Office and Desktop

Nov

2023

Employee Welcome Kits: 5 Proven Ideas

We’ve all been there — those first-day jitters when starting a new job. There’s a ton of new information and training that you must learn while introducing yourself to your new team (and your new boss). It can be pretty overwhelming!

Companies can help new employees feel more comfortable and establish rapport with a custom welcome kit full of branded goodies. When you present the team members with a special box of company-branded merchandise to say, “Welcome to the team! We’re glad you’re here.”

But how do welcome kits for new hires help companies like yours with the onboarding process? These kits contain items that can increase employee engagement, outline employee expectations, give insight into the company culture, and help new employees get started right away.

At Pinnacle Promotions, we can help you build a personalized new employee welcome kit with any budget. From high-end promotional items to the simplest of gifts, a kit of curated products can make a lasting impression on your new hires.

The Purpose of an Employee Welcome Kit

Employee welcome kits have a few key advantages:

Employee engagement
Insight into the company’s culture
Promotional products that support the job

When members of an organization are happier at their jobs, employee engagement is at a high. Giving promotional gifts is a kind gesture that increases overall employee morale to help drive contributions to the goals and successes of the company. A welcome kit shows new hires that the company is committed to its employees, which can provide insight into the company culture and organizational advocacy among employees.

Items such as pens, notebooks, and desk calendars can help new employees get started on their new job duties. Consider adding new-hire resources and documentation into your onboarding welcome kit, such as a welcome letter from the team, a supervisor, or president, as well as an FAQ flier regarding important office information your new hires need to know.

5 Proven Ideas to Create a New Employee Welcome Kit:

Are you ready to start building your new hire welcome kits but are unsure what products to add? Not to worry, we have your back!

There’s a variety of products to choose from to help make your kit a hit with the new hires. Below are our five proven product ideas to include in your new employee welcome kit that will make them feel like part of the team:

Idea #1: Unique Gifts

Onboarding new hires with unique promotional items and gifts shows that your organization thinks outside the box. Quirky, fun items will make your new employees smile and create a sense of loyalty.

What qualifies as a unique gift?

We like to think of unique gifts as outside of the box, fun and trendy. Unique gifts are typically things like the Modern Sprout® Glow & Grow Live Well Gift Set or branded mini desk vacuums (yes, this is a thing, and it surely is unique!).

Idea #2: Office Essentials

Office essentials not only help new employees set up their space but can also help them quickly dive into their job responsibilities. Supplying new hires with a planner, branded pens, and sticky notes can help them feel organized, with effective note-taking during their onboarding training classes.

Here are five office essentials employees love and appreciate:

If you’re searching for that perfect office essential gift to include in your welcome kit, any of these five items (or all) are great options. Notebooks prove useful for those who love taking notes and like keeping organized. Planners are excellent for those who love to plan their week and need to write down due dates. Folders help keep all those new hire documents together. Desk organizers? Need we say more? Notepads, just like notebooks, are perfect for jotting a quick reminder or writing down a fresh, innovative idea.

Idea #3: Apparel

Employees love receiving branded apparel to wear around the office and at company events, but they tend to wear their favorites outside the office. Custom apparel comes in many forms, including polo shirts, button-down shirts, outerwear, and even uniforms. Giving apparel can help your new hires feel like part of the team from day one!

PS: Employees LOVE branded jackets!

We’ve heard from our clients that their employees absolutely love branded jackets. It’s a warm gift that truly goes a long way. The more stylish and on-trend your jacket, the more likely your employees will wear them out and about in their daily lives.

Shop our custom jackets today, and include it in your welcome kit!

Idea #4: Industry-Focused Gifts

Create a greater connection with your new employees by gifting branded items specific to your industry. Think of industry-focused items that they can use throughout the day. Something that will help them do their job well is a must!

Educators and healthcare workers might appreciate a lanyard to hold their ID badge, whereas baseball caps and all-weather jackets benefit those who work in the elements. This gesture allows your employees to work more efficiently once they’ve settled in. Be sure to view our collection of best work jackets to get an idea of what our customers love.

Idea #5: Wellness Gifts

Gifts that promote health and wellness show that your organization cares about the well-being of its employees. Heavy workloads can create stress, and an outlet where you can reduce stress can do a world of good for employee welfare. Items like a stress ball, fitness tote bag, and a water bottle can encourage a healthy lifestyle and work-life balance.

Mental health is important. Show your care through purpose-built wellness gifts!

