Pre-Onboarding Gifts for New Hires: What Professional Gifts Would You Recommend?

Hello HR folks, we want to share pre-onboarding gifts with our offered/expectant joining candidates. Please share ideas about what professional gifts can be shared and on which occasion.

Dear Kiruthikaraj,

The concept of pre-onboarding gifts

The concept of the disbursal of pre-onboarding gifts is a new one. You may give an organizer with the company's logo printed on it. By chance, if the candidate's birthday falls within two months, then you may send a cake to their home.

Risks of pre-onboarding gifts

By giving pre-onboarding gifts, you are wooing or cajoling the candidates, but giving anything more could be risky. What if the candidate does not join? Will your company ask to return the gift?

Concerns with changing gifts

There is one more catch in the introduction of pre-onboarding gifts. If you change the gifts in the future, what if the older employees start complaining that the newer ones are given a better gift than them? Secondly, well before joining the company, if the habit of giving gifts is formed, then the employees' expectations could rise, and they could expect costlier gifts during their incumbency as well. Then you will have to decide how many gifts to be given and when.

Potential for off-boarding gift demands

Last but not least, as a corollary, what if the employees demand off-boarding gifts as well?

There are many possibilities, gentlemen. Therefore, let there be due diligence before you open Pandora's box!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Rather than sending a pre-boarding gift, it would be a better idea to give a Welcome Kit on the first day of joining a new employee. It could consist of any of these items (with the company logo): organizer, table calendar, diary, mug, t-shirt, a motivational book, pen, basic stationery, bag, etc.

As a pre-boarding exercise, some soft copies of literature, brochures, etc., about the organization could be mailed to the candidate.