First impressions matter. Investing a little creativity into your onboarding process can go a long way in boosting retention, morale, and productivity. A thoughtful onboarding experience can set the tone for a new hire’s entire journey with your company. While paperwork and training are important, fun and engaging activities play a key role in helping employees feel welcomed and connected in their new job.
Onboarding activities don’t have to be elaborate affairs. From 15-minute sessions to a multi-hour event, you just need to combine fun with function and remember the purpose of the day: to make your new employees feel right at home.
Benefits of Organizing Team Building Activities During Onboarding
Effective onboarding activities help new team members feel welcomed, supported, and equipped to succeed in their new jobs. A structured onboarding process can significantly improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention.
- Accelerates the learning curve by providing clear expectations of the work environment.
- Fosters a sense of belonging and connection with team members and company culture, so they feel like part of the team from the start.
- Reduces turnover by increasing job satisfaction and commitment early on.
- Improves communication and teamwork through shared experiences.
- Enhances confidence and performance by clarifying roles and responsibilities.
21 Team Building Ideas for New Hire Onboarding
1. Two Truths and a Lie
As with a few of these activities, this is an easy one to tack on to meetings or other activities. In Two Truths and a Lie, each new employee shares two true facts and one false fact about themselves. The team guesses which one is the lie, sparking laughter and curiosity. This can be a great, quick icebreaker that encourages storytelling and connection.
2. Team Building Scavenger Hunts
Few team bonding activities combine a good time with quick thinking, creative problem solving, and fast-paced communication the way these scavenger hunts do. We should know—we’ve run them for more than 20 years here at Watson Adventures. One of the great benefits is that everyone on your team can contribute equally, because you don’t need any particular athletic skills, artistic talents, or prior knowledge. You all just put your heads together and have a fun day.
Our most popular types of team building scavenger hunts and games include:
- Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunts: Solve different sorts of murders in many different settings, such as botanical gardens, neighborhoods in cities around the country, or just about anywhere else!
- Food Tour Scavenger Hunts: Snack your way to victory while answering tricky questions on our food-centric Munch Hunts in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and more.
- Trivia Games: Enjoy a wide array of trivia games just about anywhere—in the office, a rented ballroom or restaurant space, at home, or Zooming in from multiple places at once. And with audio and visual components, scavenger hunt rounds, and creative photo challenges, as well as many different themes, these aren’t run-of-the-mill pub-trivia games anyone could throw together.
Scavenger hunts are available in-person or virtually.
3. Team Lunch Outing
Treat the new hires to lunch with their team at a local restaurant. This relaxed setting promotes informal conversations and builds relationships, and it provides insight into the company culture beyond the office walls.
4. Meet the Execs Coffee Chat
Organize casual coffee chats with executives or department heads. This offers face time with leadership and a chance to learn about company vision firsthand. Meeting the execs early on also makes new employees feel valued and included.
5. Department Speed “Dating“
Department Speed “Dating” presents a fast-paced onboarding activity where new hires rotate between departments in timed intervals to learn about their functions, roles, and team dynamics. It promotes cross-functional understanding and builds early connections across the organization.
- New employees spend at most 5 to 10 minutes with each department representative.
- Each department rep gives a brief overview and answers quick questions.
- The activity encourages informal, engaging conversations to boost networking and knowledge-sharing.
6. City Tour Scavenger Hunts
Show off your neighborhood to help new hires explore their new surroundings. We offer plenty of ways to see your corner of town anew, or to explore a favorite historic neighborhood. You can visit the giant troll on the Freewheeling Fremont Scavenger Hunt. Dig into history and find surprises on the Secrets of Savannah Scavenger Hunt. Or simply celebrate the spirit of such cities as Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans.
From New York City to Los Angeles, you have hundreds of neighborhood scavenger hunts to choose from. And whichever you pick, participants will get to know your city and their colleagues in a fun way they couldn’t replicate themselves.
7. Buddy System
Pair each new hire with a “buddy” from another team. Buddies offer guidance, answer questions, and help navigate company culture. This creates a reliable support system for new team members during the early weeks.
