EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION
What To Include In Your New Employee Swag Kit
Welcome new team members with flair! Dive into our guide on crafting the ultimate employee swag kit that makes a lasting impression.
Updated: June 21, 2024
10 Min Read
What’s the best way to welcome a new employee? This is the question on every employer’s mind. The art of welcoming a new employee goes beyond customary introductions and paperwork. You want to make your employee feel valued and special from day one. But how?
A new employee swag kit is a modern and engaging way to introduce your new hire to the company. It’s a fun twist on the traditional welcome box, although they work well together.
In this article, we’ll explore the value of company swag and offer some awesome ideas of what to include in your new employee swag kit.
What Is A New Employee Swag Kit?
When a new employee joins your team, there are many steps to the onboarding process.
Getting onboarding right is crucial. Research into retention shows that a shocking 80% of new employees who received poor onboarding make plans to resign. On the other hand, companies with a structured onboarding process have a 58% chance of retaining employees for three years.
A new employee swag kit is a curated collection of items given to welcome a new team member to your company. It takes the traditional onboarding process to a new level, adding a personal touch and creating a sense of belonging.
Swag kits often include branded merch, useful tools, and items that reflect the company culture. It’s a great way to show appreciation for your new hire and create a positive first impression.
Why Is A New Employee Swag Kit Important?
The importance of a new employee swag kit can’t be overstated. It sets the tone for your new employee’s journey with your company, promotes your brand, and enhances employee loyalty. Let’s delve deeper into the benefits of giving your new employee a swag kit:
Sets A Good First Impression
By welcoming your new employee with gifts, including company swag, you make a strong first impression. An employee’s first day is kind of like them interviewing you. They will discover how your company treats its employees and how they will be supported.
Receiving a swag kit on their first day will make your employee feel valued and appreciated immediately. It sends the message that your company is excited to have them on board.
Including items that reflect your company culture will help your new employee learn the ropes of your organization faster. Things like a welcome letter and branded merchandise will help your new hire integrate into the team’s culture.
Retention And Engagement
A sense of belonging is crucial when it comes to engagement and retention. Employees with a high sense of belonging have a 50% lower turnover risk and perform 56% better than those who feel like they don’t belong.
Branded company swag is a very simple way to foster a sense of belonging to the team. It gives employees something in common with one another.
By investing in employee engagement and retention, you’re creating a better workplace, boosting productivity, and cutting costs. Replacing an employee can cost three to four times their salary, meaning that investing in engagement is crucial.
Branding And Recognition
Gifting company swag creates a great opportunity to increase brand recognition. If you give your employees high-quality swag, they are more likely to use the items regularly, providing free advertising for your company.
Having cohesive employee swag also helps boost your company culture by highlighting your values. For example, providing sustainable company swag shows that you care about the environment, creating a positive impression for both employees and consumers.
Information And Resources
Your new employee swag kit isn’t just about giving employees cool stuff. As part of the onboarding process, it needs to include useful tools, information, and resources.
Starting a new job can be overwhelming, and it is important to provide employees with resources to make adjusting easier. This could include a welcome letter, employee handbook, list of important contacts, employee ID, and office supplies.
10 Cool Things To Include In Your New Employee Swag Kit
Let’s look at some essentials that you could include in a new employee swag kit. We’ll cover some categories as well as provide our top picks in each category.
Our comprehensive list will make it a breeze to put together the perfect new employee swag kit.
#1
Welcome Letter
The first thing to get right when putting together a new employee swag kit is the welcome letter. This letter is their first interaction with the company as an actual employee.
Writing the best employee welcome letter is your opportunity to make a good first impression. You need to provide useful information to the employee and set the tone of your workplace.
It shouldn’t be a lengthy document, but rather provide them with the necessary resources. It must show enthusiasm to have the new employee join your team and help them understand the kind of workplace they are in.
