How To Give Bouquets At The Workplace In Line With Business Ethics?
Most of us are full or part-time working people, devoting lots of time and efforts to the company’s goals. Being members of a team, we often make friends with colleagues, managers, and even clients, setting a high value on these relationships.
When someone in your office has an occasion to celebrate, for instance, a birthday, a promotion, a new home, or a new baby, your first instinct may be to shower them with flowers as a token of your appreciation. While you never mean anything bad when giving beautiful blooms to someone at your work, there is always a risk that the recipient may get your act wrongly. So knowing principles of business flower etiquette may save you from embarrassment.
Sending a floral gift to business associates has some nuances. What to send, when, and to whom – all these things must be carefully considered, so you convey the right message to the recipient. If you do not want the floral gift to spoil your connection, you better follow established workplace flower ethics.
Sending a Bouquet to Team Members
Today, it is often a part of a corporate policy to send flowers as a standard bestowal to the personnel on their birthdays or professional achievements. While it is a grand gesture from bosses, it is also a one-size-fits-all approach when all employees receive standardized, impersonal presents, which might not always adequately honour the worker for everything what they have done for the company.
Flowers should send a signal that you value the time and efforts the worker has contributed to corporate success. It is great to make a floral gift more personal by pairing lovely blooms with an appropriate gift basket, treats, and other accessories you deem suitable for the life occurrence. A personalized message from the firm’s CEO or vice president complementing the exquisite flowers can do wonders for an employee’s morale and productivity.
However, you should not present your employees or colleagues with a bouquet of red roses. People may over-think this behaviour, attaching the significance you never meant. To avoid confusion, opt for a mixed arrangement made of yellow or pastel species. Keep in mind that the recipient may be allergic to flowers and their scent, so it is best to pick minimally-scented varieties or potted plants. If you are sending flowers internationally, you may ask the florist to help you choose the safest yet finest business flower design.
Gifting the Boss
A birthday or anniversary endowment for your boss should always come from the whole team, unless you established a platonic connection or a friendship with your leader. If you are giving a bunch of flowers from you personally, make sure it is not public. Otherwise, the rest team may begin to think that you are trying to fawn on your superior, so it may spoil your reputation at the workplace. Surely, you want to avoid red roses or anything that could be misinterpreted.
Gifting a Client or Business Partner
Whether you are sending flowers to a customer/business associate to congratulate them on a personal accomplishment, thank them for accepting your business proposal, or mark a good deal, do not choose anything that could be viewed as an attempt to get closer on a personal level. An elegant arrangement of light-colored roses, orchids, or peonies, paired with top-quality chocolate, elite alcohol (if appropriate), or a fruit basket, is a go-to idea.
If you have been cooperating with the client/partner for a while and know their specific taste, you can couple up the bouquet with a gift card for their favourite store, restaurant, hotel, or resort. Just make sure you are not sending a bouquet that may convey an unintended sentiment.
When Flowers Are Inappropriate
While lovely floral arrangements are desired gifts for virtually any occasion, there are some situations when you should not send a bouquet to business associates. Just-because blooms are not appropriate as they may carry the feelings you did not imply. Vibrant scarlet flowers, especially roses, are traditional symbols of love, romance, and adoration. When given for no obvious reason, red bourgeons can be misconstrued, or they even can give rise to the unwelcome rumours in the office.
When Business Flower Gifting is Alright
If an occasion calls for a gift, there is no reason not to send flowers to a workmate or business associate. Members of a team will often pitch in to purchase a valuable gift for an employee or a manager in the event of a birthday, a wedding, retirement, or the birth of a baby. In all of these circumstances, a stylish arrangement can be an amazing way to express your best wishes. Flowers can also show your sympathy when someone in your business environment loses a loved one.
Which Colour to Select?
All flowers indeed carry their implicit message, and if you do not want to send a misleading signal, you should know the fundamentals of the flower language.
The totally red or scarlet arrangements traditionally denote love and passion. The only exception is when someone in your office is going to be married – in such a case, red roses will deliver your wishes to having tons of love and romance in the marriage.
Yellow blooms are perfect for birthday or retirement/departure parties. Yellow roses hold a meaning of wellbeing and friendship, making them an ideal floral gift for the workplace. Orange petals speak to exuberance, optimism, and gratitude – all these messages will fit a going-away celebration.
White roses symbolize new beginnings and perspectives, making them the perfect option for a co-worker or employee who has a new addition to their family or is celebrating a professional advancement.
If you hesitate which kind of flowers to send to a business partner, or whether to give an arrangement at all, consult an experienced florist. Well-trained designers are competent in everything that relates to the symbolism of flowers and colours, so a specialist will eagerly help you choose a bouquet that does not convey the wrong message.
