This article explains how to set up automatic welcome rewards for new employees, including timing options and what happens if someone is added to PerkUp after their start date. You need admin access to configure automations.
How do new hire automations work?
New hire automations use PerkUp's rules engine to check each person's start date every hour between 9am and 6pm ET. When someone's start date matches a new hire rule, PerkUp automatically sends the configured welcome reward — for example, a welcome-kit gift funded from an onboarding budget.
Can I control when a new hire reward sends relative to the start date?
Yes. New hire rules support Send timing, letting you choose:
Before the start date, by a set number of days (minimum 1).
On the start date.
After the start date, by a set number of days (minimum 1).
This is different from birthday and work anniversary rules, which always fire on the day itself with no timing options.
What happens if a new hire is added to PerkUp after their start date?
New hire rules include a "send if added late" grace toggle that catches people whose start date has already passed by the time they're added — for example, if an HRIS sync runs a few days behind. The catch-up window depends on your timing setting:
If the rule is set to send before the start date, the catch-up window is the configured number of days plus 2.
If the rule is set to send after or on the start date, the catch-up window is 5 days.
These windows are fixed presets — there's no free-form field for setting a custom number of catch-up days.
How do I choose who receives a new hire reward?
Each rule has a Recipients section where you filter by labels (such as department or location). Multiple label groups must all match; values within the same group are either/or. Leave recipients empty to include every new hire in the organization.
What else can I configure on a new hire rule?
For each rule you can set enable/disable, budget, reward (gift type), send mode (email or direct mail — see "Email vs direct mail: automation send modes"), image/title/message/from name for the email, recipient expiry (up to 365 days), and funding account.
Can I pair a new hire automation with a welcome kit?
Yes — choose a physical welcome-kit item as the rule's reward and set the send mode to direct mail so it ships straight to the new hire's address without a redemption step. See "Where direct mail addresses come from" for how PerkUp finds that address.
How do I edit a new hire rule that's already running?
Open the rule and update any field — timing, budget, reward, recipients, send mode, expiry, or funding account. Changes apply to future matches only. See "Editing a running automation or program" for more detail.