Here are some things to include in your new employee welcome letter:
Introduction and greeting
Company culture and ethos
List of important contacts
Important onboarding information
Make sure the welcome letter reflects your normal internal communication. It may be more formal or more casual, depending on your culture.
#2
Company Handbook
An employee handbook is a vital part of any welcome kit for a new employee. This is a longer document that contains all the information that your employee needs to know about the company and their role in it.
Employees must be able to refer back to the handbook to get answers to any questions they have. This includes your code of conduct, employee expectations, and all of your policies.
But your employee handbook shouldn’t be all negative. It should also highlight the perks and benefits of working for your company.
A great way to introduce your company to a new employee is to mention rewards and recognition programs, like a PerkUp rewards card. This starts your working relationship off well by showing how much you value your employees.
#3
Branded Swag
Now that you’ve included the proper documentation, let’s look at the best kinds of swag to include. Company-branded clothing is always a great idea when it comes to new employee swag. Having branded swag helps to encourage a sense of belonging and a team mindset.
The options for clothing items are almost endless. Just about any piece of clothing can be branded and turned into company swag. Our guideline for choosing clothing is to make sure that the items are of high quality.
You want to create company swag that your employees actually want to wear. If the material is cheap, this makes a bad impression, and your employee will only wear the clothing when forced to.
A branded t-shirt, like this Gildan Unisex Classic Tee, is an excellent option. The high-quality fabric means that your employee will get a lot of wear out of it. For a more formal option, consider something like this Port Authority Premium Polo.
Then we have the most popular piece of company swag: the hat. Whether you’re going for a cozy beanie or a classic cap, branded headwear is an excellent choice. They’re practical and easy for employees to throw on.
It’s especially nice to have employees wearing company swag at team-building events, and a cap is a must-have for sun protection. If you have a younger team, you could show you’re on-trend by gifting bucket hats.
But branded clothing options don’t stop there. Consider slightly more unconventional options, like women’s slides or socks. PerkUp’s swag catalog provides many different options, from ankle socks to longer SOCCO Embroidered Socks.
#4
Branded Outerwear
While this is still clothing, there are so many great outerwear options that we wanted to make a separate list to help you choose. If you’re in a very warm climate, outerwear might not be a top choice, but everyone needs a jacket sometime.
There are many excellent jackets available, from hoodies and sweatshirts to insulated jackets. With PerkUp’s wide selection, you can even customize the swag you offer employees and provide them with a jacket that matches their lifestyle.
For example, if they love the outdoors, consider the North Face ThermoBall Trekker Jacket for something that is super versatile. More streetwise employees may prefer a denim jacket.
If you know that an employee has young children, a special personal touch could be to add in an item of children’s clothing.
#5
Office Supplies
A new employee swag kit is incomplete without some office supplies. Getting a branded notebook increases the excitement of starting a new job while also being a very practical gift.
There are many notebooks to choose from, whether you prefer the look of a Moleskine Hard Cover Notebook or a simple spiral notebook. For an extra special touch, you can get the new employee’s name embossed on the notebook.
Because PerkUp integrates with most major HRIS software, it’s simple to automate a process that adds the new employee's name to the cover of their notebook. This small gesture will go far, making your new employee feel valued as an individual rather than just a number.
And what good is a notebook if you don’t have a pen to write in it? We love the Paper Mate InkJoy and Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel for high-quality pens that work reliably. The sleek design also makes them great for use in all situations.
Including a soy wax candle can be a reminder to your employee that you care about their downtime. Whether they burn it in the office or at home, it’s a lovely treat.
#6
Branded Bag
When your new employee receives their exciting company swag kit, they’ll want somewhere to store all their goodies. That’s why we love including a bag in our kits. We firmly believe in the importance of providing company swag that is practical and useful.
A good starting point is a high-quality backpack that they can use for work or in their personal lives. Make sure you choose one with an ergonomic design, like the Targus 15.6" Intellect Advanced Backpack or the TIMBUK2 Division Laptop Backpack Deluxe.
