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8 budget-friendly HR team building activities
The HR team is one of the most crucial teams in an organization because they’re responsible for handling the affairs of other employees and keeping job satisfaction up. However, much like other teams, they sometimes face stumbling blocks when it comes to communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
When this happens, you can organize team activities designed to help your team overcome these challenges.
Diver deeper into team building for specific roles:
- Activities for sales teams
- Activities for software engineers and agile teams
- Activities for senior management
- Activities for customer service teams
Affordable human resource team building activities
#1 Team refinement exercise (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Problem-solving
Price: Free
Human resource teams handle a range of employee affairs, including recruitment, compensation and benefits, motivation, and performance management. Because they are responsible for solving the issues of other employees, one focus point of HR team building activities should be problem-solving. This is why team refinement exercises are so great. They not only help teammates resolve issues and overcome challenges but also help improve work relationships.
For this exercise, have teammates fill out handouts answering the following questions:
- What are the main employee issues we should be focusing on as a team?
- What are some communication and interpersonal challenges we are currently facing as a team?
- Rate the productivity of the team from 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely productive.
Give everyone a few minutes to complete their handouts, then have teammates take turns reading out their answers to the rest of the group so that everyone can discuss possible solutions to team issues.
#2 Three minutes (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Improving collaboration
Price: Free
One of our favorite HR team building games is three minutes because it helps employees see the benefits of working together as a team instead of completing tasks individually.
To play:
- Ask teammates to write down as many countries (or capital cities, depending on your preference) as they can without searching them up.
- Let them know that they are not to share answers, then set a 3-minute timer for them to complete the task.
- Once they’re done, have them count the number of countries (or cities) they each came up with.
- Next, set another 3-minute timer, but this time, have them work together as a group to come up with the list.
- Have them compare their individual results with the group results.
Chances are, they’ll come up with a better list when they work together than when they work alone. Once the game is completed, you can begin a conversation about the advantages of teamwork and collaboration.
#3 Team volunteering (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Community outreach
Price: Free
Team volunteering has become more popular among companies over the years, and for good reason too. Volunteering as a team helps encourage teamwork and creates a sense of camaraderie among employees. More than that, it also boosts employee morale as they give back to the community and improves the company image.
You can visit Volunteer Match or Volunteer.gov to find fun volunteering opportunities in your area. Alternatively, you can ask employees if they have any causes they support and if they’ll be open to the rest of the team joining in.
Pro-tip: Consider offering PTO for volunteering as an added incentive.
#4 Outdoor activities (In-person)
Best for: Nature lovers
Price: $10-100/person
Quite a number of HR team building activities are confined to the office space, so why not switch things up by stepping out to the great outdoors?
As simple as this seems, the mere act of moving your employees out of the office does wonders. Something about being out in the free nature makes it easier for people to be more honest, vulnerable, and open. Plus, it supports the well-being of your coworkers.
A few outdoor activities to consider include:
- Rope courses
- Scavenger hunts
- Nature walks
- Hiking
- Cabin retreats
- Camping
These activities are also great because they improve communication and teamwork and can even help you identify leadership qualities in your employees.
#5 What’s your N.A.M.E.? (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Learning more about coworkers
Price: Free
This activity works for both new and old teams because it provides teammates with a unique opportunity to share facts about themselves that their coworkers otherwise might not have known.
To play, have each person write down their first name on a piece of paper. Give them some time to think of a fun or interesting fact that starts with each letter in their name. Then have them take turns saying their name and corresponding facts.
For example, someone named Brad might say, “My name is Brad. B is for Botswana because I did my year abroad there. R is for Resident Evil because it’s my favorite video game. A is for Action because that’s my favorite movie genre. And D is for Digital media technology because that’s what I studied in college”.
#6 Help me (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Encouraging teamwork
Price: Free
Employees don’t always feel comfortable enough to ask their teammates for help when dealing with work-related challenges. ‘Help me’ provides the opportunity for them to freely do so. This game is similar to the team refinement exercise, except this time around, the focus is on helping teammates in their individual roles.
