaque. For me, it’s look at it for a few days, then into the recycle bin or trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody knows what to do anymore.

People miss significant gifts like watches.

Most retirement presents aren't useful - except for gift cards.

My team did give an Apple Watch to a guy that was retiring after 35-40 years. They had collected a lot of cash.

Sometimes the party is the best present. A lot of people get no recognition.

I just retire from the govt. and got a plaque. I appreciate the sentiment but what the heck? Am I supposed to hang it in my home? Nope. It is hiding in my
Closet along with the other plaques I received. Just give me a card with some thoughtful notes and a nice coffee gathering in the morning.

That's the thing, there is no thought/ sentiment behind it because everyone receives a plaque. At this point, it screams box checking.

So, as somebody who has had to organize dozens of farewell parties/gifts for employees over the years - sorry, but the exercise is not for you, it's for the office. People want to "do something" and feel that something will be done for them when they leave. That's why you get a plaque.

I realize you'd probably like a gift card, but your colleagues and my boss think that's too impersonal (too easy) so we don't do that.

You're not getting a thoughtful personal gift even if we have a lot of money collected because (a) I am organizing this on top of my real job and I'm busy, and (b) I have to think about the expectations being set / already set in past years, in the sense that one employee can't be seen to get a significantly nicer or more thoughtful gift than another employee. If we collect more than the plaque costs, you get nicer food at the party. If we collect less, I make up the difference out of my own pocket.

So stop organizing if you can’t be bothered to buy people anything other than a hunk of crap. Better to give nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody knows what to do anymore.

People miss significant gifts like watches.

Most retirement presents aren't useful - except for gift cards.

My team did give an Apple Watch to a guy that was retiring after 35-40 years. They had collected a lot of cash.

Sometimes the party is the best present. A lot of people get no recognition.

I just retire from the govt. and got a plaque. I appreciate the sentiment but what the heck? Am I supposed to hang it in my home? Nope. It is hiding in my
Closet along with the other plaques I received. Just give me a card with some thoughtful notes and a nice coffee gathering in the morning.

That's the thing, there is no thought/ sentiment behind it because everyone receives a plaque. At this point, it screams box checking.

So, as somebody who has had to organize dozens of farewell parties/gifts for employees over the years - sorry, but the exercise is not for you, it's for the office. People want to "do something" and feel that something will be done for them when they leave. That's why you get a plaque.

I realize you'd probably like a gift card, but your colleagues and my boss think that's too impersonal (too easy) so we don't do that.

You're not getting a thoughtful personal gift even if we have a lot of money collected because (a) I am organizing this on top of my real job and I'm busy, and (b) I have to think about the expectations being set / already set in past years, in the sense that one employee can't be seen to get a significantly nicer or more thoughtful gift than another employee. If we collect more than the plaque costs, you get nicer food at the party. If we collect less, I make up the difference out of my own pocket.

So stop organizing if you can’t be bothered to buy people anything other than a hunk of crap. Better to give nothing.

The goal is not to give the person a gift. The point is the demonstration for other people that milestones are recognized. Bluntly, the preferences of the person leaving are not as important as those of the people staying.

Boss organizes and subsidizes it because it looks like low morale if the office does nothing, and because one of the supervisor performance categories is recognizing and rewarding people. If they thought they could get away with a gift card, they would.

That doesn't mean we didn't like you! We probably did. But you would get the plaque and party whether we did or not.

[Anonymous]

DH cherishes the framed signed paper with notes from his coworkers that he got when he left a job he was at for a while. It was a good group and he loved the work. Maybe because he’s prior military so he only expects something like that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about collecting and donating to their favorite charity? Most retirees don’t need more things and like the pp upthread said, they may be looking to downsize and a plaque addition makes it harder.

That’s not a gift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about collecting and donating to their favorite charity? Most retirees don’t need more things and like the pp upthread said, they may be looking to downsize and a plaque addition makes it harder.

No, because your favorite charity is not mine, and if you gave to a Right to Life group for example, I would be livid at my donation to that group gift (as would the retiree if they had to give to Planned Parenthood)

[Anonymous]

I agree about not giving plaques. I’m a fed and have been my entire career. I have plaques for lasting at my job for 10, 20, 25 and 30 years. Those are so stupid. “Congratulations, you didn’t get fired.”

I have several plaques that are a recognition of my performance, which mean more but are still collecting dust in the corner of my home office. I would prefer extra leave time or a cash award.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody knows what to do anymore.

People miss significant gifts like watches.

Most retirement presents aren't useful - except for gift cards.

My team did give an Apple Watch to a guy that was retiring after 35-40 years. They had collected a lot of cash.

Sometimes the party is the best present. A lot of people get no recognition.

An Apple Watch is a terrific gift that would totally bring a smile to my face. It feels like your team put thought into it and what he would like/use.

Not having an iPhone I would not use this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree about not giving plaques. I’m a fed and have been my entire career. I have plaques for lasting at my job for 10, 20, 25 and 30 years. Those are so stupid. “Congratulations, you didn’t get fired.”

I have several plaques that are a recognition of my performance, which mean more but are still collecting dust in the corner of my home office. I would prefer extra leave time or a cash award.

I recently tossed all but my last one.

[Anonymous]

If the company is paying I don't care what it is. Don't ask me to chip in on some gift for some rich retiree like a gift card or an apple watch. They can buy their own. Recognition is enough. Make them feel like it all meant something.