11 Virtual Team Building Ideas For A Quarantined World
Still in the grips of the Coronavirus pandemic, it's no surprise that we're all becoming restless and bored with the daily grind of remote working. Especially as most of us are unable to see our colleagues face-to-face. However, maintaining a strong company culture and team morale amongst remote workers doesn’t have to be a drag. Get creative and inject some fun into the workday with these online team building activities.
Our Virtual Event Experts have negotiated exclusive discounts on all of the below virtual team building activities. If you’d like to chat to one of our Virtual Event Experts for a quote or inspiration for your next virtual team building activity, book a consultation today.
1. Big Top shared party
There's nothing better for team building than a proper morale booster. So, treating your team to a virtual Christmas party had to make it to number one on our list!
A Big Top shared party will give your team access to a map full of breakout rooms, hosted by some of the best performers online right now - from comedians to drag acts to magicians and more. Not only that, but your team will get their own exclusive table at the virtual jazz bar, as well as their own private, password-protected breakout room on the map, providing the perfect place to take a breather from the festivities to have a relaxed drink with colleagues.
But hurry! Our Big Top shared parties already have a guest list longer than Santa's naughty list. Make sure you book while there's still space!
Suitable for teams of 5-50 people.
£34 for your first 10 tickets, £29 thereafter.
2. Virtual Campfire
Now that most of us are remote employees, we've found the perfect way to come together as a team - round a (virtual) campfire! Think historic ghost stories, ice breakers, virtual team building games and real s’more making. Essentially, all the good stuff without the mosquitoes or the lack of toilet facilities!
Each participant gets sent a tiny campfire kit in advance, including a campfire candle, wood matches and s'more ingredients. Then, come camp day, an energetic camp counsellor will help you create a virtual adventure and make plenty of shared memories as a team.
Suitable for teams of 10 or more
£58 per person
3. Virtual Away Day
Injecting some fun into your online team building will not only keep your team engaged but, if done right, will also promote strategizing and innovation. We recommend using the Virtual Away Day challenge, a hosted challenge where participants will use their own devices to answer questions and complete tasks.
Teamwork is the key to winning this online game; players must communicate and work with the other players in order to progress. All whilst racing against the clock! It's also a great way to equip your colleagues with the problem solving and teamwork skills that are unique to successful teams. Arena, our brand new virtual and hybrid events platform, offers the ideal backdrop for your remote away day with its audience engagement tools, breakout functionality and brandable interface.
Suitable for any team size.
£12 per person - £250 facilitation fee
4. Virtual Escape Room
Put your P.I. hat on and use your powers of observation, deduction and teamwork while racing against the clock in this fun team building Virtual Escape Room.
Participants will have to unpick evidence, unravel cryptic messages and avoid the curveballs that will be thrown at them along the way! Using image recognition and augmented reality technology, teams will have to scan the right objects to unlock tasks, challenges and codes. All the while guided by your Virtual Escape Room host.
Perfect for any team size
£12 per person - £250 facilitation fee
5. Virtual Art Class
With everything that's been going on in the world, we bet everyone's in need of a chance to relax and unleash their creativity. Which is why we love the idea of connecting your team via a virtual art class!
Either choose the Virtual Painting Experience, where each member of your team will receive their own pre-sketched art kit in the post beforehand. Or, opt for the Virtual Sketching Experience, designed to help attendees unwind and activate their creativity with only a pencil and paper required.
Get ready to let out your inner Picasso!
From £22.50+VAT per person (Virtual Painting Experience with Art Kit)
From £100+VAT per group (Virtual Sketching Experience – recommended 10 per group)
6. Virtual Cookery Class
What could be better than sharing great food with great colleagues, albeit at a distance?! With a seasoned chef as host, learn how to become a pro in the kitchen over video conferencing, with the choice between three packages: pasta making, a barbecue workshop and a picking masterclass.