For this activity:
- Distribute index cards and ask everyone to write down their name and at least one work issue they’re struggling with in their role.
- Shuffle all the cards and have each team member pick a card from the stack. If anyone picks their own card, have them put it back and pick another.
- Once everyone has a card, allocate some time for them to write a way they could help with the issue.
- When they’re done, have them write their names at the bottom of the card and return it to the original owner.
An activity like this helps teammates see how easy it is to ask for and get help, meaning they’ll be more open to the idea moving forward. This is especially important for HR teams as they set an example for the rest of the organisation. It also creates an opportunity for people to learn more about their co-workers, which gives room for empathy, understanding, and better communication to thrive.
#7 Office Trivia (In-Person or virtual)
Best for: Testing knowledge and fostering conversations between teammates
Price: Free
Office trivia is a fairly popular team game that encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing. Most of all, it’s super fun and gets conversations going. To play:
- You’ll need to come up with questions about your company, office, company achievements, or even future goals. They can be simple observational questions like “how many desks do we have on the office floor?” or company knowledge-based questions like “how many awards did the company receive in 2018?”
- Separate your team into smaller groups and have them work together to answer the questions.
Pro-tip: This activity is also super easy to organize with remote teams. All you need is to get your teammates together on a virtual conference platform and play!
Related reading: Work team building activities.
#8 Eyes and ears (In-person)
Best for: Quick office games
Price: $20-40
‘Eyes and ears’ is definitely one of our more interesting HR team building games.
To play:
- Divide your employees into teams of 9-15 people
- Split each team into 3 smaller groups. The first group will have their hands tied, the second group will be blindfolded, and the last group will need to remain mute for the duration of the game.
- Give each group an activity or challenge to complete. It could be anything from decorating a cookie with a very specific design, building a structure using Legos, or even forming a figure using clay or play-doh.
- Set a timer (10 to 15 minutes work best) and instruct them to work through their limitations as a team to complete the task.
- Once the time is up, have them take off their blindfolds and hand ties to observe and discuss their results, including things they did well and could have done better.
This game is effective because it mirrors the experience of working in a team. It highlights the fact that not everyone has the same capabilities but still needs to work together to achieve a common goal.
What are the benefits of HR games for team building?
A cohesive HR team is like a well-oiled machine. When HR professionals work well together, they are able to successfully keep morale, motivation, and employee performance high.
However, this level of seamless collaboration doesn’t happen automatically. This is where HR team building games come in.
HR team exercises are one of the most effective ways to facilitate better collaboration and communication between team members. They have both long and short-term benefits to employees and the company.
Some of these benefits of human resource team building activities include:
- Enhanced creativity
- Improved physical and mental health
- Boosted employee morale
- Increased motivation and work satisfaction
- Increased trust and respect
HR team building activities - easy, but not simple
Within any HR team, you’ll find people with different personalities, needs, and strengths. This means that while planning HR team building games may be easy; you might not always get results as quickly as you’d like. But that’s okay because, as the popular saying goes, “good things take time”.
Just like with any other team, strong HR team bonds are built over time and with consistent effort. A key tip to keep in mind is that as your team grows and changes, you’ll need to make adjustments to sustain and build on the improvements you’ve already made.
If you’re interested in finding some more creative team building ideas, you can check out some of our other resources on free virtual team building activities and team building online or check out our list of the best team building apps.
Share fun facts and bond with a team quiz
Have your participants choose from a list of questions they’d like their coworkers to answer about them, before watching as they guess the right answer.
01. Yes
share-fun-facts-and-bond-with-a-team-quiz
Run a guided recognition activity
Have your participants choose from a list of questions they’d like their coworkers to answer about them, before watching as they guess the right answer.
