Remember the phrase “First impressions last”?☝️

It holds significance especially when welcoming a new employee into an organization. Onboarding is not just about introducing a new team member; it’s an opportunity to immerse them in the company’s culture, making them feel valued and welcomed from the very beginning. Gifts matter—thoughtful onboarding gifts can leave a lasting positive impression on new hires, fostering appreciation and loyalty. And that’s where the Onboarding Kit steps in!

An onboarding kit is more than just thoughtful gestures; it’s a curated collection of items that reflect your company’s values and help new hires feel connected from day one.

Many companies include employee welcome gifts in their onboarding kits to show appreciation and make employees feel valued right from the start.

A well-designed onboarding kit ensures employees feel welcomed, appreciated, and ready to engage with their new team.

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What's a New Employee Welcome Pack

A new employee welcome kit is a thoughtfully curated package gifted to new hires on their first day or during their orientation phase to introduce them to the company culture. The onboarding kit has multiple purposes: it’s an expression of the company’s appreciation, a tool for enhancing employee engagement and loyalty, and a means to make new team members feel welcomed and valued. Including the company logo on items like apparel and accessories reinforces brand identity and ensures consistent branding from the start.

A great new employee onboarding kit not only equips new hires with the tools and information they need to start their job but also makes a lasting impression by aligning the kit with the company's mission and values. Picture this: branded tees that scream team spirit, notebooks and branded pens that reflect the brand's culture and whisper “we’re glad you’re here,” all wrapped up in a package that shouts “Welcome to the team!” 🎊

By doing so, you not only equip your team members for success but also foster a deep sense of connection and loyalty that begins on day one.

Common onboarding pack categories include:

• Office essentials

• Work-from-home items

• Welcome & culture items

• Practical tech accessories

A great new employee onboarding kit not only equips new hires with the tools and information they need to start their job but also makes a lasting impression. Picture this: branded tees that scream team spirit, notebooks and pens that whisper "we're glad you're here," all wrapped up in a package that shouts "Welcome to the team!" 🎊

By doing so, you not only equip your team members for success but also foster a deep sense of connection and loyalty that begins on day one.

Why Create An Onboarding Pack for New Employees?

Creating a new hire onboarding kit—also known as a new employee welcome kit or new hire welcome kit—is an essential aspect of the onboarding process, to welcome and integrate new employees into the company culture. Here’s why:

Most companies now provide onboarding kits as a standard practice to ensure new hires feel valued and prepared from day one.

These kits can be tailored with customized items and a personal touch, such as branded gifts or handwritten notes, to make new employees feel appreciated and reinforce a sense of belonging.

Warm Welcome❤️‍🔥

A thoughtful gift in the form of a new employee welcome kit serves as a warm gesture of hospitality, instantly making new employees feel valued and part of the team.

Motivation and Company Support 👥

The onboarding kit is a symbol of the company's support, boosting new hires' morale and motivation while helping create a positive employee experience throughout their early days at the company.

Cultural Integration 🤝

The onboarding kit, filled with personalized items that show what the company stands for, really brings the company culture to life. Including employee welcome gifts and a personalized gift—such as an engraved accessory or a gift basket tailored to the new hire—helps foster a sense of belonging and demonstrates the company's commitment to its people. It facilitates a smoother integration process, especially for remote employees, by helping them feel connected to the company regardless of distance. This is why many companies are now curating personalized gifts for remote employees to make them feel part of the team from day one.

5 Must-Have Items in Employee Onboarding Gifts

Creating your onboarding kit can differ depending on your budget, the person’s position, or your branding style. However, we believe that these 5 items can’t miss from a well-curated onboarding kit (sort of like your onboarding kit checklist):

• Apparel - A high-quality branded sweatshirt or t-shirt will make your new recruit feel right at home. The trick is to use good quality products that people actually wear.

