6 Exciting Ways to Welcome New Team Members
6 Exciting Ways to Welcome New Team Members
6 Fun Ways to Greet New Employees
Woohoo! Not only is your company hiring, but you've already found some promising new employees to help your company succeed and grow. What's the best way to start their experience off right? A big, fun welcome from all their new coworkers, managers, and directors! The boring old days of a simple announcement to anyone in earshot are over. New hires, and especially younger employees, are looking for more connection to their jobs and colleagues.
Whether your company is fully heading back into the office, figuring out a hybrid work model, or remaining remote; all new team members love a warm welcome! As your team grows, consider combining the start dates to allow for larger welcome parties and more inter-departmental mixing without losing tons of valuable time.
Read through this quick list of 6 exciting ways to welcome new team members and get your company's creativity flowing! Skip the standard announcement email or second-thought welcome card, start your professional relationship off on the right foot with one of these fun and creative ways to welcome new hires.
6 Creative Ideas on Welcoming New Hires
1. Plan In-Person Introductions
Rather than leaving a new employee to fend for themselves in the introduction arena, schedule several one-on-one or small group meetings throughout the first week or two! A great way to allow coworkers to get to know each other on a professional and personal straight away, introduction meetings can be freeform and have no set length. Have a ton of people in your department? Group those in similar roles together in a welcome meeting to eliminate extra spent time.
Want to make your company's introduction meetings easier and even more fun? Write down several ice breaker questions or "Would you rather..." situations on notecards and place them in the meeting space. This can ignite conversation and save everyone from an awkward moment of silence!
2. Weekly Welcome Trivia Contests
Hit the middle of your company's hiring season? Make it fun for everyone with quick weekly welcome trivia contests! You can choose to set this up as an in-person event, an email-based exchange, strictly by department; really any way you like! Simply choose some general knowledge questions each week and incorporate them as you wish. Or make it a more interpersonal game by asking random tidbits from your coworkers and forming those into questions. The options are limitless, just like the fun!
Keep the connection growing all year long and crown a company trivia champion or winning team at the end of Q4! The cool little things that your business offers will help make new employees feel welcome and excited to be there.
3. The Snack-and-Chat Meetup
What's one thing that everyone loves and loves to talk about? Food!
Set up a bi-weekly snack sharing plan where current employees take turns creating or bringing their favorite snacks to share with the new hires. This plan works well for both parties as it gives seasoned employees a nice, relaxing break from their day and offers new employees a chance to ask the questions they're dying to know! Also, it can be quite intimidating to start a conversation with someone who has seemingly worked at the company for years so this creates a great starting point.
If there's anything that's sure to make new employees feel welcome and right at home; it's a great conversation over a snack.
4. Welcome Work-From-Home Kits
Are a lot of your new employees going to be working fully remote? That's no problem! Studies have shown that many businesses are choosing to remain in a work-from-home setup as move forward from 2020 and many employees are loving it!
Just because they're not physically in the office, doesn't mean that new virtual hires don't need a welcome wagon as well. Send your new employees a MerchBox from Merchology! We'll add your company's brand to products from the most popular brands such as YETI, Nike, Under Armour, Moleskine, and more to deliver company-forward items your employees will actually love!
Choose the incredibly popular New Hire MerchBox for an easy welcome gift for new employees that's sure to be a smash. Or curate your own welcome kit with the pieces that you think say the most about your company's culture and style. We'll add your business's logo and dropship them directly to your employees' doors. Simple as that!
5. Office-Wide Scavenger Hunt
Shake up the standard tour around the office with a fun "Welcome to the Company" scavenger hunt! Perfect for organizations hiring large groups of employees at the same time or for an end-of-the-hiring season welcome event, plan out a fun treasure hunt all around your office space. From finding the best hidden spots in business park to fun interactions with new coworkers to complete tasks, the friendly competition of an office-wide scavenger hunt can spark great new coworker friendships!
Create small teams including old employees, new hires, managers, and directors for a fun way to encourage conversation and interaction all in one! Whether looking for objects or racing to complete tasks, a full company scavenger hunt is a brilliant and creative way to welcome new employees.
6. Tech-Savvy Slack Exchange
Make sure your new employees who are fully remote and working from home still feel the company pride with a fun welcome event all online! With everyone feeling a bit tired of video meetings, with the pausing and awkward silences, change your department's tune with a fun Slack-based interaction!
Play a "Who gif-ed it best?" game similar to Apples to Apples! Pair up to play online games like Ping Pong, online bowling tournaments, and more. Simply look into the additional apps on your messaging system to see what games are offered. Then switch partners!
Some people, especially those who work in the tech industries or entering a new field altogether, may bond easier online than in person or over a phone call. By keeping fun interactions strictly online, many new employees will feel understood and welcomed rather than anxious.
Sprinkle some extra company pride into the online fun with logo branded headphones or bluetooth speakers creating a raging party right in the quiet of their home office!
Welcome New Employees with Merchology!
Do you feel that creativity and excitement about new hire flowing? Prepare now and get ahead of the game with logo branded merchandise from Merchology! From insulated water bottles and coffee mugs to embossed notepads and logo embroidered quarter-zip sweaters; we've got the most popular brands and products that everyone wants.
Check out Merchology's Gifts Page to find some new employee welcome gift recommendations to offer new hires. Or browse recommended welcome kit ideas featuring some of the most popular gifts for new employees here in the Top 10 New Hire Gifts Guide.
Contact Us
Excited to welcome new team members? Give us a call! Merchologists are ready and waiting to help you find the perfect welcome kit ideas for your company's new hires!