You can opt for a classic black bag or choose from a selection of colors to find something that pairs well with your branding and color scheme. A backpack is an item that your employee is sure to get plenty of use out of.
Another great bag option is a tote bag. We have several to choose from, from the smaller Organic Cotton Commuter Tote to the giant RuMe Classic Large Tote that holds up to 50 pounds.
#7
Snacks
When you think of company swag, snacks may not be the first thing that pops to mind. They are an obvious choice for an employee welcome gift box, but branding them makes them stand out more.
It’s a fun novelty to see your favorite snacks in company-branded packaging. Snacks are also a good way to show care for your employees' well-being. Branded snacks can also be a great choice for your employee break room.
When it comes to choosing snacks, we favor convenient, healthy options like protein bars. These are small but provide great nutrition. Of course, you’ll have to throw in a chocolate or two as a little treat.
If you’re in the food or wellness industry, you can even gift your employees something relevant, like protein powder supplements. Make sure to check for allergies when gifting food to be safe.
#8
Drinkware
Providing your employees with branded drinkware is another example of a practical gift made special by branding. By having drinkware as company swag, you help foster a connection between your employees because they will all be drinking out of the same type of bottle or mug.
When it comes to drinkware, there are three distinct categories: water bottles, tumblers, and mugs. Then there are countless examples within each category. We’ll just give you a few of our favorites, but you can also check out our complete drinkware selection.
For water bottles, you can choose between a stainless steel bottle like the S'well 17oz Bottle or a glass bottle like this one from H2Go. Both have a classic look that your employees will love.
Providing your employee with a mug can help cut down their use of single-use cups, making mugs a great eco-friendly choice. You can choose from travel mugs like the Arctic Zone Titan Thermal HP Copper Mug or a regular ceramic mug.
Another great mug contender is the Ember Mug², a mug with temperature control features. You can set your desired temperature, and your coffee will stay hot for up to 1.5 hours. No more microwaving cold coffee!
Then you get the versatile tumbler that can easily be used for either hot or cold beverages, is great on the go, and fits well in a car cup holder. An excellent choice is the Arctic Zone Titan Thermal HP Copper Tumbler for its excellent thermal control and durable design.
#9
Electronics And Accessories
Electronics and accessories are great ideas for company swag. If you’re providing your employee with a laptop, consider branding it in some way, even if it’s just a simple sticker.
It’s also smart to gift your employee a laptop sleeve to keep it safe. This is true even if they’re using their personal laptop. If your new employee is going to be working on a desktop computer, a branded mouse pad is an excellent choice.
Headphones are another example of something that your employees will use constantly. If you opt for AirPods, you could include a nice rubber case to keep them safe.
And you should definitely consider gifting blue-light glasses to reduce eye strain. Offering your employees wellness gifts is important to show that you prioritize their well-being. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it’s a great morale boost, making your employees feel appreciated and cared for.
#10
Desk Plants
Desk plants are a great opportunity to show detailed personalization. You can sneak in a question about plants in an interview or during the onboarding process. Some people will be thrilled by a desk plant, whereas others might find it a stressful responsibility.
If you do decide to include a desk plant, it’s easy to put your company’s branding on the pot. We recommend opting for a small logo and understated colors so that the plant pot doesn’t clash with the rest of the desk.
It’s a good idea to opt for hardy plants like succulents rather than something complicated to care for (unless you know your new employee has a thing for plants). Having plants in the office can boost mental health and create a better atmosphere.
Final Thoughts
A swag kit is a powerful tool to ensure a successful and engaging onboarding for your new employee. When it comes to putting together your new employee swag kit, there are many options that will help your employee feel valued and part of the team. The key is to choose high-quality items that your employees will want to use.
PerkUp offers a wide selection of practical, high-quality, and personalized options that will suit every employee’s tastes and preferences. Browse our catalog and you’re guaranteed to find the perfect swag items for your entire team!
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