We all know that work can be stressful or tedious at times. These thoughtful wellness gifts help you promote a healthy work environment and encourage a positive work/life balance. Shop today and find the perfect wellness gift for your employee kit.

How to Create a New Employee Welcome Kit for Your Company

Sure, you can do it yourself. You can find the products, have them shipped (usually separately), and then assemble your kits by hand. Or you can let us do it for you!

Here at Pinnacle Promotions, let us take the hard part off your hands so you can do what you do best — hire and welcome top talent. Our promotional professionals will help you find the perfect products that fit your brand and budget. We’ll work our magic and curate an unique onboarding kit just for you.

You’ll love the efficiency and product consistency across your organization. To learn more about our creative ideas and promotional marketing concepts, check out the Pinnacle Promotions blog or contact us today at 877.300.2007.

Get started today and reach out!

Sep

2014

3 Keys to Social Selling with Promotional Products

Our recent Pinnacle Promotions Atlanta Idea Expo ’14 was a huge success! We invited area customers and prospects to join us for the day to take advantage of promotional samples and a chance to meet with vendors. We hosted several educational seminars. And, we invited our guests to sit down with us for lunch provided by local fav Cue. One of the educational seminars focused on the idea that you can use social media to connect, sell and reward your customers using promotional products.

Pinnacle Promotions

3 Keys to Social Selling with Promotional Products – A new blog post from @PinnaclePromos

Click To Tweet

Feb

2014

The Fuller Brush Man’s Necessities

The Fuller Brush salesman is a legend in the outside sales community. The Fuller Brush man was the original traveling salesman. He went door-to-door, cold calling from city to city, state to state across the country. Movies have been made about him, from The Fuller Brush Man to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. He is a part of pop culture, and the ideal that salespeople strive to be.

While the Fuller Brush man-model has changed over the years, the role of the “traveling” or outside salesperson still exists. Whether a local person or across states or countries, the role of the salesperson has changed over the decades but there are some business essentials that every outside salesperson needs.

See if you agree with our list:

Business Cards: A must for any salesperson, inside or out. You can order online, or even print your own these days. Business cards are also moving out of the traditional-size mold and branching out into more creative shapes and designs.

Business Card Holders: Don’t keep your cards in your wallet. Instead, pull your business card from a classy holder.

Luggage Tag: Easily spot your luggage on the baggage carousel. Luggage tags make life easier for the seasoned traveler!

Messenger Bag: Many of our messenger bags have a handy laptop compartment.

Seat beads: A must-have for the salesperson who spends most of their life in the car!

Good Shoes: Enough said.

Sleep Mask: This Napoleon Dynamite sleep mask will keep other flyers from bothering you because they know you mean business.

A Good Book: Goodreads will help you find your next good book, and tell you what your friends are reading, too!

Hand Sanitizer: Stay germ free and safe while you travel.

Fun Giveaways: What a better way to make the right impression than to give your clients and potential customers something to remember you by. And if you can make them smile in the process, even better! Our clients loved their poppers! VIDEO

Stress-headache Medication: And lastly, do not leave home without relief for those long travel days, weather delays, or cancellations!

To be successful, you must always be prepared. So, make sure you don’t leave the office without these sales necessities!

Jan

2014

Promotional Product Hacks to Save Your Trade Show

We know how difficult it is to plan, prepare, and execute a trade show and that you’re looking for tips and tricks to make it easier. Storage is in short supply at trade shows. So, how can you make the most of it? We suggest doubling up the uses of your promotional items so that you don’t have to remember quite so many things. Some people call these hacks. We call them “imaginative repurposing.”

1. Silicone wristbands make handy rubber bands when you’re overwhelmed with loose pens or pencils and short on bundling methods.

Not only are these handy customized wristbands going to be utilized over and over by tradeshow attendees (because you just gave them a new idea) but will also allow you to be organized at the same time.

2. Reduce the number of office supplies that you need to take by leveraging your promotional items for your booth staff.

These will be handy for your staff to jot down notes to hand to attendees. Branding and personal contact reminder all rolled up in one.

3. Got a tablet or iPad to display but can’t get a new case or stand?

Order the Windsor Reflections Promotional Jotter and use it to double as a display stand.

4. Cups are a great tradeshow promotional item because they are likely to be used again; they have a long “shelf life.” However, cups use up a lot of space, but really most of it is just air.

So, how do you take advantage of this? If you will be shipping your giveaway cups, use the cups for storage or stuff them full with other essentials that need to go to your trade show. This will reduce the number of boxes that you would need to ship and reduces clutter at the actual booth. In addition, many booths will use music to create the ambiance within the booth. Think you need to take along extra speakers to be heard? Think again. If playing music from your phone, place your phone’s speaker inside one of those snazzy promotional cups to amplify the sound.

