The onboarding process is an essential part of the employee experience. And while many necessary steps in a welcome packet for new employees include paperwork and formalities, it’s not the most exciting way to introduce someone to your company and its culture. In addition to preparing new employees for their roles, onboarding should give them a taste of what life at the company is like, and get them excited to be a part of the team.
Welcome kits are a creative and fun way to infuse some enthusiasm into your onboarding practice and can be a great tool for communicating your company culture as well as boosting employee engagement. We’ve rounded up our favorite new employee welcome kit ideas to help you optimize your onboarding experience to leave a lasting impression.
How Welcome Kits Improve the Employee Experience
A positive employee experience is a gift that keeps on giving. Increased productivity, high retention rates, and profitability are just a few of the benefits of an engaged workforce. HR teams know that the little things can go a long way when it comes to company culture, and personalized gestures included in welcome packets for new employees can be the thing that sets your onboarding process apart from the rest. Let’s examine how welcome kits contribute to a positive employee experience.
Creates a sense of belonging
Joining a new company is often met with mixed emotions, and it can take some time before newcomers feel truly comfortable and a part of the team. By giving things like company swag or including personal touches like their favorite snacks, you invite the employee into your community, and help them feel seen and known by your team; this helps break the ice during the first week and creates a sense of belonging right from day one.
Contributes to company culture
Company culture — the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices that shape your working environment — is influenced by many things both big and small within your organization. From leadership style down to new hire welcome kits, culture is a huge driver in attracting and retaining high-performing talent (which is one of the reasons you should care about contributing to it). Much like employee onboarding checklists, welcome packets for new employees are a great way to ensure new hires feel prepared for their new role. Many creative new employee welcome kit ideas can add a unique and personal touch to your onboarding process, and also help communicate employee appreciation and value.
Provides necessary information
Personal touches and fun swag are great and all, but the most important, essential function of welcome packets for new employees is to equip new hires with the tools and information they need to get acquainted with their new role. When employees receive comprehensive onboarding their productivity can increase by as much as 70%.
Boosts morale
Employee morale has a lot in common with employee engagement, as it deals with the overall experience and well-being of your employees. Like anyone, employees want to feel valued and appreciated. Since new hires haven’t yet built a track record of quality work for you to provide positive feedback, fun new employee welcome kit ideas provide an opportunity to show your appreciation and enthusiasm for their joining the team.
New Employee Welcome Kit Ideas
Welcome packets for new employees should reflect and build upon your company culture. If you have a more casual company culture you can reflect that with things like branded casual wear or stickers. For a more professional setting, personalized items like branded coffee mugs or notebooks may be more appropriate.
Here are 24 new employee welcome kit ideas to cover all your bases when preparing for a new hire.
The essentials
Items to cover everyday essentials and make your office environment more functional and comfortable include things such as:
- Branded coffee mugs
- A reusable water bottle in your company colors
- Notebooks and pens with your company name or logo
- Adhesive card holder for their key card or employee id
Showcase your company culture
To show off your company culture and values consider, including informative items as well as more dynamic branded swag that employees can also use outside of the office such as:
- Tote bags or backpacks
- Hats (be creative here! You can give baseball hats, visors, bucket hats, you name it!)
- Sweatshirts or t-shirts with your company logo or tagline
- Stickers
- Socks
- Webcam or phone camera cover (popular among tech companies)
- An employee handbook including company history, mission, values, team structures, and information about your culture
- An introduction booklet to common phrases or fun facts about your team and company
Prepare and inform
For the more practical items that prepare new hires for their role include:
- An office map with their colleague’s names and roles so they can easily find their peers
- A list or map of your office neighborhood, including your favorite coffee shops, restaurants, and parks
- A digital onboarding guide that includes necessary forms and contracts (trust us, save yourself the paperwork!)
A schedule for their first week highlighting important meetings, onboarding deadlines, and training (again, keep this digital and thank us later)
Make an impression
Finally… for new employee welcome kit ideas that will set your onboarding process apart from the rest and really make your new hire feel a part of the team, try including:
- Their favorite snack or drink
- Something that relates to a fun fact about them (are they a cat lover? Include a mini cat calendar or figurine for them to keep on their desk)
- An invitation to a new hire lunch or happy hour in their honor
- A personalized welcome message for their team or your CEO
Budget-friendly new employee welcome kit ideas
Because the best things in life are free, for some ideas that won’t break the bank, try including:
- A handwritten card or note from the team welcoming them to the team
- A slide in your weekly all-hands meeting introducing them and include fun facts like their favorite food, or an unusual talent they have
- An invitation to choose the organization you work with for the next employee volunteer day
- A fun introduction in your company Slack channel with a gif that relates to their personality or interests
Level Up Your Onboarding with Omni
Welcome packets for new employees help set the tone for your new hire’s experience and communicate your company culture. By including personal touches and branded swag, you can show your appreciation for new hires and make them feel like part of the team from day one.
With Omni, you can leverage automation tools to save you time and create consistency in your onboarding process, so nothing falls through the cracks and every employee is primed for a great first day. Download the complete employee onboarding checklist to get started, and schedule a demo with our team to learn how Omni can streamline your onboarding process.