We take a deeper look into the world of digital nomads and explore how businesses can use an employee gifting platform to improve relationships with them globally.
Digital nomads are workers who use technology to work remotely while traveling and living like nomads. They are a new addition to the business environment, choosing to not stay in one place and travel the world while making a living.
Following the 2020 global lockdowns as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world saw a massive trend towards remote work, many of whom decided to take it a step further and become nomads. In just one year, the number of American digital nomads grew by over 3 million (MBO Partners). It is a free and liberating lifestyle for the worker, but it does present some challenges for managers. One such challenge is the inability to recognize milestones and reward great work as you normally would in an office space. This task is even more difficult than with remote workers as digital nomads often don’t have a permanent address and are always on the go.
The best way to reward your employees, especially digital nomads, is with a gift, but sending gifts manually takes more time and effort away from work. Managers should therefore look into an international corporate gifting platform such as Giftsenda to automate and simplify the process with special tools like address-collection options.
This case study will take a deeper look into the world of digital nomads, helping you understand the lifestyle. In addition to this, we will discuss gifting platforms and give insight as to how businesses can use one to improve their relationship with digital nomads.
Introduction
According to Forbes, 22% of workers will be remote by the year 2025.
This statistic, along with the the growing number of digital nomads, shows that this trend is not going anywhere. Businesses must either adapt to modern ways or continue to have staffing troubles.
To learn how to become effective in managing this new type of employee, it is important to educate yourself on the lifestyle and needs that go along with it. Digital nomads have a taste for adventure. They are world travelers who are bound by no physical boundaries or location. On average they are 32 years of age, with most making this career move around the age of 29. To fund this exciting and extravagant lifestyle, digital nomads still continue to work full time remotely from whatever destinations they decide to travel to. Digital nomads come from many different professional backgrounds. They can be marketers, salespeople, writers, accountants, or almost any other type of job. The most popular industry for digital nomads appears to be technology, specifically those working in software development and website development.
While many companies may be wary of taking on such an employee, firms should not misconstrue their mobility as a weakness. These employees can be an asset. They can help raise your brand awareness all over the globe. In a growing global economy, building relationships across borders is at an all time high in terms of importance.
When looking at the employee’s productivity itself, the traveling aspect can be more of a motivator rather than a distraction. Time becomes very important when constantly on the move. If the nomads want to be able to get the most out of their experience at certain destinations, it is imperative that they get their work done correctly and on time. Many will also say that extraordinary experiences can help diversify your life and in turn boost your creativity. This can be an especially useful tool for marketers and salespeople whose job it is to understand people and their wants. The ability to meet new diverse people is invaluable. The digital nomads may be traveling, but they are not on vacation.
Understanding Digital Nomads And Their Needs
Digital nomads do have certain needs for their lifestyle, mostly associated with travel.
The first essential of a nomad is a passport or visa that will allow them to travel freely
between countries without disruption. Some countries are offering special visas for
digital nomads, a big sign of the growth of this trend. However, work visas should be
sufficient if the special version is not available. Nomads should also ensure that they
have health insurance covered as some countries will deny people entry without proof
of insurance.
Looking at their work needs, one of the keys to making this professional relationship
work is flexibility on both sides. The different time zones pose a challenge, but one
that is easily mitigated through good time management and realistic deadlines. If the
nomad is needed in a department-wide meeting, find the time that works best for both
parties. Everyone will have to sacrifice a little, but it all should be very manageable.
Once all the logistics have been laid out and your company’s digital nomad begins
working on-the-go, your firm will quickly realize that normal positive reinforcement
tactics won’t work when the employee works remotely across the world. Recognizing
and rewarding hard work is important in any manager-employee relationship, so it is imperative for managers to find new tech-savvy ways to send gifts to their on-the-
move employees.
Giftsenda has more than 20 years of experience in sending corporate gifts globally,
with some experience in sending gifts for digital nomads. One of these cases was with
the firm QuadCode, a financial technology company that operates in many countries.
A lot of the firm’s developers are actually digital nomads, and their Human Resources
department had trouble keeping track of their locations.This is where Giftsenda’s platform allowed HR to reward these employees even though they were constantly traveling.
Using the gift invite function on the platform, which creates a shareable gift link that acts as a gift invite, nomads were able to select their gift from a pre-curated collection and fill out the shipping information based on where they plan to be. Gifts were sent to 70 employees spanning 7 countries. The platform was used to send a wide variety of gifts including gift cards and different Apple items. The gifts helped show appreciation for the employees, and also helped improve their productivity since they enable people to work on the go.
Real Life Examples
Corporate gifting is a proven method for building trust and satisfaction between staff
and their company, but with a lack of a permanent address it becomes more difficult.
Using Giftsenda’s gifting platform helps remove the challenges of the process. When
you decide that you want to send a gift, all you need to do is create a gifting link and
share it with your recipient via your preferred method of communication, whether it is
email or a texting platform. The link allows the nomad to choose a gift within a budget
range or from a special gift collection that is available in their destination and fill out
the shipping info themselves. One link can be used for various recipients globally.
Assuming the nomad is planning trips in advance, they will be able to account for the
time needed for the gift to arrive and know where they will be staying at the time. The
sender will only be charged for the gift after it has been accepted by the recipient and
approved internally. This added layer of security ensures that your business only pays
for intended gifts, providing peace of mind and budget control.
In addition to helping remove the risks of sending gifts to the wrong location, it also
helps senders get the best possible gifts for their digital nomads. Giftsenda has a vast
web of local partners across the globe. All gifts are sourced from these local vendors
to minimize customs fees and ensure the best gifts. This makes the platform very
useful for managers of digital nomads since it allows them to personalize the gift to
wherever the employee is at a certain time.
Make Sending Easy With Gift Links
Gifting with our automated gifting tools offers a creative new way to send personal
gifts as you can change your approach based on the country that the employee is
working in. Once you know broadly what your nomad likes, you can even tailor the gifts
accordingly.
For example, if you know the employee likes wine and will be traveling to
France soon, a basket filled with wine sourced locally will be a great way to celebrate
a milestone. Personal gifts like these will help show the employee that their lifestyle is
being supported and that their work outside the office is not going unnoticed.
Giftsenda allows senders to track their gift at every step of the way. This will allow you
to study lead times, costs, the number of gifts that were claimed and so much more.
It is also important to be open to feedback from the digital nomad. The same way
employees should seek out honest feedback on their performance, managers should
want the same on how they reward that performance and incentivize staff. Honest
opinions on the gifts will help make future gifting simpler and better for both parties.
To this end, recipients are able to leave a thank you note after redeeming their gift,
allowing you to see their feedback.
Conclusion
The number of digital nomads in the world is continuing to increase as more people
become infatuated with the lifestyle. Whether they like it or not, businesses across the
globe are going to have to get used to employees leaving the office and sometimes
leaving the country. Managers should not be afraid of this innovation in business and
see it as an opportunity.
Once a manager gives an employee the green light to spread their wings and become
a nomad, one of the biggest challenges is the ability to incentivize and recognize good
work. The best tool for managers to use is a corporate gifting platform like Giftsenda
that allows you to collect shipping details, provide a locally sourced gift selection, get
constant feedback on your gifts, and monitor the impact of them as well. Giftsenda
smooths out the entire process and removes the hassle of managing gift deliveries. To
begin rewarding your digital nomads, sign up for a demo with Giftsenda today.