• Desk Organisers - A branded desk organisers, or desk calendar with the company’s logo ensures that their desks look great from day one, encouraging productivity.

• Welcome Card - Make sure that a customised card featuring the company’s logo and a thoughtful note with the new hire’s name on it is present in the box.

• Notebook** and pen** - Including these two classic items can equip new hires with essential tools for capturing ideas and information of their first day of work.

• Snacks - Why not add a bag of snacks or chocolate to your employees’ welcome kit? Snack boxes are also a popular option, offering a variety of treats to enhance the onboarding experience and create a warming environment.

• Branded Drinkware - Include branded drinkware such as water bottles or tumblers. These practical and stylish items promote your company branding and help foster a positive company culture.

• Engraved Keychains - Personalized, engraved keychains are a memorable onboarding gift that reinforces your brand identity and shows appreciation to new hires.

• Sticky Notes - Sticky notes are essential office supplies that help new employees organize their work and stay productive from day one.

• Tech Accessories and Tech Gadgets - Practical tech accessories and tech gadgets, such as wireless chargers or headphones, help new hires start their work effectively and reinforce a modern company culture.

• Office Essentials and Office Supplies - Providing office essentials like notebooks, pens, and other office supplies ensures new employees are equipped from day one and fosters a sense of belonging.

• Wellness Products and Essential Oils - Wellness products, including essential oils, promote relaxation and well-being, contributing to a positive onboarding experience.

• Ergonomic Desk Accessories - Premium ergonomic desk accessories enhance productivity and employee well-being, making them a thoughtful addition to any onboarding kit.

Take Inspiration from the Best Onboarding Kit🥇

If you still have no clue on how to start, and you need more inspiration, here’s a list of new-hire welcome kit examples of different companies. Some boxes are more creative containing some unique items, while others are more traditional. The important thing is that the boxes capture the spirit of their company with the design and product choices! The best onboarding kits reinforce brand identity through the strategic placement of logos on items like tumblers, notebooks, and tech gadgets, and thoughtfully reflect the brand's culture by aligning with core values such as sustainability and well-being.

BCG Onboarding Kit 

The consulting firm BCG welcomes new team members with a set of clear and aesthetically pleasing branded merchandise. Each item, including the water bottle, cotton tote bag, insulated coffee cup, pen, and notebook, features the company logo to reinforce brand identity and ensure consistent brand recognition. With some mints and hand sanitizer gel, their talents are all set for their first client meeting. This kit is designed to ensure that new hires feel prepared and professional from their first day.

Canon Onboarding Kit

Canon’s welcome kit stands for its precision: starting from the box designed as a camera. The strategic placement of the company logo on the box and each branded item reinforces Canon's brand identity, ensuring consistent brand recognition from the very first day. Each branded company swag is placed perfectly in the box, including a polo shirt, pen drive, pencil, notebook, set of stickers, and other high-quality items. This meticulous attention to detail mirrors Canon’s reputation for excellence in imaging and optical products.

Brooks Onboarding Kit

Ready to be part of the Run Happy Team? Brooks offers a full running kit to encourage their new employees to focus on fitness and active lifestyles. The box contains various printed t-shirts, a hat, and different sporty items. This aligns with Brooks’ brand ethos of promoting health and happiness through running, and reflects the company's mission and values by fostering a sense of belonging and reinforcing their commitment to wellness.

Google Onboarding Kit

The playful and practical items in the “Noogler Welcome Kit” feature a design that reinforces Google's brand identity, mirroring Google’s innovative culture and encouraging creativity and collaboration among newcomers. This onboarding kit contains a pair of polka-dot socks, a t-shirt, a tea mug, and a plastic water bottle. These items are designed to make new hires feel part of the Google family while promoting a fun and engaging work environment.

Meta Onboarding Kit

With items showcasing the new branding and prominently featuring the company logo to reinforce Meta's brand identity, Meta’s kit serves not just as a welcome gesture but also as a symbol of the company’s evolution, inviting employees to be part of its new chapter. The welcome kit includes comfortable items perfect for work-from-home employees, designed to make them feel part of the team even when they are away from the office.

