Simcha Blogs

Employee onboarding is often treated as a checklist activity in a large number of companies. Documents are signed, laptops are issued, and someone walks the new hire around the office or introduces them on a video call. But beneath this procedural surface lies a deeper opportunity, one that taps into the human need to feel seen, respected, and part of something meaningful from the very first day.

The Welcome pack as a psychological cue

The concept of the employee welcome pack has grown beyond branded merchandise. When designed with intent, it serves a purpose that quietly influences the psychological contract between the employer and the employee. Trends suggest that 69% of employees would be more likely to stay with the company for three years or more if they had a positive onboarding experience.

A welcome pack is basically an early signal. Before any manager outlines KPIs or goals, the kit conveys how much the organisation cares about the experience of its people. This matters because the brain is wired to scan for signals of safety and inclusion in new environments. A thoughtfully curated welcome kit, even one that contains something as small as a personalised letter or a locally sourced item, can trigger positive emotions that make employees feel settled and acknowledged.

Many new employees step into a new role with uncertainty clouding their enthusiasm. The excitement of joining a new company often coexists with hesitation, and organisations that overlook this emotional complexity do so at their own cost.

What do past trends around the globe indicate?

As early as 2009, an Aberdeen Group surveyed and came up with a fact that is still relevant today: 86% of staffing and HR executives believed that whether a new hire will remain long-term or not is decided within the first six months.

Going back further, and the statistics paint an increasingly stark picture. In a BambooHR survey, nearly one-third of the participants revealed that they left a job after six months of starting it.

Even more starkly, the figures break down this way: 16 to 17% of employees leave between the first week and third month. Or alternatively, one of every six newly hired employees is likely to quit during the very time when commitment and trust need to be taking root.

Emotional impact and long-term retention (India context)

In the Indian context, where job switching often comes with high familial expectations and social pressures, the act of receiving a meaningful employee welcome pack can highly impact early retention.

According to a 2023 report by the Society for Human Resource Management India (SHRM India), nearly 33% of Indian employees decide whether to stay at a new company within the first 30 days. Many of those decisions are emotional, shaped by how welcomed they feel, not just how the work aligns with their career path.

While the welcome pack is not the sole factor in these outcomes, it is often the first physical or symbolic touchpoint that sets the tone for what’s to come.

There’s a social layer as well:

Sharing pictures of employee welcome packs on social media has become common among younger professionals. While it may seem superficial, this act plays into the psychology of recognition and affirmation. When others see that a company has gone the extra mile to welcome someone, it influences perception, both internally and externally. The employee feels proud, and potential future hires begin to view the organisation as people-centric.

Personal relevance over price

Of course, none of this implies that a welcome pack should try to ‘buy’ loyalty. It’s not just cost or grandeur. In fact, an expensive employee welcome pack with no personal relevance often falls flat. What matters more is alignment, the ability of the pack to reflect the culture the company claims to uphold.

A sustainable company might include locally made stationery. A learning-focused firm might insert a curated reading list. These choices signal authenticity and build psychological alignment from the outset.

What’s often underestimated is the long-term memory associated with onboarding experiences. Employees remember their first day more vividly than most others. The contents of the welcome pack often serve as anchors for those memories. Years later, many people can still recall the smell of the coffee mug box, the weight of the diary in their hand, or the welcome note tucked inside. These aren’t just objects. They are cues that influence how someone remembers where they started, and whether they stayed.

In a time when hiring is expensive and attrition can quietly drain morale and budgets, it’s worth paying attention to what happens in those first few hours of joining. The employee welcome pack when approached as an act of intention rather than formality, can do more than welcome someone. It can help them decide to stay.