Get the whole team to sign a welcome card before a new hire even starts, so it's already there when they log on, not something scrambled together during a busy first week.
Optional: Pool a welcome gift with a Group Gift Collection.
Nearly everyone remembers the nerves of a first day: new faces, new systems, and the quiet worry about whether anyone's actually glad you came. The simplest fix is to answer that question before it's even asked. A card signed by the whole team, sitting in a new starter's inbox on the morning they join, tells them they were expected and wanted, long before their first meeting. It works whether the team has known them for weeks or hasn't met them at all, and it takes about five minutes to set in motion.
Onboarding is what happens after someone starts. Preboarding is everything before, and it's the part most teams forget. Here's why it matters.
The offer is signed and excitement is high. Right now, this is the best you will both feel about the whole thing.
Then, often, nothing. Notice periods can run a month or more, and in the silence second thoughts creep in. It is common enough that some new hires quietly change their mind before they ever start.
A card signed by the whole team, waiting when they log on. Instead of arriving cold, they turn up already feeling like part of it.
A welcome card is what fills that gap. Set it up the moment someone accepts, schedule it for their start date, and the silence turns into a proper hello. Start a welcome card →
Stuck for words? The best welcome notes are short, warm and specific. A few openers the team can make their own:
Really glad you're joining us. The team has been looking forward to having you on board.
Welcome aboard! Ask me anything in your first few weeks, honestly, no question is too small.
We've needed someone with your skills for a while now. Can't wait to get stuck in together.
Congratulations and welcome. Grab me for a coffee, or a video call, whenever you fancy a chat.
So pleased you said yes. Hope day one treats you kindly, the whole team is rooting for you.
Welcome! I sit two desks over (or one Slack message away). Give me a shout whenever you need a hand.
One small thing that lifts every message: mention something specific, the project they're joining, a shared interest, or simply that you're the person two desks over if they need anything.
Set it up as soon as you know a start date, not scrambled together on the morning itself.
Set it up as soon as you know their start date and schedule it to land the morning they join, so nothing depends on someone remembering on the day.
A welcome signed by the people they will actually work with lands very differently from a single automated email. Everyone adds their own hello.
Colleagues can add a friendly note without having met the new starter in person yet, so a whole team can welcome someone they only know by name.
A new hire logging on from their kitchen table gets exactly the same welcome as one walking into the office, because everyone signs from one shared link.
Add a smart eGift card, maybe towards their first team coffee or lunch, redeemable at 200+ UK retailers and delivered together with the card.
Pay only for the welcomes you actually send. There is nothing sitting on the budget between new starters, which makes it easy to do for every single hire.
Award-winning, too: ExpressWithACard was named Digital Greetings Card Platform of the Year 2026/27 by the Prestige Awards.
Related ways teams keep the welcome going past week one.
Trusted by teams at leading organisations
Select a design that feels encouraging, uplifting, or light‑hearted.
Share a simple link so friends, family, or the whole team can leave messages, photos, videos, GIFs, and memories. No account needed for sign‑ups
Send instantly or schedule delivery. The recipient gets an email with the card, available to view and download as a PDF.
A warm start
Pair the card with a smart eGift card, maybe towards their first coffee or lunch with the team. Redeemable at 200+ UK retailers.
Frequently asked
Answer their unspoken first-day worry, "is anyone glad I'm here?", before it comes up. A practical way is a card signed by the whole team, waiting in their inbox on day one, ideally with a small welcome gift. It shows they were expected and wanted, whether they start in the office or from home.
Preboarding is everything that happens between someone accepting the offer and their first day. It matters because that gap is often silent, and silence is where second thoughts grow, some new hires reconsider or drop out before starting. A warm touch during those weeks, like a team welcome card scheduled for day one, keeps the excitement alive and steadies the decision they already made.
As soon as you know their start date. Set the card up straight away, share the link so the team can add their messages over the following days, and schedule it to arrive the morning they join.
Keep it short, warm and specific. A friendly hello, a line about looking forward to working with them, and an offer to help in their first few weeks goes a long way. For example: "Really glad you're joining us, ask me anything in your first few weeks, no question is too small." Mentioning something specific, like the project they're joining, makes it land even better.
No. Anyone on the team can add a welcome message from the shared link, even before they've met the new starter in person, which is exactly how a whole team can welcome someone on day one.
Yes. Everyone signs from the same shared link, and the finished card is delivered by email, so a new hire working from home gets the same welcome as one starting in the office.
Yes. It suits any kind of arrival, a graduate or intern intake, someone coming back from parental leave or a sabbatical, or a colleague moving into a new team internally. Anywhere a friendly welcome helps, it works.
Yes. Add a smart eGift card redeemable at 200+ UK retailers, or a specific brand, sent together with the card in one email. For something bigger, pool contributions with a Group Gift Collection.
No. There is no monthly fee, you pay only for the cards and gifts you send. See our pricing page for current rates.
Yes. The person creating the card, usually HR or the hiring manager, can set up a brand kit with your logo and colours and apply it to the welcome card, so it reads as an official hello from the organisation rather than a generic template.