L'Oréal Onboarding Kit

L’Oréal opted for a self-care pack that reflects the brand’s culture and company's values, encouraging new employees to prioritise their well-being as they join the company. The kit includes wellness products as part of the self-care pack, supporting health and relaxation from day one. All items that the company chose for the onboarding process are eco-sustainable from the water bottle to the tote-bag. This reflects L’Oréal’s commitment to sustainability and employee well-being.

Shopee Onboarding Kit 

The signature orange hue and prominent company logo on Shopee’s welcome kit reinforce the brand’s identity, visually communicating the brand’s energetic and dynamic culture and making new hires feel immediately integrated into the company’s vibrant community. The box contains a t-shirt, tote bag, notebook, pen, and a leather ID tag holder, each featuring the company logo to strengthen brand recognition and consistency. These items are both practical and stylish, ensuring that new employees are well-equipped and proud to represent Shopee.

Aimbulance Onboarding Kit

This box is replaced by an alternative plastic bag, which contains a water bottle, notebook, and pens. However, the best part is the “Care Book,” a guide book with 100 tips for everyday work life, from how to set up meetings to where to find cookies. This thoughtful inclusion adds a personal touch to the onboarding kit, showing Aimbulance’s dedication to supporting its employees’ daily work-life needs.

Just Eat Onboarding Kit

The choice to use recycled materials for the welcome kit’s items reflects the company's values by demonstrating Just Eat’s dedication to sustainability, aligning new employees with the company’s environmental values from day one.

Best merch item: the “cutting edge” to cut pizza ❤️‍🔥 🍕

Uber Onboarding Kit

By providing a mix of branded wearables and practical items, Uber’s welcome kit remains minimalist, with the kit’s design and prominent company logo reinforcing Uber’s brand identity. This kit includes a hoodie, a hat, a pen drive, a notebook, a pen, and a backpack equipped with drawstrings. The minimalist design and functional items reflect Uber’s efficient and modern approach to business.

Wrike Onboarding Kit

Offering a well-rounded onboarding kit that includes employee welcome gifts, along with celebrating significant hiring milestones, Wrike emphasises its value on employee recognition and creating a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere for every new team member. New hires are welcomed with a complete kit that features a cotton tote bag, a t-shirt, a pair of socks, a mug, a planner, a pen, and a pencil.

DigitalOcean Onboarding Kit

DigitalOcean is one of the most popular hosting providers in the world. Their way of welcoming new hires doesn’t go unnoticed. They attach balloons to the desks of new employees, and they give them packs of t-shirts, huge funny plush slippers, and metal water bottles, along with office essentials and office supplies to help new hires feel prepared.

SEGA Onboarding Kit

Adding a touch of nostalgia to our list of employee welcome kit ideas, the Japanese video game company SEGA offers its new hires a set of bags, notebooks, a water bottle, a sticker, some comics and, the icing on the cake, a portrait of the iconic Sonic. This unique and playful kit reflects SEGA’s rich history and beloved gaming culture, while the strategic placement of SEGA logos on the merchandise helps reinforce the company's brand identity.

Element Three Onboarding Kit

Another good example of a new hire welcome kit comes from Element Three, an American marketing agency. Its mascot, an elephant, along with the company logo, is nicely represented in a colour coordinated set that contains stickers, a t-shirt, a pendant, a pen, notepads, and a water bottle, all reinforcing Element Three's brand identity. Here the main character is the mascot.

If your company has a mascot this box is the perfect inspo for you!

Ogilvy & Mather Onboarding Kit

This company is one of the most well-known marketing and PR agencies in the world. Their onboarding kit stands out to be very stylish and aesthetic. The new hire is welcomed with an exclusive copy of a secret red book, written by David Ogilvy, the founder of the company. This book isn’t available in stores, and you can only get it if you work at the agency. 

