Dilbert once had a story arc about the horrible trinkets and tokens that corporate employers give out to recognize employee contributions. The most common ones are probably logo shirts that only come in XXS or XXXL or the infamous logo belt buckles that are designed to fit rodeo-clown belts. Higher education is not immune to such trinkets. When I was a student, I always thought that faculty members had first crack at all the really nice swag, things like sweatshirts and ball caps and the occasional coffee mug. Then I became a faculty member and started getting the ill-fitting T-shirts, belt buckles, and key fobs that fall apart after five minutes. On the other hand, I have landed some sweet logo pens over the years, along with one or two sweatshirts and some nice golf shirts.
Poor budget years, however, seem to do away with the good stuff and increase the junk. When budget cuts occur, trinkets are nothing short of galling: “No pay raise this year, but here’s a nice pen that might work until Tuesday.” As many a faculty and staff member has asked over the years, For pete’s sake, why spend the money on that stuff in the first place? One administrator at a state university actually admitted to me in private that this was a way for him to spend down his budget at the end of the fiscal year; if he had money left over, he would lose it in the subsequent year’s budget, so he bought all kinds of “goodies” with his budget remains. I was flabbergasted by the admission.
Any advice to administrators who are planning on purchasing trinkets and tokens this year?
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12 Responses to Trinkets and Tokens
superdude - November 16, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Don’t do it! Don’t buy the junk! I had unfortunate timing, and earned tenure/promotion during a bad budget year. The gift I received from the University, a pen, broke before the end of the semester. It was a cheap trinket that disappointed me when I got it and further disappointed me when I had to throw it away 5 weeks later.Considering the logo and the case, the pen still probably cost somewhere around $10. I would have rather had the Provost use the $10 to take me out to lunch for sandwiches.
saasaa - November 16, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Do not insult me with another logo item. Most of us have no need for them and actually dislike them. If I really want a school logo item, I will buy it for myself. I have Goodwilled more college log items than I care to count. Donate that money to some random charity…it is better used that way.
martindschwartz - November 16, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Sometimes when I do a tenure or promotion review I am rewarded with a logo item. In every case but one it has not worked from the beginning or ceased to work quickly. Interestingly, I can no longer recall many of the 30 or so tenure cases I have done, but I recall distinctly each of the ones that sent me junk. What was the PR value of that? Not learning my lesson, my partner gave a major address to a top national association recently, and they thanked her with a leather-covered pen. Nice. I borrowed it, but it lasted two days.
andyjorgensen - November 16, 2009 at 6:28 pm
To state a counter point, after dozens of individuals worked for over two years on converting our quarter calendar to a semester calendar, we gave each one an hourglass with the university logo and the phrase “Thanks to you, it’s time for semesters!” The appreciation was heartful and welcome. They cost about $3 each and are still proudly displayed on shelves around campus more than 10 years later. Such gifts can be done appropriately.
lee77 - November 17, 2009 at 7:25 am
I concur with andyjorgensen – there are some items, not necessarily expensive, that retain functional or decorative value for an extended period and are positive reminders of a job well done, or an interesting colleague. The pens and stuff I get at conferences, for example, often last a long time – I wonder if university procurement doesn’t know where to buy the better quality items (assuming there is a good reason to buy anything at all)
facultydiva - November 17, 2009 at 8:21 am
If you have to spend down your budget, buy office supplies that are needed. If you have to spend the money on trinkets, get some input on trinkets that are useful – there are plenty.
blendedlibrarian - November 17, 2009 at 11:12 am
At my previous institution we would honor faculty who had published a book by typing up an old style card catalog card with their book’s information on the card – and then we would put it in a desktop frame so they could proudly disply it in their office. It took little time or money to produce, and it was considered a real honor to get one. I agree with those who have said the best ways to recognize contributions are with personalized items, not trinkets.
dvlubitz - November 19, 2009 at 11:44 am
If you absolutely must, apply the rule of “Class not crap.” In the end, whenever needed, a handwritten personal note, free of platitude and banality, and written on a good stock WITHOUT the institutional logo will carry you further than a trashy trinket. Providing you are capable of doing it without banaliuty and cheap phraseology, you may follow up by the institution-wide e-mail recognizing the person and the achievement.Remember that recognition, even if given by the institution in a public ceremony, is a highly personal event for both the recipient and the giver; It should be cherished by both parties. Offering a piece of rubbish as the embodiment of your appreciation demeans the occasion and all parties involved. If you muist spend excess money at the end of the fiscal year, spend it, as facultydiva suggests, on office supplies. They are always needed.
mlevendusky - November 19, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I wonder why no one gives away jump drives. Nearly everyone needs more of those.
mindartpower - November 20, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I would much prefer to be treated as the fairly intelligent and dedicated professional that I am. A formal note of recognition that could be added to my personnel file is something that might correspondingly reward me with some kind of institutional leverage. A plastic pen demeans my contribution (frankly, I find it completely insulting), my respect for the giver, not to mention makes me question the level of understanding that the institution has about, the critical role, faculty play in the success of the college or university.
mindartpower - November 20, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Yes ,spend it on office supplies ; XEROX paper is always in short supply.
juvenal - December 15, 2009 at 9:00 am
My former (retired, not bounced) Department Head had some money left and bought us all 4GB thumb drives. Now there’s a useful trinket!