5. Traveling with fragile tradeshow items and need cushioning to pack your valuables in? Have you ever thought of using a 1/4’ mouse pad, imprinted with your logo to cushion your precious delivery?

Mouse pads come in all shapes, sizes, and thicknesses and can be used not only to ensure your mouse works correctly, but can be used to take up extra space in the box and absorb any shock that your shipping boxes may incur.

So, when you get ready to pack up your trade show tables, displays, and promotional items, recall these tips to save space, time, energy, and keep you organized. Well, at least make you look smart by knowing the hacks.

Got any good hacks of your own? Let us know!

Apr

2013

Megan’s Product Pick of the Week: Scented Pens!

I see hundreds of pens a year. Some of them great, some not so great. I have become a little numb to the writing instrument category of promotional products. As a pen aficionado- I have my favorites and my go-to models when suggesting writing tools for various projects.

When the USA Snifty Pen came across my desk, I was brought back to my childhood! My favorite markers were scented, I used them all the time! Do you remeber those? My favorite was the mint scented ones. The Snifty pen has ten different scents to choose from! Each scent is actually infused into the rubber grip of the pen! Each of the pens scent color coordinates with the color accent grip and designer border wrap artwork. So fancy! And each pen is made in the USA! I am digging the Strawberry and Vanilla Cupcake models. Which one will be your favorite?

Check out the snifty pen and other out of the ordinary writing solutions here.

-Megan
Merchandising Manager

Apr

2010

Gmail Nested Labels: Modern Era Desk Organizers?

Given the technologically savvy world in which we live, it’s no surprise that Google is continuing to revolutionize E-mail and thus the way in which Internet users communicate. Google first transformed Web mail with a thread system that combines conversations into one tab for easy viewing and organizational purposes. Now, Gmail is announcing Nested Labels, which allow users to create hierarchies within their inbox folders (folders are referred to as “Labels” in Google speak). This new feature is ideal for Internet users who like to keep everything in its proper place; nested labels are like desk organizers for your inbox.

Continue reading about Nested Labels

Mar

2010

National Craft Month Ideas and Promotional Items

Did you know March is National Craft Month? Now before you scoff at the mention of arts and crafts, a term you may think you have long out-grown, reflect for a moment on the enjoyment you derived from art projects during your childhood. I’m not talking about the required assignments from art class that left you (well, maybe that was just me, because of my lack of artistic talent!) disappointed because of a poor grade. I’m talking about the popsicle stick log cabins and handprint turkeys that you worked on at home with friends and family. It would be impossible for me to ever relive the carefree hours I spent sitting at my kitchen table with watercolors and construction paper, but just writing this blog post is enough to make me add “coloring” to my list of things to do this weekend.

I think encouraging your business to participate in National Craft Month is a great way to help staff relieve stress and unleash their creativity. You could even combine arts and crafts with a favorite philanthropy, such as volunteering at the children’s ward of a local hospital. Whether you decide to drop off handmade cards or artwork to the kids or spend time creating masterpieces with them, the thoughtful sentiment and bright, happy colors of the pieces are sure to bring smiles. And although the driving force behind your volunteer work shouldn’t be the positive publicity, you could always leave the beneficiary’s of your kindness with art-related promotional products like promotional markers so that whenever they spend time coloring and drawing, the imprinted messages will remind them of their special relationship with your organization and the fun times they have shared with representatives of your brand.

In college, one of the clubs I was a part of used to make tissue paper flowers that we hand-delivered to a local children’s hospital:

Materials:

Colored tissue paper

Green pipecleaners (to use as stems)

Scissors

Ruler

Directions:

-Cut tissue paper into rectangles of desired size (the photo above features 5″x7″ rectangles).

-Stack around 15 pieces of tissue paper. Use the same color or different colors. The greater the number of pieces you use, the fuller your resulting flower.

-Accordion pleat the tissue paper working from the long side.

-Wind one end of the pipecleaner around the center of the accordion pleated tissue paper.

-Trim the ends of each side to shape the petals. Try some rounded petals and some pointed; bouquets comprised of both types look beautiful!

-Gently separate each layer pulling upwards toward the middle of the flower. Repeat on the second side.

And voila- in just a few minutes, you have lovely decorations to display or share!

Jan

2010

Mood-Sensing Promotional Products: What Will They Think of Next?