Ogilvy uses a very good method to increase loyalty, starting from an employee’s first steps in the company. 

Rocket Genius Onboarding Kit

The inclusion of a glass as a piece of branded drinkware, along with typical swag items, adds a personal and celebratory touch, welcoming new hires to the team in a manner that suggests they are valued and a reason for celebration. The rest of the items are a cap, a jumper, a t-shirt, a mug, and various stickers. This kit combines practicality with a festive spirit, making new hires feel special. Great welcome kit by Rocket Genius.

Boxer Property Onboarding Kit

Choosing branded drinkware—a stainless travel tumbler featuring the company logo—for their welcome kit, Boxer Property adds a unique and practical element that sets their onboarding experience apart, promoting utility and brand visibility in everyday use. Their welcome kit also contains a formal polo instead of a typical t-shirt, a notebook + pen and some funny customised cards.

Percolate Onboarding Kit

Marketing technology company Percolate takes the onboarding kit tradition to another level. Before their initial day, new employees receive a welcome box that includes notebooks, pens, a mouse pad, and a stainless water bottle. In addition to the other items, Percolate decided to include homemade granola for its new employees! This combination of practical items and personal touches helps new hires feel valued and well-prepared.

Boxed  Onboarding Kit

The company delivers wholesale goods and products in boxes. So of course their new employee welcome kit is packaged in their signature box, which is a smaller version than the one that Boxed clients are familiar with. The box contains various colourful items for the office desk, including office essentials such as sticky notes.

Deloitte Onboarding Kit

Deloitte wants to distinguish itself as a company that takes care of its employees with its welcome pack, which includes wellness products and ergonomic desk accessories. It contains an anti-stress ball, as well as an elastic band to relax during difficult moments, branded drinkware in the form of a water bottle, a pen, and a notebook. This thoughtful welcome kit shows Deloitte’s commitment to employee well-being and productivity.

Apollo Onboarding Kit

Apollo, on the other hand, ensures its new hire has enough time to relax. The box contains a fluffy and warm wearable blanket perfect for a cosy reading session! This unique item reflects Apollo's focus on comfort and employee satisfaction, ensuring new hires feel welcomed and cared for.

Branch Onboarding Kit

Branch is a mobile marketing service that was founded in 2014. They decided to welcome their new hires with all the merchandise displayed on their desks: the clothes are folded, and the poems, notebooks, water bottles, and books are geometrically displayed. This visually appealing setup makes new hires feel appreciated and excited to join the team, while the branded items featuring the company logo help reinforce Branch's brand identity.

Similarweb Onboarding Kit

Similarweb took the same decision as the company mentioned above, deciding to display all the merch on the desk. The new hire is welcomed with a classic onboarding kit: branded t-shirt, socks, pen, chocolate, and a backpack. This simple yet effective approach ensures new hires feel ready and motivated for their new role.

Slack Onboarding Kit

Slack’s onboarding kit mirrors its playful and collaborative culture with a vibrant laptop sleeve, branded drinkware in the form of an insulated drink bottle, a customized “My Paper HQ” notebook, and a candle labeled “A job well done.” The welcome cards, which include a welcome note, and the candle add a personal touch, while QR codes for resources complete the set, helping new hires feel supported and inspired from day one.

Nike Onboarding Kit

The athletic spirit of Nike shows through in its onboarding kit, welcoming new hires with a sleek messenger bag, a drawstring pouch, a branded mug, and a Jordan notepad. Collector pins, vibrant stickers, a shoehorn, and engraved keychains featuring the company logo complete the set. This kit reinforces Nike’s brand identity, reflecting its culture of performance and bold innovation.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Onboarding Kits

Creating a memorable onboarding kit is just the first step—knowing how well it works is what truly sets top companies apart. Measuring the effectiveness of your onboarding kits is essential for understanding their real impact on new employees and your overall company culture. After all, a thoughtful onboarding kit should do more than just look good; it should help new hires feel welcomed, boost employee satisfaction, and foster a positive employee experience from day one.

