Gift Policy

Shawnee Love   •  
September 20, 2013

Often you will see conflict of interest policies that guide employees not to accept significant gifts.  Makes sense, because we don’t want all our hard work building a reputation of transparency, integrity and fairness (common morals organizations strive to uphold) being destroyed by a $90,000 “present” for example.  Clearly that example is extreme, but gifts are given every day in business.

Gifts are used:

  • To say thanks,
  • Because it is convenient (e.g., I’ll buy your coffee and you get a table), and
  • Because part of the human condition is the urge to give things to people we like.

Of course some gifts are used as bribes or kickbacks too, but this is a blog about clarifying acceptable gifting, not unethical conduct.

If you are making a conflict of interest policy, determining whether a gift would be acceptable or not can be a struggle.  Consider:

  • What gifts are normal in your industry,
  • The value of typical gifts (and the likelihood inflation will impact the cost),
  • What gifting your organization’s culture and values support,
  • Past precedent (and how it was perceived),
  • When it is acceptable to receive a gift (e.g., not before a deal is signed but perhaps after the contract is assigned),
  • Who needs to know about a gift (e.g., does it have to be reported?)

You will also want to consider whether gifts can be individually accepted or if they have to be shared.  I have seen companies create a big pool of all gifts over the year and then give them all away at a summer BBQ as door prizes.  I have also seen them become silent auction items with the proceeds going to a charity.

One caution I urge when developing a conflict of interest or gift policy is to avoid the cop out word “nominal”.  So many policies indicate that gifts of nominal value are acceptable, but perspectives on what is nominal differ around the world, and there is no clear winner in Canada either.  I have seen policies identify nominal as $250, $50, or the “occasional lunch”.  I have even seen some specify $100 retail but $25 wholesale value.  Sometimes branded gifts can be nominal at any value, but unbranded gifts somehow pass the nominal standard even if they are barely there.  One wonders whether an unbranded cup of coffee would constitute as nominal, but then who would bother citing a conflict of $3.85. Although with the way the price of coffee is going, there may be a time when a latte passes nominal as well.

For the record, LoveHR’s policy on gifting is simple: gifts of chocolate, coffee or wine will always be appreciated and shared.