A good welcome card for a new employee is three or four lines: their first name, one reason you chose them, one thing to look forward to in week one, and your own first name. Post it to their home the day the offer is signed, so it arrives before they start. Twenty-two messages follow, from a manager, a team and a founder, plus notes for remote hires.
What should a welcome card to a new employee say?
Say why you picked them, in one exact line: "your answer about the angry customer won the room". Say one small, real thing about the first week: who meets them, where lunch is. Then sign it as a person. Leave out the mission statement and the handbook. They will get those on day one. The card is there to say "we are glad it is you".
The line about why you chose them does the most work. A new hire has just left a job they knew, and is wondering if they made the right call. Specific praise from the person who will manage them answers that better than any welcome pack.
Why send a card before the first day?
Because the time between a signed offer and day one is when doubt creeps in, and most companies go silent. A card through the door in that gap shows a real person is waiting for them. It will not save a hire who has a better offer. It may steady one who is only nervous.
The gap is a real risk. In a Gartner survey of nearly 3,500 candidates in May 2023, 50 per cent said they had accepted an offer in the past year and then backed out before starting. Of about 2,000 who had just started a new job, 47 per cent were still open to other offers. Gartner's advice was to have the hiring manager stay in touch between acceptance and the start date (SHRM, reporting Gartner).
Some simply never arrive. In Indeed's survey of job seekers who had "ghosted" an employer, 22 per cent said they had accepted an offer and then not turned up for the first day (Indeed). Indeed is a job site and these are its own figures, drawn from people who admit to ghosting, so the true rate across all hires is much lower. A study in Human Resource Management Journal of 157,154 accepted offers at one telecoms company, from May 2019 to June 2025, found that 4.1 per cent ended in a no-show (Wiley). Small, but each one costs you a second search.
The first week is shaky too. BambooHR, an HR software company, surveyed 1,565 US employees in April 2023. It found 44 per cent had regrets or second thoughts in their first week, and 70 per cent decided within a month whether the job was right. It also found 87 per cent hoped to make a friend at work (BambooHR). A card signed by the team gives them names before they walk in.
And the bar is low. Gallup found only 12 per cent of employees strongly agree their organisation does a great job of onboarding new people (Gallup).
No study we could find tests a welcome card on its own. So we will not claim a card cuts no-shows. We can say the research points at the same gap the card fills.
Messages from the manager
Dear Maya, welcome. In your interview you redrew our sign-up flow on the whiteboard in four minutes. I have wanted to fix it for a year. See you on the 12th. Daniel
Hi Tobias, I am so glad you said yes. Your first week is light on purpose: meet people, read, ask. I will be at reception at 9.30 on Monday. Priya
Dear Aaliyah, welcome to the ward team. You asked in your interview how we look after new nurses on nights. That question is why we hired you. Your first three shifts are with me. Grace
Hi Kenji, welcome aboard. Bring nothing on Monday but yourself. Your laptop is set up and lunch is on me at the noodle place across the road. Sam
Dear Fatima, welcome. You are the first analyst we have hired in two years, and we waited for the right one. I cannot wait to show you the data we have never had time to open. Luis
Hi Callum, welcome to the workshop. Your steel-toe boots are ordered in a size ten. Tea is at ten, and nobody skips it. See you on the 3rd. Moira
Messages from the team
Ask each person for one line and their first name. Short is fine.
Welcome, Maya. I sit opposite you and I know where the good coffee is. Ben
Hi Maya, I am the other designer. I have been alone for a year. You have no idea how glad I am. Chloe
Welcome, Tobias. Ask me anything about the billing system. I broke it twice, so I know it well. Arjun
Hi Aaliyah, the night team has a biscuit tin. It is never empty. Welcome. Joyce
Welcome, Kenji. We play five-a-side on Thursdays. No skill needed. I am living proof. Omar
Hi Fatima, I am your buddy for the first month. I will find you at ten on Monday. Bring questions. Hannah
Messages from the founder or a senior leader
Dear Maya, I read every offer letter before it goes out, and I was pleased to sign yours. Welcome to the company. My door is the one with the dog behind it. Ruth, founder
Hi Tobias, welcome. You are employee number 41. I still remember when there were four of us in a garage. Come and say hello in your first week. David, CEO
Dear Aaliyah, welcome to St Anne's. The people you will care for are lucky to have you. Thank you for choosing us. Dr Mensah, Chief Nurse
Hi Callum, welcome. My grandfather started this workshop in 1962 with one lathe. It is still in the corner and it still works. I will show you. Ian
Messages for a remote hire
A remote starter has no lobby, no desk and no lunch. The card may be the only thing from the company they can hold.