01. Yes
run-a-guided-recognition-activity
Organize a virtual cooking class
Hire a professional chef to help your team cook a delicious lunch or dinner. May be difficult for co-workers with families. To find providers and get tips, read our blog about virtual cooking classes.
02. No
organize-a-virtual-cooking-class
Hire a stand-up comedian
Have your participants choose from a list of questions they’d like their coworkers to answer about them, before watching as they guess the right answer.
02. No
hire-a-stand-up-comedian
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Table of contents
The HR team is one of the most crucial teams in an organization because they’re responsible for handling the affairs of other employees and keeping job satisfaction up. However, much like other teams, they sometimes face stumbling blocks when it comes to communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
When this happens, you can organize team activities designed to help your team overcome these challenges.
Diver deeper into team building for specific roles:
- Activities for sales teams
- Activities for software engineers and agile teams
- Activities for senior management
- Activities for customer service teams
Affordable human resource team building activities
#1 Team refinement exercise (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Problem-solving
Price: Free
Human resource teams handle a range of employee affairs, including recruitment, compensation and benefits, motivation, and performance management. Because they are responsible for solving the issues of other employees, one focus point of HR team building activities should be problem-solving. This is why team refinement exercises are so great. They not only help teammates resolve issues and overcome challenges but also help improve work relationships.
For this exercise, have teammates fill out handouts answering the following questions:
- What are the main employee issues we should be focusing on as a team?
- What are some communication and interpersonal challenges we are currently facing as a team?
- Rate the productivity of the team from 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely productive.
Give everyone a few minutes to complete their handouts, then have teammates take turns reading out their answers to the rest of the group so that everyone can discuss possible solutions to team issues.
#2 Three minutes (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Improving collaboration
Price: Free
One of our favorite HR team building games is three minutes because it helps employees see the benefits of working together as a team instead of completing tasks individually.
To play:
- Ask teammates to write down as many countries (or capital cities, depending on your preference) as they can without searching them up.
- Let them know that they are not to share answers, then set a 3-minute timer for them to complete the task.
- Once they’re done, have them count the number of countries (or cities) they each came up with.
- Next, set another 3-minute timer, but this time, have them work together as a group to come up with the list.
- Have them compare their individual results with the group results.
Chances are, they’ll come up with a better list when they work together than when they work alone. Once the game is completed, you can begin a conversation about the advantages of teamwork and collaboration.
#3 Team volunteering (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Community outreach
Price: Free
Team volunteering has become more popular among companies over the years, and for good reason too. Volunteering as a team helps encourage teamwork and creates a sense of camaraderie among employees. More than that, it also boosts employee morale as they give back to the community and improves the company image.
You can visit Volunteer Match or Volunteer.gov to find fun volunteering opportunities in your area. Alternatively, you can ask employees if they have any causes they support and if they’ll be open to the rest of the team joining in.
Pro-tip: Consider offering PTO for volunteering as an added incentive.
#4 Outdoor activities (In-person)
Best for: Nature lovers
Price: $10-100/person
Quite a number of HR team building activities are confined to the office space, so why not switch things up by stepping out to the great outdoors?
As simple as this seems, the mere act of moving your employees out of the office does wonders. Something about being out in the free nature makes it easier for people to be more honest, vulnerable, and open. Plus, it supports the well-being of your coworkers.
A few outdoor activities to consider include:
- Rope courses
- Scavenger hunts
- Nature walks
- Hiking
- Cabin retreats
- Camping
These activities are also great because they improve communication and teamwork and can even help you identify leadership qualities in your employees.
#5 What’s your N.A.M.E.? (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Learning more about coworkers
Price: Free
This activity works for both new and old teams because it provides teammates with a unique opportunity to share facts about themselves that their coworkers otherwise might not have known.
To play, have each person write down their first name on a piece of paper. Give them some time to think of a fun or interesting fact that starts with each letter in their name. Then have them take turns saying their name and corresponding facts.
