Onboarding kit planner
Plan new hire kits for the year: how many people you will onboard, how many kits to produce at once, what to put in them at your budget, and when to reorder so every new hire gets a kit on time.
Your kit program
Enter your headcount to see the plan.
Estimates use BLS hiring rates and Branton planning times. Your quote confirms items, quantities and dates.
New hires per month by industry
| Industry | Monthly hires rate (BLS 2025) | New hires per month per 1,000 employees | Kits for a 6 month run per 1,000 employees (with 10% spare) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 3.3% | 33 | 225 |
| Construction | 4.0% | 40 | 275 |
| Manufacturing | 2.4% | 24 | 175 |
| Wholesale trade | 2.2% | 22 | 150 |
| Retail trade | 3.7% | 37 | 250 |
| Transportation, warehousing and utilities | 3.8% | 38 | 275 |
| Information | 2.6% | 26 | 175 |
| Finance and insurance | 2.1% | 21 | 150 |
| Real estate | 2.6% | 26 | 175 |
| Professional and business services | 4.6% | 46 | 325 |
| Private educational services | 2.2% | 22 | 150 |
| Health care and social assistance | 3.1% | 31 | 225 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 5.7% | 57 | 400 |
| Accommodation and food services | 5.5% | 55 | 375 |
| Other services | 3.4% | 34 | 225 |
| Federal government | 0.9% | 9 | 75 |
| State and local government | 1.5% | 15 | 100 |
How the planner works
- New hires per month are your headcount times the BLS monthly hires rate for your industry, or the number you enter.
- New hires per year are 12 months of hires.
- Kits per production run cover the months you choose plus the spare share, rounded up to the next 25.
- Lead time counts business days from brief to delivery at the fulfillment center: 3 days to approve the proof, about 10 days of production (more for runs of 5,000 or more), 3 to 5 days of kitting and 5 days of ground shipping.
- The reorder point is the kits you will hand out during that lead time plus one month of hires as safety stock.
- Budgets are kits times your budget per kit. Shipping to homes is quoted separately.
Why a reorder point: production and kitting take about 4 to 5 weeks, so you reorder while one month of kits is still on the shelf. New hires keep getting kits while the next run is made.
Onboarding kits by budget
| Budget per hire | What to include |
|---|---|
| About $25 | T-shirt, notebook, pen, welcome card |
| About $50 | Hoodie or quarter zip, tumbler, notebook, welcome card |
| About $100 | Premium layer, insulated tumbler, tech accessory, notebook, custom box |
| About $150 and up | Premium outerwear or backpack, insulated tumbler, curated extras, custom box and printed insert |
Budgets are illustrative; your quote reflects your exact items and quantities. More detail in the onboarding kit guide.
Frequently asked questions
- How many onboarding kits should we order?
- Order enough for 3 to 12 months of hires plus about 10% spare. Monthly hires are headcount times your industry's hires rate; a 1,000 person finance company hires about 21 people a month, so a 6 month run is 150 kits.
- How often should we reorder new hire kits?
- Produce a run every 3, 6 or 12 months, and reorder when stock falls to the reorder point: the kits you will use during production and shipping plus one month of hires.
- How much should a new hire kit cost?
- Most fall between about $25 and $150 per hire. About $25 covers a T-shirt, notebook, pen and welcome card; about $100 adds a premium layer, insulated tumbler, tech accessory and custom box.
- When should the kit arrive?
- 2 to 3 business days before the start date.
- How do we handle sizes for people we have not hired yet?
- Produce a size curve for each run, collect sizes with the offer paperwork, and keep a small buffer of common sizes.
- Can you store kits and ship them as people are hired?
- Yes. Kits are produced in bulk, stored and shipped as hires are confirmed.
Sources
- BLS JOLTS Table 18 (2025 annual average hires rates)
Verified October 2026.