How to Choose Virtual Team Building for a Large Group

When someone tells us they have 50+ people joining a virtual team building event, the number is useful, but it doesn’t tell us what they should do.

Many of our virtual activities are built to scale. Around the World, for example, can accommodate 6-200+ people, while Disco Bingo Online can run with groups of 25-500+.

Once we know the numbers are workable, we want to know more about the people taking part.

Are they fairly quiet? Will they happily take photos and make videos? Are they joining from several countries? Is there a type of game they already enjoy? How much time do you have?

Those details are what usually help us narrow a client down to two or three options rather than sending over a long list of virtual activities.

What is your group actually like?

A quieter group might be more comfortable with something like Virtual Escape. Teams have a clear challenge to concentrate on, working through clues and puzzles together against the clock.

Around the World has a different feel. It includes trivia alongside photo, video and audio challenges based around different countries. There’s more opportunity to be creative, so we’d be more likely to discuss it with a group that’s comfortable with that kind of participation.

It’s also one we’d consider for an international group. The activity takes teams through different countries, so the theme makes sense when colleagues are joining from different parts of the world.

If a client tells us their group enjoys murder mysteries, that’s useful information too. Remote Manor House Murder gives teams a case to investigate, with evidence to examine, suspects to consider and a murder to solve.

These aren’t rules. A quieter group doesn’t have to choose an escape game, and an international group doesn’t have to choose Around the World.

What happens when a large group joins?

For many of our virtual activities, everyone joins the event together before working in smaller teams.

If you already know who you want working together, teams can be arranged in advance. If you haven’t pre-assigned them, that’s fine too. We can allocate teams as part of the event.

Each team chooses a captain who handles certain parts of the game, but the rest of the team isn’t sitting back watching one person play. Everyone can follow what’s happening, discuss the challenges and agree on what to do.

Our remote hosts brief the group before the activity and remain available while teams are playing.

It means an event for 100 people doesn’t become a video call with 100 people trying to talk at once. For team-based activities, people spend much of the event working with a smaller group.

But that isn’t the only way to do it.

Disco Bingo Online keeps everyone together in the main Zoom room. Participants access their bingo cards on their phones, with music taking the place of the numbers you’d hear in traditional bingo.

That creates a very different event from working through an escape challenge or investigating a murder in smaller teams.

The choice comes down to what you want the experience to be. Do you want smaller groups concentrating on something together, or would you rather keep everyone in the same room for a shared activity?

How much time do you actually have?

This is one of the practical details that can quickly narrow down the options.

Our virtual activities don’t all run for the same length of time. Some can fit into an hour, while others need longer.

If team building is part of a wider company meeting, virtual away day or another event, work out how much time you genuinely have before choosing the activity.

It’s much easier to start with a 60-minute window and look at what fits than to choose an activity first and then try to squeeze it into the agenda.

We send you the event link, joining instructions and information about any app participants need to download. The exact requirements depend on the activity, so people get the information they need before joining.

Choosing virtual team building for a large group

Group size matters because you need an activity that can accommodate everyone. Once that’s established, the number becomes only one part of the decision.

Think about what the group is like and what they’ll actually enjoy doing.

A team that enjoys puzzles will give you a different shortlist from one that wants something lively and creative. An international group may give you another direction. The amount of time available can narrow things down again.

That’s why, when clients speak to us, we usually try to get from the full range of possibilities to two or three activities that make sense for their particular group.

If you’re exploring the options, browse our virtual team building activities to see the different activities available.