Reading Acree’s blog yesterday did make me a bit nostalgic about college life. My sadness did not last long, however, as a late afternoon brainstorming session with my coworkers left me giddy with excitement about all of the creative ideas that we hope to bring to fruition. Today, as I write this blog, I am slightly overwhelmed by the blank document on my computer screen, but I am hopeful that after jotting down my thoughts and organizing them in a logical progression, anyone who stumbles upon this post will be left feeling satisfied and intrigued.

The sheer number of emotions that we experience on an hourly, and even minute-by-minute, basis is mind-boggling. One of the downright coolest websites I have seen in a long time (other than Pinnacle Promotions, of course!) is Trendhunter.com, recommended to me by Pinnacle’s Relationship Manager, Natasha. Trend Hunter garners over 9 million monthly views and claims to be “the world’s largest, most popular trend community”. With over 61,000 posted trends, this site is an incredible resource for anyone interested in innovative gadgets, concepts, and campaigns.

But enough about Trend Hunter and onto the real inspiration behind today’s ramblings. My first paragraph with distinctive feelings bolded and underlined relates to a Trend Hunter slideshow called “34 Emotion-Based Innovations.” While I am not sure whether inventions like the TouchMan cellphone, which allows for visual sharing of emotions during phone conversations, will be met with widespread acceptance, there are some products on the list that may take the world by storm.

The LadyBag, designed by Canadian researchers, uses RFID technology to detect the contents of the purse- if it detects an absence of a certain item, a visual icon representing the missing item appears on the external LED display. When every RFID-tagged item specified by the user is detected, a smiley face graphic shows up on the outside display. The LadyBag also determines the user’s emotional state via physical sensors, and visually depicts the emotions on the outside display as well. I’m not sure how I feel about literally wearing my emotions, but the RFID detection technology would be useful, to say the least!

The mood pen, created by electronics powerhouse Philips, features sensors in its shaft to monitor the user’s heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature and pressure. The inks and shape of the writing tip adapt to the emotions detected, so written words will appear different depending on whether the writer is happy or sad. The emotion-sensing technology could be turned off if the user decides not to put his or her feelings on display. My question is, if users are going to turn off that special feature, why wouldn’t they just opt for regular promotional pens?

The general public may not be ready for some of these innovations just yet, but it is fascinating to think about how emotion-detecting technology will affect communication channels and marketing. Someday in the future, will marketers be able to capture and analyze consumers’ emotional reactions to billboards, television commercials, and point of purchase displays? The examples in the slideshow seem to point to “yes,” but it will be exciting to observe the developments as they infiltrate mainstream outlets.
Dana
Team Lead – Social Media

Nov

2009

Pinnacle Promotion’s Paperless Plan

Here at Pinnacle, we’re going paperless! Like many offices throughout the world, paperwork is often printed, filed away and forgotten about for weeks at a time. To avoid this situation and do our part to save trees, Pinnacle is enacting eco-friendly initiatives, such as sending confirmations via e-mail.

Whether you work in the promotional products industry or any other industry, you can make your office environment and marketing campaigns more environmentally friendly by following a few simple tips. Send e-mail blasts, rather than direct mail that often winds up in the trash, to reduce your paper dependence. Or, distribute “green” promotional products as your corporate gift or tradeshow giveaway.

Pinnacle offers an entire line of promotional EarthSmart™ products made from natural, organic or recycled material that have a positive impact on the environment. Since Pinnacle donates 1% of all sales from this line to 1% for the Planet, a network of more than 1,700 not-for-profit environmental organizations worldwide, you will be making a difference with every purchase. So if you’re looking for promotional giveaways that employees, clients, and the environment will appreciate, be sure to customize one of EarthSmart™ products with your company name and logo.

We love EarthSmart™ products so much, the marketing department even dressed up as them for Halloween (see picture above).

Sarah
Creative Writing Intern

Oct

2009

Marketing, Muggles and How to Cast a Promotional Spell

Happy International Magic Month! In this day and age, what better manifestation of the word “magic” exists than the fictional book character Harry Potter and his bewitching peers?

In 2003, due to the immense popularity of author J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the word “muggle” first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary with the definition “a person without magical powers.” In the Harry Potter books, wizards consider themselves to be superior to muggles, but the fact of the matter is that potions and wizardry are not always the best solution to tough problems.

At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry and his friends often fall prey to clever marketing gimmicks targeted at young, green wizards. If only they had been informed about the mesmerizing power encompassed by promotional products when properly utilized! Keep reading to find out which alternatives make the grade…

Invisibility Cloak: For Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the gang, the Invisibility Cloak is a handy tool to catch their enemies off guard. But is this sneaky tool really the best way to communicate their strength of character and determination?