8. Slack Shoutouts
Celebrate new employees with a fun intro post in the company Slack. Invite team members to reply with gifs, emojis, and warm welcomes. This is simple to do and builds instant camaraderie and digital engagement.
9. Icebreaker Bingo
Icebreaker Bingo gets new hires mingling and finding colleagues who match specific traits or experiences listed on a custom-made bingo card. It encourages conversation, builds connections, and helps team members learn more about each other in a relaxed way.
- Each square has a prompt like “Has worked abroad” or “Loves spicy food.”
- Participants ask around to find someone who fits and write their name in the square.
- First to complete a row, column, or diagonal shouts “Bingo!” and wins a small prize.
10. Show and Tell
Ask new hires to bring or share something meaningful to them. It could be a photo, hobby item, or story. It opens up personal connections and mutual interests.
11. Virtual Trivia Games
Tackle trivia together, no matter where your colleagues are! Watson Adventures’ many virtual trivia games are perfect for hybrid and remote teams. Each game consists of five rounds of fun challenges, ranging from name-that-tune audio rounds, fictional dating profiles, trivia with visual cues, and more.
You won’t need a bunch of trivia geniuses to play, either—just good teamwork and a sense of humor. No matter the theme, each game is designed so that anyone can compete and win. So whoever plays will love Cheers! It’s the Virtual Happy Hour Trivia Game, for example, and your whole group will be wowed by the Fascinating Facts Trivia Game.
12. Mission and Values Workshop
Host an interactive session exploring the company’s mission and values. Include small group discussions and real-world examples. It reinforces alignment and shows how values are lived daily.
13. “A Day in the Life” Shadowing
Let new hires shadow different roles for short sessions. It builds empathy and cross-functional understanding. They gain a holistic view of how the company operates.
14. Playlist Party
Have new hires contribute to a shared team playlist, which you can then play when appropriate, such as during breaks or team events. Sharing music is always fun, and it’s both a low-stakes and simple way to express identity and discover shared tastes.
15. “Ask Me Anything” Session
An “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session allows new hires to engage with experienced team members or leaders in an open forum to ask questions about the company, culture, roles, or anything else on their minds. No topic is off-limits (within reason, obviously), from career growth to coffee machine etiquette. An AMA builds transparency, trust, and connection early in the onboarding journey, and reduces some of that first-week anxiety
- Hold the AMA in an informal setting to encourage open and honest dialogue.
- Participants can submit questions anonymously or ask them live.
- The AMA helps demystify workplace norms and clarify expectations.
16. Career Roadmap Stories
Invite team members to share their career journeys in 2 to 5 minutes. This shows growth opportunities and diverse paths within the company and can be inspiring and informative for new employees.
17. Welcome Kit Unboxing
Deliver or hand out welcome kits as a tangible gesture of appreciation, and make the unboxing experience shareable and fun. The kits might includes essential tools, company information, branded items to ease their onboarding experience, or even snacks.
- Company Overview: Mission, values, organizational chart, and key policies.
- Essential Tools: ID badge, laptop, login credentials, and software access details.
- Branded Swag: T-shirt, notebook, water bottle, and welcome note to build trust, excitement, and belonging.
18. Group Volunteer Day
Organize a team outing for a day of volunteering. This could involve working at a local food bank, participating in a beach or park clean-up, or helping out at a community center or animal shelter. Volunteering is a rewarding way to spend a day and make a positive impact, while building bonds through shared purpose and reflecting company values.
19. Pet Introductions
Invite new hires (especially remote ones) to introduce their pets during a virtual meeting. This is a win-win: you break the ice with cute animals—almost everyone loves ’em—and you make meetings more fun.
20. First Week Photo Board
Capture moments from the first week—team lunches, desk setups, group shots. Share the collage at the end of onboarding, and display it prominently in the office for a while. It creates lasting memories and a sense of inclusion.
21. “What Surprised You?” Circle
Finally, at the end of the first week, ask everyone to share one surprising thing they learned about the company. This sparks honest reflections and fun insights. And you might even uncover great feedback.
Start Planning a Team Building Event for Your New Hires
Contact us to learn more and start planning your summer team building activities or virtual game today.