Anyone else feel like we need ways to keep our workforce connected? Below are ideas for both remote teams and in-person activities (when feasible).

Team Building Remotely

  • Virtual Karaoke or Guitar Hero competition
  • Virtual Scavenger Hunt
  • Two truths, one lie or similar game
  • Office Trivia – Ask relevant “trivia” questions about your team to break the ice.  Come up with a list of trivia questions related to your place of work (if physical) or your team. Questions like “What does the poster in the cafeteria say?”, “How many people named ‘John’ work in the IT department?”, “How many people work in the accounting department?”, etc.  Write all questions and their answers on index cards.  Ask questions to the whole group and solicit answers out loud.  The participant who gets the most answers right wins at the end.  Optional: To make it more competitive, consider dividing participants into teams and adding ‘buzzers’ for each question. 
  • Company Coat of Arms – Have teams create your company coat of arms. In the first space, draw something that represents a recent achievement. In the second space, draw something that reflects your company values. In the third space, draw something that represents where you see the company going in the future. Post the finished coat of arms as your video conferencing profile photo or background.

Team Building In-Person

  • Ropes/Aerial course – Great way to bond and build trust.  In the Dallas area, check out https://trinitytreetops.com/team-building/. 
  • Escape Room
  • Bowling, Laser Tag, or Axe Throwing.  In the Coppell, Irving, or Grapevine areas, check out Corky’s Gaming Bistro, Pinstack, Main Event, or Dave & Buster’s.
  • Would You Rather card game or another type of simple games at tables, then could rotate tables so everyone interacts with each other. 
  • Group community service project at non-profit. 
  • Cook a meal and eat together.  In the Southlake area, check out Taste Buds Kitchen.
  • Blind retriever – Split your staff into small teams, blindfolding one person on each team. The first team that can successfully direct their blindfolded colleague to a hidden object wins.
  • Code of Conduct – A simple but meaningful activity that sets the tone for an event and builds consensus on shared values. Teams list what matters to them on a whiteboard. Perfect for the start of an event or workshop. Source:  
  • Back-to-Back Drawing – Split your group into pairs and have each pair sit back to back. One person gets a picture of a shape or a simple image, and the other gets a piece of paper and pen. The person holding the picture gives verbal instructions to their partner on how to draw the shape or image they’ve been given (without simply telling them what the shape or image is). After a set amount of time, have each set of partners compare their images and see which team drew the most accurate replica. 
  • Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower – Using just these supplies, which team can build the tallest tower? There’s a catch: the marshmallow has to be at the very top of the spaghetti tower, and the whole structure has to stand on its own (that means no hands or other objects supporting it!) for five seconds. 
  • Minefield – Use boxes, office chairs, water bottles, etc. to create an obstacle course of “mines” within your empty space. Divide the group into pairs, where one partner is blindfolded. The other must guide that person from one end of the course to another without setting off any mines. The person guiding their partner cannot enter the course and must only use verbal instructions to get their partner through. Depending on the number of people you have and how difficult you want this activity to be, you can vary the number of pairs trying to complete the course at the same time so that pairs have to work harder to listen to each other and communicate clearly.