Dear Sofia, welcome from all of us, in six time zones. Your laptop should reach you by Friday. This card got there by a slower road. See you on the Monday call. Daniel
Hi Rahul, welcome to the team. We have never met in a room, so here is something real to put on your desk. My first call with you is just to talk, no agenda. Priya
Welcome, Sofia. I am in Lisbon, two hours ahead of you. Message me before your mornings get busy. Inês
Dear Chidi, welcome. You will meet the whole team in person in Nairobi in March. Until then, my camera is always on and my cat is always in shot. Hannah
Hi Mei, welcome aboard. Working from home on day one can feel like nothing has changed. Something has. We are very glad you are here. Sam
Welcome, Rahul. Eleven of us signed this by sending a line each to Priya. That is how much we wanted you to get it. Arjun
When should each card be posted?
Post the first card the day the offer is signed, so it lands while they are working their notice. A second can arrive a few days before the start, and a third at the end of the first month.
| Moment | Card should arrive | What starts it |
|---|---|---|
| Offer signed | Within the notice period, well before day one | A new row in a watched Google Sheet, or a Zapier step from your e-signature or hiring tool |
| Week before start | Two or three days before day one | The start date column in the same sheet |
| End of first month | Around day 30 | A Schedule set from the start date |
| First work anniversary | On the day | A yearly Schedule. See work anniversary messages |
MailMyCard has no direct link to HR systems. The trigger is a Google Sheet we watch, or Zapier. When someone signs, add a row: name, home address, start date, and the one line from the manager.
Cards are written with a real pen and posted from India. Inside India they arrive in days. To the US, UK and elsewhere, allow one to three weeks, so order the day the offer is signed. If the start date is closer than that, do not gamble. Send a "first month" card instead. See how long mail takes.
What should a welcome card leave out?
Leave out anything that reads like paperwork, pressure or a private detail. The card should be safe for a partner or flatmate to read on the doormat.
- Salary, title changes or terms. Those belong in the contract.
- Tasks. "Please complete the forms before Monday" is an email.
- "Welcome to the family." Welcome them to the team.
- Jokes about workload. "Hope you like late nights" is not funny to a nervous person.
- Anything their present employer should not see. They may still be working their notice. Use an envelope, and never post to a work address.
- A printed signature from HR. A first name from the manager is worth more.
Use the home address only if they gave it for this kind of post, or tell them something is on the way. One card costs $14.99. For teams hiring 50 or more people a year, a pilot of 50 is $8.99 a card: see For business. After the welcome, keep going with our employee appreciation notes.
Quick answers
What is a short welcome message for a new employee?
"Welcome, Maya. We are so glad it is you. See you on the 12th. Daniel." Add one line about why you chose them if you can.
Who should sign the welcome card?
The direct manager first. A few teammates if you can gather their lines. The founder for small companies or senior roles.
Is it better to give the card on day one?
Both work, but they do different jobs. A card on the desk says welcome. A card at home before the start says "we have not forgotten you" during the quiet weeks.
Sources
- SHRM, "Survey Finds Half of Candidates Have Accepted a Job Offer Before Reneging" (Gartner survey of nearly 3,500 candidates, May 2023): shrm.org
- Indeed, "The Ghosting Guide": indeed.com
- "Now You See Them, Now You Don't: Understanding New Hire Ghosting", Human Resource Management Journal: onlinelibrary.wiley.com
- BambooHR (2023), "44% of New Hires Regret Their Decision Within a Week": bamboohr.com
- Gallup, "Why the Onboarding Experience Is Key for Retention": gallup.com
