Welcoming Your New Hire—with Gifts!

Imagine you’ve just been hired to work at your company. Your first day on the job might be the second-most-stressful day of that job. (Only the job interview itself makes people more nervous.) Now you’re sitting at an empty desk, surrounded by a bunch of people you don’t know. Did anyone even tell you how to find the closest restroom?

A better welcome

To get new hires past this hurdle, some companies provide employee welcome kits full of valuable information and promotional swag. Employee welcome kits help the newcomer feel like they belong in their new role. The kit can set the tone for a positive work experience at your company beginning on Day One, when the new employee is trying to navigate a new situation. Welcome kits can also help demonstrate and reinforce the company culture and show the new hire how much they’re appreciated.

What’s inside

If your company already provides promotional materials to customers, you might be able to quickly throw together a welcome kit. Start with copies of the in-house phone list and the company mission statement. Add a map of the building—with restrooms clearly marked—and you have the foundation.

Make your new employee a “cheat sheet” of coworker names and mug shots to help them recognize the people they’ll work with. New hires hear a lot of names on that first day, and it can be a challenge to remember them all.

The swag is the fun part.

Now add anything to the welcome kit that sports the company’s logo, like a tote bag, hat, or T-shirt. Fill in with company-branded pens and note pads. You might include gift cards from nearby coffee shops and restaurants or even after-hours places where other employees spend time together. If you have them, toss in items made by important clients (or even some of THEIR swag) to help the employee recognize the new company names they’ll be hearing. And everybody loves toys and trinkets, like stress balls and keychains.

Did you give your customers coffee mugs or tumblers with your company name and logo last holiday season? See if you have a few left for the welcome box. The best-selling promotional item for 2021 was a hand sanitizer spray pen. Your new (and current) employees definitely need these.

Employee welcome kits might be especially important for new remote employees. They need information about the company team structure, and a few gift items will ease their onboarding process.

Hiring it out

If you already have enough to do and can’t delegate the creation of a new employee welcome kit, you can find companies online who will assemble one for you. Your supplier of promotional material might provide this service, or you might want to stock up on company-branded items.

Employee welcome kits are a valuable tool. If your new hire announces their new job on social media with a selfie wearing your company name, that’s publicity you can’t buy. And anything you do to help a new hire feel more at home will pay off in loyalty and employee satisfaction.