Employee onboarding is one of the most important first impressions a company makes. When done well, it helps new hires feel prepared, welcomed, and confident in their new role from day one.
One of the most effective ways to elevate that experience is through employee onboarding kits!
Carefully assembled packages that provide essential tools, identification, and branded materials for new team members.
In this guide, we’ll break down:
An employee onboarding kit is a collection of materials provided to new hires as they begin their role with a company.
These kits typically include both functional items (like ID badges or access credentials) and branded materials that introduce employees to the company’s culture (like SWAG, training resources, or business cards)
A well-designed onboarding kit helps new employees:
For companies that hire frequently or operate across multiple locations, onboarding kits also help create a consistent, professional employee experience.
Companies often focus heavily on recruiting talent but overlook the critical transition between hiring and productivity. Research consistently shows that a structured onboarding program, can significantly improve employee outcomes.
Providing employees with the tools they need immediately reduces delays and helps them get up to speed quickly.
New hires form opinions about their workplace within the first few days. A thoughtful onboarding kit reinforces professionalism, preparation, and a positive work culture.
Employees who feel supported early in their journey are more likely to stay long term.
Standardized onboarding kits ensure that every employee, regardless of location (in-office or remote), experiences the same brand presentation.
The exact contents of an onboarding kit depend on the industry and job requirements. However, most companies include a combination of operational tools and branded materials.
Below are some of the most common components:
ID badges and name tags are essential for many industries including healthcare, corporate offices, retail, and hospitality.
ID Cards help:
Receiving a professionally branded business card on day one helps make a new role feel official. It gives employees confidence when introducing themselves to customers, partners, and coworkers while reinforcing a polished, consistent company image.
A welcome letter introduces employees to the company’s mission, values, and leadership.
Many organizations include a brief onboarding guide covering:
Branded items reinforce company identity and help employees feel part of the team.
Common examples include:
While these items are not always required, they often help create a more memorable onboarding experience. Reach out to your Plastic Printers Experts to talk through your company needs and get custom products recommended specific to your team.
As organizations grow, managing onboarding kits can become more complicated than expected. Some of the most common challenges include:
HR teams often place individual orders for badges and materials whenever a new employee is hired. This can quickly become time-consuming and expensive.
Without centralized management, different departments or locations may order different products, leading to inconsistent branding.
Shipping onboarding kits to employees in different cities—or even different countries—can require significant coordination.
Companies that hire frequently may struggle to keep up with the operational workload required to produce onboarding kits.
To solve these challenges, many organizations are implementing automated onboarding workflows. These programs integrate employee data with production and fulfillment systems, allowing onboarding kits to be generated and shipped automatically.
A typical automated workflow looks like this:
Companies looking to create or improve their onboarding kits should consider the following best practices.
Identify the essential materials that every employee needs and make those items consistent across the organization.
This ensures every new hire receives the same high-quality experience.
Even if hiring volume is currently small, onboarding systems should be designed to scale as the company grows.
Automated workflows can help organizations handle higher hiring volumes without increasing administrative work.
Thoughtful packaging and consistent branding help create a professional and welcoming first impression.
Even small details, like coordinated badge accessories or branded materials, can significantly improve the onboarding experience.
Plastic Printers has partnered with businesses for over 30 years to help simplify their operations and support their success. We are a specialized provider who understands production, automation, and fulfillment workflows.
We help design systems that simplify and automate internal processes while ensuring high-quality output.
Companies that regularly produce employee badges, onboarding materials, or branded kits often benefit from centralized systems that automate ordering and fulfillment. By building the right infrastructure, organizations can eliminate manual processes while ensuring every new hire receives the tools they need to succeed.
Plastic Printers is the expert in designing scalable solutions for employee badges, onboarding kits, and internal ordering programs