A new joiner forms an impression of your company long before their first review. A well-made welcome kit tells them they were expected and that the details matter here. A thrown-together one says the opposite.
What to include
A good kit mixes useful everyday items with one or two things that feel personal.
Everyday essentials
- A quality bottle or tumbler
- A notebook and pen
- A tote or backpack
Branded apparel
- A T-shirt or hoodie in your colours, sized per person
Tech accessories, especially for hybrid teams
- Charger or cable organiser
- Laptop sleeve or stand
A personal welcome
- A named card or a short note from the manager or team
Leave out filler. Five items people use beat fifteen they throw away.
Brand it well
Your brand should be present, but the kit should still feel like a gift. Small, well-placed marks on quality items get used every day, which is better brand exposure than a large logo on something nobody keeps. Custom packaging and inserts make the unboxing feel like your company.
Plan it as a programme, not a one-off
Hiring happens all year, so the kit works best as a repeatable programme:
- Design the kit once: contents, branding and packaging within a budget per joiner.
- Approve a sample before producing at volume.
- Share joiner details for each intake: names, sizes and addresses.
- Pack and deliver to the office or the joiner’s home, timed to arrive before the start date.
Remote joiners
For remote and hybrid hires, deliver to the home address and aim for the kit to arrive before day one. It is often their first physical contact with the company, so it carries more weight than it would in the office.
Quick checklist
- Contents are useful beyond day one
- Sizes collected in advance
- A personal note in every kit
- Branding is visible but not loud
- Arrives before the start date, wherever the person is
See how we run employee welcome kits end to end, or read our guide to choosing corporate gifts people keep.