Whether your team is made up of people who love cooking or people who love eating, this virtual cookery class certainly won't disappoint. Plus, next time you gather for dinner at a colleagues' house (once the world returns to normal), the food is certain to be a success!
Suitable for 10-150 people
From £25 per person
7. Mead or Wine Tasting
We all enjoy the occasional Friday tipple at the pub with work colleagues, although adapted to a video call (and the company credit card being nowhere in sight), the format can get a little stale. Instead, connect with your work colleagues over a new tasting experience!
For a unique and memorable team bonding activity, mead tasting is our go-to. A member of the Gosnells Team will guide you through a range of meads, giving you time to enjoy your new favourite drink and learn more about how it's made.
Or, wine lovers (and beginners) amongst the team will love the opportunity to soak in some culture from the comfort of their own home with Virtual Wine Tastings. Each team member will be sent a sommelier-selected range of wines to their doorstep for a 60-90 minute tasting. From fine wine tasting to blind wine tasting games, there's something to suit every team's vibe!
Suitable for 5-100 people (mead tasting) or 6-100 people (wine tasting)
From £10 per person + postage (mead) or £50 + postage (wine)
8. Hosted Pub Quiz
We’ve all been acquainted with the weekly makeshift family pub quiz over Zoom throughout quarantine. But we suggest you step up your game for your next team building activity with an interactive hosted pub quiz.
Played in the comfort of your own home, this virtual pub quiz enables teams to connect, have some fun and get competitive using the interactive app and guided by your pub quiz host. You’ll be up against your colleagues to see who can score the highest points. The questions and app are fully customisable and include a mixture of trivia questions and team activities to rally together to claim victory.
Suitable for any team size
£12 per person - £250 facilitation fee
9. Virtual Nerd Talks
Ever wanted to become an expert in beer and sharks? Dying to find out more about serial killers and cereal? These are just two examples of wildly smart, interactive and entertaining online Ted Talks-like mini-presentations.
Each talk covers two unusual topics in a fun, engaging way that your team will love, delivered with great comic timing, icebreakers, trivia and audience participation. All with the added bonus that your team will have plenty of random, real-life facts to spout out to anyone and everyone by the end!
Suitable for teams of 10 or more
£29 per person
10. Virtual Murder Mystery
What could get the adrenalin pumping like an unsolved murder? The perfect way to get your whole team working together, this is all about cracking codes, ruling out suspects and finding the killer. And you certainly can't do it alone!
Choose between our Manor House and Ancient Egypt murder mystery packages for an experience your team won't forget. If we were you, we'd go all out and make it a fancy dress occasion too... any excuse!
Suitable for teams of 10 or more
From £12 per person (Manor House) or £41.20 per person (Ancient Egypt)
11. Virtual Around the World Challenge
2020 hasn't exactly been a good year for travel. So, if you're wishing you had an outlet for your travel obsession, this is definitely the team building activity for you.
On this globe-trotting trip around the world, your team will visit 22 countries and cover 40,000 virtual miles, unlocking tasks and earning 'Travel Credits' along the way. This test of teamwork, collaboration and creativity is a bonding experience that will take you on a journey like no other.
Suitable for 10-100 people
From £12 per person - £250 facilitation fee
So, whether it's an online scavenger hunt or fun team building games, there's sure to be an online team building activity to suit every team. Be sure to check out our full range, or, if you're just after a quick icebreaker, take inspiration from the top puzzles to play with colleagues on post-work calls.
To chat to our Virtual Event Experts about any of these team building activities or about any other virtual event you'd like to plan, book your free consultation. For more guidance and advice on how to plan unforgettable virtual events, check out our Complete Guide To Virtual Events.
Make sure to check out Arena too - our brand new virtual and hybrid events platform perfect for any away day, meeting, webinar, conference, AGM, or anything in between! Plus, you can get unlimited access to Arena through Hire Space 360, a modern event planner's best friend.