Grade: B+

VS.

Logo Apparel: To truly make a statement and belittle their enemies, Harry and his friends could opt for customized shirts or jackets to present a unified front when battling against the forces of evil. They could even market themselves as an organized team devoted to protecting the integrity of the wizarding community!

Grade: A

Nimbus 2000 Broomstick: Harry’s natural affinity for the sport of Quidditch means that his choice of broomstick is absolutely crucial. This state-of-the-art broomstick helps him soar above the opposing team and find the Golden Snitch time and time again to win the match for his school. The speed and accuracy achieved by the Nimbus 2000 are impossible to beat… Or are they???

Grade: A-

VS.

Pinnacle Promotions’ RocketShip 24-Hour Express Service™: In the Muggle world, efficiency is highly valued, especially when trusting a company to deliver a product or service. Pinnacle does not have the ability to ship products via broomstick (yet…), but our unique RocketShip™ delivery option ensures that orders will arrive at your doorstep as soon as humanly possible. Broomsticks are not 100% reliable, as they can be broken or in need of repairs, but the Pinnacle Platinum Guarantee™ stands behind every single order.

Grade: A+

Quills: The stubborn wizarding world refuses to adopt the use of Muggles’ pens and paper, and sticks to the traditional quills instead. Some of these quills have magical powers, such as Auto-Answer Quills, which provide the correct answers to exam questions, Spell-Check Quills, which automatically correct misspelled words written by a writer, and Self-Inking Quills, which refill their own ink when needbe. Still, quills present challenges when it comes to portability and longevity.

Grade: B- (for ordinary quills); A (for enchanted quills, especially the Auto-Answer and Spell-Check quills!)

VS.

Unique Pens: Magical powers are great, but Muggles are accustomed to everyday, standard promotional pens. To add some excitement and pizzazz to a basic pen, Harry and his pals could opt for unique promotional pens instead of their usual quills. This way, whenever they were required to cross over into the Muggle world, they could share their writing instruments with non-wizards and manage to receive similar responses of awe and admiration.

Grade: A+

Tri-Wizard Tournament Cup: This award is a shining cup that is bestowed upon the winner of this rigorous competition, and it is kept by the winning school until the next tournament takes place. In the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory reach the cup at the same time, and grab hold of it simultaneously. Unbeknownst to the champions, the cup is a secret portkey that transports them to a graveyard to battle Lord Voldemort. Diggory is killed by Voldemort and Harry escapes back to Hogwarts alone, leaving a furious Voldemort in his wake. He receives the promised 1,000 galleon (wizarding currency) prize, and gives the galleons to Fred and George Weasley to start a joke shop.

Grade: F

VS.

Crystal Awards: In retrospect, the enchanted Tournament Cup was probably not the best way for student wizards to be recognized for their victories. The competing schools would have been much better off by choosing crystal awards to customize instead, as winners could hold onto them for eternity as a reminder of their exceptional accomplishments. Also, these awards are affordable enough to award to more than one winner, and second and third place entrants could be honored for their efforts as well.

Grade: A+

Overall, the magical product options didn’t fare so badly, but for all of the Muggles reading this entry in hopes of gaining valuable marketing advice, I would definitely recommend acquiring the latter item in each pair from Pinnacle Promotions!

Office and Desktop

Employee Welcome Kits: 5 Proven Ideas

The Purpose of an Employee Welcome Kit

5 Proven Ideas to Create a New Employee Welcome Kit:

Idea #1: Unique Gifts

What qualifies as a unique gift?

Idea #2: Office Essentials

Here are five office essentials employees love and appreciate:

Idea #3: Apparel

PS: Employees LOVE branded jackets!

Idea #4: Industry-Focused Gifts

Idea #5: Wellness Gifts

Mental health is important. Show your care through purpose-built wellness gifts!

How to Create a New Employee Welcome Kit for Your Company

3 Keys to Social Selling with Promotional Products

The Fuller Brush Man’s Necessities

Promotional Product Hacks to Save Your Trade Show

Megan’s Product Pick of the Week: Scented Pens!

Gmail Nested Labels: Modern Era Desk Organizers?

Mood-Sensing Promotional Products: What Will They Think of Next?

Pinnacle Promotion’s Paperless Plan

Marketing, Muggles and How to Cast a Promotional Spell

VS.

VS.

VS.

VS.

Recent Posts

Browse by Category

Archives

Get blog updates via email