For example, someone named Brad might say, “My name is Brad. B is for Botswana because I did my year abroad there. R is for Resident Evil because it’s my favorite video game. A is for Action because that’s my favorite movie genre. And D is for Digital media technology because that’s what I studied in college”.
#6 Help me (In-person or virtual)
Best for: Encouraging teamwork
Price: Free
Employees don’t always feel comfortable enough to ask their teammates for help when dealing with work-related challenges. ‘Help me’ provides the opportunity for them to freely do so. This game is similar to the team refinement exercise, except this time around, the focus is on helping teammates in their individual roles.
For this activity:
- Distribute index cards and ask everyone to write down their name and at least one work issue they’re struggling with in their role.
- Shuffle all the cards and have each team member pick a card from the stack. If anyone picks their own card, have them put it back and pick another.
- Once everyone has a card, allocate some time for them to write a way they could help with the issue.
- When they’re done, have them write their names at the bottom of the card and return it to the original owner.
An activity like this helps teammates see how easy it is to ask for and get help, meaning they’ll be more open to the idea moving forward. This is especially important for HR teams as they set an example for the rest of the organisation. It also creates an opportunity for people to learn more about their co-workers, which gives room for empathy, understanding, and better communication to thrive.
#7 Office Trivia (In-Person or virtual)
Best for: Testing knowledge and fostering conversations between teammates
Price: Free
Office trivia is a fairly popular team game that encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing. Most of all, it’s super fun and gets conversations going. To play:
- You’ll need to come up with questions about your company, office, company achievements, or even future goals. They can be simple observational questions like “how many desks do we have on the office floor?” or company knowledge-based questions like “how many awards did the company receive in 2018?”
- Separate your team into smaller groups and have them work together to answer the questions.
Pro-tip: This activity is also super easy to organize with remote teams. All you need is to get your teammates together on a virtual conference platform and play!
Related reading: Work team building activities.
#8 Eyes and ears (In-person)
Best for: Quick office games
Price: $20-40
‘Eyes and ears’ is definitely one of our more interesting HR team building games.
To play:
- Divide your employees into teams of 9-15 people
- Split each team into 3 smaller groups. The first group will have their hands tied, the second group will be blindfolded, and the last group will need to remain mute for the duration of the game.
- Give each group an activity or challenge to complete. It could be anything from decorating a cookie with a very specific design, building a structure using Legos, or even forming a figure using clay or play-doh.
- Set a timer (10 to 15 minutes work best) and instruct them to work through their limitations as a team to complete the task.
- Once the time is up, have them take off their blindfolds and hand ties to observe and discuss their results, including things they did well and could have done better.
This game is effective because it mirrors the experience of working in a team. It highlights the fact that not everyone has the same capabilities but still needs to work together to achieve a common goal.
What are the benefits of HR games for team building?
A cohesive HR team is like a well-oiled machine. When HR professionals work well together, they are able to successfully keep morale, motivation, and employee performance high.
However, this level of seamless collaboration doesn’t happen automatically. This is where HR team building games come in.
HR team exercises are one of the most effective ways to facilitate better collaboration and communication between team members. They have both long and short-term benefits to employees and the company.
Some of these benefits of human resource team building activities include:
- Enhanced creativity
- Improved physical and mental health
- Boosted employee morale
- Increased motivation and work satisfaction
- Increased trust and respect
HR team building activities - easy, but not simple
Within any HR team, you’ll find people with different personalities, needs, and strengths. This means that while planning HR team building games may be easy; you might not always get results as quickly as you’d like. But that’s okay because, as the popular saying goes, “good things take time”.
Just like with any other team, strong HR team bonds are built over time and with consistent effort. A key tip to keep in mind is that as your team grows and changes, you’ll need to make adjustments to sustain and build on the improvements you’ve already made.
If you’re interested in finding some more creative team building ideas, you can check out some of our other resources on free virtual team building activities and team building online or check out our list of the best team building apps.
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