Starting a new job can be stressful. Even the coolest, calmest, and most collected person will break out in a little sweat. That’s where the leadership steps in. 

By establishing a creative and warm way of onboarding the new hire, you are showcasing the company culture. You are also giving your new employee the tools they need to perform their best, setting them and yourselves up for success. 

If you are about to welcome a new employee, here is why you should put some effort into the welcome process as well as 18 awesome ideas to welcome new employees to the team. 

The Importance Of A Good Welcome For New Employees

Welcoming new employees is absolutely vital in setting the tone for the rest of the working relationship between the new hire and the company. It shows that you value your employees and appreciate them right from the start.

A recent survey has shown that when a company and management are actively engaged in employees' work well-being, they are 87% less likely to leave. 

More importantly, the onboarding or welcoming process is key in setting the tone of a healthy management and employee work relationship. 69% of new hires are likely to stay on for an extended period of time if their onboarding process was a positive experience. 

Give Your New Employee Everything They Need To Get Started

As a part of your welcome, you want to make sure you give your new employee all the relevant information they need to get started in your company or the department or team they are moving to. 

Before the new employee even sets foot in the office, send them a document with a game-plan layout. There is nothing worse than showing up to the office and not knowing what to expect or what to do. 

The game plan document needs to clearly state the starting date of the new employee and the schedule of their first day on the new job. It needs to be as comprehensive as possible and equip them with the right tools to feel comfortable from the get-go. 

This is especially helpful if your new hire is introverted or someone who likes to be organized. It gives them time to mentally prepare for the first days and sets realistic expectations. 

In this document you can have the following: 

• Company dress code

• Plan for the first day

• Any upcoming social events

• Goals for the first 30, 60, and 90 days

• Links to accounts and software that will be set up

• What paperwork needs to be sorted out 

• Overviews of the projects they will be working on

• Important contact details (HR, Management, if you are working on a buddy system)

• Links to corporate information that could help the new hire settle in. 

18 Awesome Ways To Welcome New Employees

Now that we’ve covered why it’s important to welcome new employees properly, here are 18 fun ideas to make your employee's welcome extra special. 

1. Throw A Welcoming Party

Starting a new job, and getting a new employee in is exciting. So throw a little office party with the team your employee is joining. This can be a lunchtime party with some coffee and cake, an after-work drink, or a virtual party for remote employees. 

No matter the case, having a welcome party is a great way to get everyone feeling relaxed, creating a great opportunity for the new employee to start building connections with their colleagues. 

2. Make A Collage

Having to learn new names and new faces is half of the nervousness of starting a new job. Make it fun and exciting. Create a collage of everyone who works in the office with their names attached. 

For an extra bit of fun, create a game of bingo out of it, and every time the new employee meets the face on the collage, they get to tick it off. 

3. Write The Best Welcome Letter

Taking the time to write a welcome letter for your new employee sets a positive tone for their onboarding experience. This type of personalized touch can make all the difference. 

In your welcome letter, you can convey your excitement about them joining the team, highlight the company’s values, and wish them well in their new role. This can help inspire confidence and instill a sense of belonging in your new employee right from the get-go. 

4. Customize And Decorate Their Workspace

Before your new employee steps in, make their table or workspace a welcoming space. Why not map their way around the space with post-it notes or add some balloons to make their first day more festive? 

Make sure they have everything they need at their workstation, set up their software for them, and add your welcome letter to make them feel at home in the new office. 

5. Icebreakers

If you work in a big company, it can be tricky for new hires to feel comfortable and connect with people. Host an icebreaker lunch that will get the new employees mingling and interacting with the old employees. This will immediately dissipate any awkwardness of a first meeting. 

6. Give A Tour

There’s nothing worse than getting lost, especially at a new job. Pair your new employees up with some sociable old bodies at the office and give them a unique and personalized tour of the office with some tips and tricks to help them settle in.

7. Assign A Work Buddy

Starting a new job can be daunting, especially when you don’t know anyone. A great way to ease the stress is to assign your new employee a work buddy. Their work buddy can take them under their wing, show them the ropes, and answer any general questions they may have. 

