A welcome packet is half file and half hospitality, and the two halves should not be confused. The file half: the welcome letter, the contract, the handbook and its acknowledgment page, the tax, payroll and eligibility forms, the equipment record. The hospitality half: the first-week schedule, the team by name with a line about each, a note from the owner, and whatever small thing the business does to say welcome. The onboarding checklist on this site prints the file half's list, and the contract tool and handbook template print its two largest documents, free.
The file half
Signed before or on day one, dated, kept against the hire. The employee contract tool and the employee handbook template on this site print the contract and the handbook; the forms are the government's. The checklist carries the equipment record.
The hospitality half
The schedule for the first week, the people they will meet with what each does, the buddy's name, where lunch is, the note from the owner. The parts that are read on the first evening and remembered a year later.
Keeping them apart
The signed documents are a record with a retention rule; the hospitality pages are not. A packet that mixes them files the lunch map with the contract, which is harmless, and forgets to file the contract with the lunch map, which is not.
The packet as a record
The signed half against the hire with dates, exportable. HeadcountDesk Pro keeps it; the checklist and the tools print it. From the vendors' own pricing pages, cited below: Homebase lists its Essentials plan at $30 per location per month billed monthly or $24 billed annually, with unlimited employees, and a Basic plan at $0 for one location with up to 10 employees; BambooHR starts at $10 per employee per month for Core and $17 for Pro; Deputy's Core plan is $6.50 per user per month. HeadcountDesk Pro is $24 per month per location.
Questions people ask about welcome packet
Should the welcome packet be printed?
The hospitality half often is; the file half is signed digitally and kept.
Who writes the owner's note?
The owner, in two sentences, for this person.
Is the checklist free?
Yes, without an account.