What goes in a new hire welcome kit
A welcome kit is the first branded thing a new employee owns. It sets a tone. A thin hoodie with a logo says one thing; a 400gsm organic cotton hoodie with a weight stamp on the label says another.
The core items
Most effective welcome kits follow a three-category structure: apparel, desk, and practical.
Apparel. One heavyweight item. A hoodie or sweatshirt works better than a t-shirt as a primary piece because people wear it to meetings and outside the office. The minimum we recommend is 350gsm. Anything lighter starts to feel like a freebie rather than a gift.
Notebook. A hardback A5, FSC certified paper, ideally 100gsm or heavier. This gets used. Lightweight notebooks with spiral binding tend to get abandoned in drawers.
Drinkware. A 500ml stainless steel bottle or a ceramic mug depending on your office culture. For remote-first companies a bottle travels better. For office-first teams, a mug with the company name gets used at the desk every day.
Practical additions. A card explaining who to contact for onboarding questions, or a short printed reference card with the tools, Slack channels, and meeting schedules they need in week one. Not promotional. Functional.
The sizing problem
Apparel sizing is the main failure point in welcome kits. Three approaches work:
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Ask before onboarding. Add a sizing question to the offer letter or onboarding form. Requires a lead time of at least five working days before the start date to place and produce the order.
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Stock a range. Order a spread of sizes and swap on the day. Works for companies with regular monthly cohorts. Requires storage.
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Send a sample kit first. We ship a sizing sample kit before the production order. The hire tries on the garments, confirms their size, and we produce to that size. Adds four to six working days total. Eliminates returns on apparel.
Packaging
The box matters. A branded outer with kraft tissue and a printed card beats a plain white mailer with a packing slip. We can produce the full kit packed and ready to ship to the employee's home address, the office, or multiple addresses in one order.
What to avoid
Plastic items. Stress balls, plastic pens, plastic keyrings. They end up in a drawer. They communicate the opposite of what a considered welcome kit is meant to say.
For the underlying apparel spec, see the sizing guide and the quality standards.