Work buddies also help new employees build relationships within the office faster, ensuring they don’t feel isolated. 

8. Put Together A Welcome Kit

Assembling a thoughtfully curated welcome kit adds an extra layer of warmth and appreciation to the onboarding process. 

You can include company-branded swag, like a company mug or T-shirt, to foster a sense of identity. Also add any essential documents and a detailed onboarding guide to keep them informed and prepared. 

A personalized note from the team, along with some snacks and cool office supplies, adds a personal touch, making the new employee feel valued from day one.

9. Contest Time

If you are hiring a lot of new people in one go, make a contest out of it. Whether this is who takes the best first-day selfie, who remembers the most names, or anything office-related - it makes it a fun and interactive way of getting comfortable and learning the new environment. 

10. Treasure Hunt

A fun way of getting new employees used to the office space is through an interactive treasure hunt. Place treasures around the office in important workspaces so that they can easily remember how to get to them again. 

Moreover, make the clues filled with inside jokes, office lingo, or important terms for them to remember later on. 

11. Take A Team Picture

What better way to make your employee feel like part of the team than to have a team picture? This immediately helps to make the new employee feel that they belong and are already a part of the company. 

You can frame the picture and put it on display in the office or, if the team is remote, send out an email with a copy of the picture to everyone on the team so that everyone has it. 

12. Swag Bags

There is nothing better than getting some office merchandise to make one feel as though they are a part of the company. Creating branded swag bags with mugs, hoodies, mouse pads, and other items feels exciting and can be an exciting way of introducing the new employee to company culture. 

13. Color Code Them

A fun activity that will make your new employees stand out is color-coding them. Set a task for them to wear a specific color on the first day of work. This way, everyone at the office will know who the new person is, making it easier for introductions. 

14. Cookie Stand

A fun way of getting more traffic to pass by the new employee’s table is setting up a ‘rookie cookie’. Get your new hire to create some delicious snacks like cookies and set up a snack stand by their table that everyone can pass by. This makes introductions easier as who wouldn’t appreciate someone who brings cookies to work?

15. First-Week Survival Guide

This is for the more “prepare to be ready” employees than the “I can wing it” hires. Create a quirky and insightful manual on surviving the first week of the new office. Make sure to put in helpful information about the job, as well as little fact stats on current employees. 

16. Coffee Breaks

During the new employee's first month, encourage coffee breaks where they can connect with staff casually. To make this easier, create a designated coffee cafe nook in your office space that encourages these 10-15 minute breaks. 

17. Quiz Night

If you are an office that likes to hang together socially this one's for you. Why not throw your new employee in the deep end with a fun quiz night? You can arrange a quick multiple-choice quiz around the new hire and have other team members guess the answers.

It’s a great way to help others in the team get to know the new employee and see if they have anything in common with them.

18. End Of Month Graduation

When you are comfortable with the new employee’s understanding of the office, and feel they’ve settled in comfortably, hold a graduation ceremony. This graduation ceremony should mark the end of their ‘new’ status. They are now officially one of you!

Final Thoughts

The first day of a new job can be nerve-wracking and exciting. That’s why it’s important to do your best to make every new hire feel welcomed and comfortable in their new space. 

First impressions go a long way. By curating a first day that brings the new employee comfortably, you are already setting the tone for success. 

Moreover, the more you connect with your new employees and understand their expectations, the more you can align them within the business. After all, you are growing your team and it takes a crew to sail a ship. Don’t leave your new ‘crew-mate’ lost at sea, but hand them the ropes and tools to really show you what they are made of. 

To make welcoming your new employees and showing appreciation and recognition to existing employees easy, check out PerkUp. It’s a rewards and recognition platform that allows you to effortlessly put together and send out welcome kits as well as spot rewards, milestone gifts, and company-branded swag. 

With PerkUp, you can make sure all your employees feel valued and recognized for their hard work. Book a demo today to see how it can benefit your company.