With the pandemic preventing us from socialising as we once did, it is imperative for business leaders to put in place new and imaginative ways to bring employees together and keep their culture alive. Cezanne HR have collated the 12 top online activities that will foster team building and get staff involved. Tried and tested and scored on popularity by UK workers, each comes with outline costs and instructions.
View the league table
Click activity for more information
Click activity for more information
Who doesn't love a pub quiz? Why not tailor your questions around your business or colleagues for a personal touch. Whether you are a triumphant winner or an obvious loser, there is always something for everyone to enjoy.
Ask your quizmaster to prepare 30 to 50 questions, with 8 to 10 in each round. If they need help, they can find free quizzes online.
Introduce your quizmaster, explain the rules and get started. We'd recommend scoring each round as you go along.
At the end of the quiz, your quizmaster should reveal the final scores - and perhaps give kudos to the best and worst performer in each round.
One of the best ways to bond is through food and what better way to keep in touch with colleagues than with a staff dinner? It's a great chance to show off new cooking skills learnt in lockdown.
Arrange for all participants to have dinner ready at the same time. Alternatively, you could treat everyone to a takeaway to arrive at the same time (pizza is usually a popular choice).
Sit everyone down and start the conversation. You can even discuss what has been cooked and share recipes.
Sit back, relax and enjoy a convivial dinner with your work colleagues.
Get everyone working together in a virtual space where it's all about collaborating to beat the clock. Work together to discover clues and decipher keys to escape before time runs out.
Find someone to host the game for you and reserve your space. Sessions tend to be popular, so it's best to book well in advance.
Make sure everyone has their login details and knows when to join. Time slots are typically between 45 mins to 2 hours.
Your host will talk you through the rules, strategies and anything else you need to know before commencing your escape. Then it's time to try and beat the clock!
Not only is wine tasting a great way to get staff together, but it can also be a fun experience. While there are a few with expert knowledge, most of us rely simply on whether we like the taste or not - and there's nothing wrong with that! Learn to pair your wines or simply enjoy a new flavour whilst having a catch-up.
Find out who in your team is a bit of a wine buff and get them to take the lead. If no one is a connoisseur of wine, you can select a company to host the event for you.
If you decide to go it alone, set a budget and ask each participant to select a favourite wine and distribute a list of what is to be purchased by everyone beforehand.
Take it in turns to talk about the wine you've selected and compare tasting notes with colleagues. Remember, this is a tasting session - so drink sensibly.
Now is the opportunity to put all those hours of murder mystery TV binging to the test. Can you work out who the murderer is in the office? We've always thought the accounting team looked a bit shifty...
Find a murder mystery game that appeals to you and the other players. There are plenty available online, from period games to sci-fi adventure.
Check out the plot, allocate roles and send out the relevant information to each player.
Choose a date and time and get sleuthing! There's no need to memorise lines or information - but do encourage everyone to enter into the spirit of the event.
Do you have colleagues who live off ready meals? Get everyone together and learn to create dishes that won't leave you hungry.
Check skill level of all participants and book a cooking class accordingly.
Distribute a full list of ingredients with plenty of notice so everyone can collate what they need.
Prep any ingredients or equipment as per the instruction of the teacher beforehand, log on and enjoy a fun class with a tasty bonus at the end.
As a nation of animal lovers, what better way to get the team talking than with a live zoo chat hosted by your colleagues! Everyone has a favourite animal, and this could be the opportunity to bring out your inner David Attenborough and show off your knowledge.
Ask each participant to choose an animal they wish to talk about, and do any necessary research about beforehand.
You can either present with photos from search engines or videos from YouTube and narrate over.
For a fun live experience, you could choose to follow a zoo's live streaming and screen share while presenting your knowledge of these animals.
It's not just for your nan on a Friday night; bingo can be enjoyable for even the least competitive in your team. Sit back and relax during this game of chance in your very own virtual bingo hall.
Find a host website or app that can automatically call numbers or allocate one person to be the caller.
Print bingo cards or create cloud-based ones that participants can use.
Create friendly competition by offering small prizes for corners, lines and full houses, or add bonus points for the most creative 'bingo' calling.
Whether you're looking to let your hair down or just want to show off your ball throwing skills, you can get any number of staff involved in beer pong. Any choice of soft or alcoholic drink can be used when turning this classic party game into a socially distant work social.
Set up your 6 cups with your chosen drink in the classic 1-2-3 formation and point one camera at yourself and the other on your cups.
If you have more than two players, decide who is going to be 'aiming' for whose cups.
Bounce your ping pong balls into your cups. Whichever one it lands in, the 'drinker' will drink from the corresponding cup on their end.
It's finally time to show off that odd souvenir from your last holiday or get your beloved pets involved in the office chats. Show & Tell provides a great insight into life away from work.
Set some guidelines about what everyone is to show. For example, most intriguing family heirlooms, cutest pets or weirdest household items. If items aren't available, participants could talk about a passion instead.
Take it in turns to show your item, provide talking points or even play guessing games about its history or origin.
Turn it into a competition and give a prize for the best item or booby prize for the worst.
It's time to prove who throws the best moves in your office. This is certainly no time to be shy, get those dance moves out and boogie away with your colleagues. It might be the only chance to party for a while!
Get into your comfy clothes or dress up for a themed night.
Get everyone together on the video call; make sure you have plenty of room and get the music playing.
Start moving and let yourself go! Create competitions for best dancer, worst dad dancer or most inventive dance move.
Whether you have the voice of an angel or are tone deaf, karaoke can be enjoyed by everyone. For an extra challenge, get creative with lyrics, perhaps in-line with your company branding or a lockdown theme.
Organise a host & create a set list of (brave) participants.
Determine the order of those singing & what they will be singing.
Find backing tracks online or sing-along videos on YouTube.
Sing your heart out! Bonus points for getting the whole team involved in a group sing-along.