To see if your onboarding kit is hitting the mark, start by tracking key metrics that reflect employee engagement and satisfaction. For example, monitor retention rates among new hires—are employees who receive a welcome kit more likely to stay and thrive within your company? Collect feedback directly from new employees through surveys or informal check-ins, asking how the onboarding kit influenced their first impressions and sense of belonging.

You can also measure the impact on company culture by observing how quickly new team members integrate and participate in company activities. Are they more engaged, enthusiastic, and aligned with your company’s mission and values after receiving their onboarding kit? Gathering this data not only helps you refine your kits but also demonstrates your commitment to making every new employee welcome and valued.

By regularly reviewing these insights, you can ensure your onboarding kits continue to provide a positive onboarding experience, strengthen employee engagement, and leave a lasting impression on every new hire. In the end, measuring effectiveness is the key to making sure your onboarding process—and your company—keeps getting better.

Our Welcome Kit - Merch Pack Options

After seeing what other companies do to welcome their new employees, it’s time to unveil our very Welcome Kit options. One of the most popular welcome kits is the Classic Pack Merch Pack. It includes an organic cotton sweater and t-shirt, a classic pen paired with a branded notebook, customized items, a ceramic mug and a stainless steel water bottle (both branded drinkware), a generous assortment of stickers, and can also be tailored as a personalized gift.

We offer various preset options on our website, from the Lightweight Starter Onboarding Pack —designed to optimise shipping weight, size, and costs— to the more complete Premium Pack which includes extra items like caps, umbrellas, branded pens, and tech accessories. Next to our preset packs, we can create any pack from scratch, featuring unique custom merch. You also have the option to include wellness products and snack boxes in any kit to further enhance the onboarding experience. Get in touch now to via our sales form, scheduling a call to get started on your company’s welcome kit, or simply browse our catalogue to receive a price quote and free designs in 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is an employee onboarding kit?

An onboarding kit is a curated package given to new hires that includes branded merchandise, essential tools, and welcome materials to help them feel valued and integrated into the company culture from day one.

Why are onboarding kits important?

Onboarding kits create a memorable onboarding experience, make a positive first impression, boost morale, reinforce company culture, and provide practical tools to set new employees up for success.

What are the must-have items in an onboarding kit?

Typical essentials include branded apparel (t-shirts or hoodies), notebooks and pens, welcome cards, desk organisers, drinkware, and sometimes snacks or stress-relief items.

How do onboarding kits reflect company culture?

Items in the kit often represent the values, style, and mission of the company, helping new hires connect emotionally and visually with the organisation.

Can onboarding kits be customized?

Yes, kits can be tailored based on the new employee’s role, department, interests, or location to make the experience more personal and engaging.

Are onboarding kits different for remote employees?

Kits for remote hires often include practical items suited for home use along with digital resources to bridge the physical distance and strengthen company connection.

How can companies use onboarding kits to strengthen their employer brand?

Customisable onboarding kits allow companies to showcase their unique identity through branded merchandise, thoughtful packaging, and tailored items. This not only creates a memorable first impression but also reinforces the company’s values and culture, turning new hires into enthusiastic brand ambassadors.

What practical benefits do onboarding kits provide?

They offer essential work tools, reduce first-day anxiety, encourage belonging, and improve early engagement and productivity.

How can onboarding kits support employee well-being?

By including wellness items such as reusable water bottles, snacks, stress balls, or promoting eco-friendly products, companies show care for employees’ health and sustainability values.

When should onboarding kits be given to new employees?

Ideally, personalized new hire gifts and onboarding kits are delivered before or on the new hire's first day to create excitement and a warm welcome into the company.