Remote and hybrid hiring has changed what a new starter's first day actually looks like. There's often no office to walk into, no desk with a welcome pack already sitting on it and no colleagues popping over to say hello. For a lot of new joiners, day one is a laptop delivery, a login, and a calendar full of introduction calls.
Why the first physical touchpoint matters more than ever
When someone joins in person, there are dozens of small moments that build a sense of belonging before lunchtime, someone showing them where the kettle is, a desk already set up, a team lunch on day one. Remote hires miss almost all of that. The first physical thing they receive from your company often ends up being their laptop, sometimes their only physical touchpoint for the whole first week.
That's exactly why a welcome gift carries more weight for a remote or hybrid starter than it might for someone walking into an office. It's not a nice extra, it's often doing the job that a whole first day in the office used to do, making someone feel like they've actually joined somewhere, rather than just logged in somewhere.
Why a hamper works better than standard branded merch
Branded merch has its place, a company hoodie or a decent notebook can genuinely be useful, and there's nothing wrong with including a bit of it. But merch on its own tends to feel more like onboarding admin than a welcome. A hamper does something different. It's not something a new starter needs to use to get value from it, it's something they get to enjoy, and that changes how it lands.
There's also the local angle. A hamper built from Bristol and South West producers gives a new starter something to actually talk about, in a way a branded pen rarely does. It says something about the kind of company they've joined, one that's put a bit of thought and character into the moment, rather than just ticking off a standard new-starter checklist.
The two aren't mutually exclusive either, plenty of companies send a hamper alongside their usual branded kit, the hamper is the bit that makes the first day feel considered, the merch is the practical bit that comes with any new job.
What to include in a remote new starter hamper
A good welcome hamper doesn't need to be complicated, but it does benefit from a bit of thought behind the contents. A few things worth building in:
Something to eat or drink
Local chocolate, biscuits, or a good coffee or tea gives the hamper an immediate, tangible feel, this is the part people actually open and enjoy on the day.
A handwritten or personalised note
Even a short one, welcoming them by name and signed by their manager or the wider team, does more for that first impression than most people expect.
A small practical item
A branded notebook or mug can sit alongside the food and drink without it feeling like the whole point of the gift.
Something that says something about the company
Locally sourced items work well here, they give the hamper a story, rather than being interchangeable with any other gift box a company might send.
The aim isn't to overload the box, it's to make sure everything in it earns its place, rather than padding it out with filler.
How to personalise it without overcomplicating things
Personalising every hamper down to individual taste isn't realistic once you're hiring regularly, and it's not really necessary either. A few simple touches go a long way:
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Include the new starter's name on the note or the box itself, rather than a generic "welcome to the team" with no name attached.
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Time the delivery properly. A hamper that arrives the day before their start date, or first thing on day one, has far more impact than one that turns up a week late.
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Have the note come from someone specific, their manager, or whoever's been managing their onboarding, rather than an unsigned company message.
If you're hiring at volume, build this into a repeatable process rather than treating each hamper as a one-off. Consistency matters more than customisation here, every new starter getting the same considered welcome is worth more than an inconsistent effort where some get more than others.
Making it part of how you onboard
The best version of this isn't a nice thing you remember to do occasionally, it's a standard part of how new starters join your company. Once it's built into your onboarding checklist, alongside the laptop and the login details, it stops being extra effort and just becomes part of how you do things.
For remote and hybrid teams especially, this small addition does a lot of quiet work, it's often the first sign a new starter gets that they've joined somewhere that pays attention to detail, before they've even met anyone properly.
Ready to build this into your onboarding?
If you're welcoming new starters regularly, or want to make the next one's first day feel like more than a laptop delivery, take a look at our new starter gift boxes to see how we build these hampers. Or take a look at our full business gifting service to see everything we offer for teams across Bristol and beyond.
