Working for Poppulo for over six years now, it’s still fascinating to see how our platform makes very complex communication challenges so much easier for an incredibly diverse range of companies and global organizations.

From pharma to fintech, to car manufacturing to hospitality and major aerospace companies—and so much more.

I was also struck again recently by the way organizations in the same sector use the different elements of our omnichannel platform to solve different challenges and problems.

in the US, both used the email function of our platform to surmount specific internal communication issues. On the other hand, the 

 in the US, have found that our sector-leading digital signage solution is best suited for their specific communication needs.

Other organizations find that a combination of our mobile app and digital signage is the best way to reach all audiences, especially those who are not office-based—for example, manufacturing, retail, and frontline workers—while an increasing number of companies are using the full omnichannel suite of channels for their different employee audiences. 

The bigger and more complex a company is, the more they need to use multiple communication channels—email, mobile, digital signage, Intranet, and enterprise social networks—through one platform.

Irrespective of which of our platform’s solutions organizations use to reach and connect with their different people audiences, the critical element is the analytics employee communicators have at their fingertips.

Data and analytics enable them to know whether their comms are hitting the mark and if people are engaging with them, and what content performs best for different audiences—insights that can then inform and guide communication strategy going forward.

Poppulo analytics and the ability to personalize and target content to different audiences was key to Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s priority to achieve cut-through with the communications that really mattered during a time of large-scale organizational change and a global pandemic.

We pretty much live, sleep, and breathe Poppulo—it has revolutionized the way we work as an internal comms team, really,” said Kate Hughes, Group Internal Communications Manager. 

“The biggest thing for us is the ability to target our comms to deliver relevant content to different audiences, and the data that Poppulo provides about how our comms are performing is invaluable. It really helps inform how we do our comms and gives us insights on where we need to focus more," she said.

Operational changes combined with data-driven personalized comms through Poppulo have been transformational, with engagement levels above industry and peer benchmarks. The organization’s newsletter now enjoys open rates of 85% and click rates of up to 20%.

Meanwhile, the communications team at Augusta University had a very different problem with their email communication to staff and students: lack of governance, the inability to target, and the consequent comms noise. 

The communication team of two (with another 27 communicators across 11 colleges and two healthcare systems) had no organized way to create engaging emails and more importantly, could not target them to a specific college, group of employees, or students. As a result, some communicators were sending daily emails to 20,000 or more people!

“It got out of hand,” recalls John Jenkins, former Internal Communications and Publications Coordinator at Agusta." “Too many uncoordinated emails meant many were not read. There was no policing on our end and that was costing us a tremendous amount of money.

Reducing noise and creating clarity was key—and that’s where Poppulo came in. To do that, Jenkins, and Rachel Robbins—Director, Digital & Interactive Effectiveness— were looking to align and empower their network of communicators.

“Our goal was to turn our extended team into experts in delivering personalized, relevant, and targeted content. Our communications experience platform, Poppulo, made that possible,” said Robbins.

In Canada, the University of Calgary found that the best way to streamline communications at its world-renowned Taylor Family Digital Library (TFDL) is through Poppulo Harmony’s digital signage solution.

This 265,000 sq. ft. facility offering collaborative and individual learning spaces, state-of-the-art technology—with historical archives, 600,000 books, an art gallery, a student success center, research facilities, and much more—required the most sophisticated, streamlined digital signage software for its 35 kiosks, five media walls, and 84 interactive meeting rooms.

Digital signage plays a crucial role in how students, visitors, faculty, and staff experience the TFDL. However, prior to implementing Poppulo, while the library already had screens in place, its various digital signage software platforms were making it difficult to manage the large network and optimize every display.

When the University brought in Poppulo, every kiosk, media wall, and interactive meeting room within the TFDL came under one flexible content management platform. 

By consolidating its digital signage applications, the TFDL was able to streamline its digital communications efforts and provide localized, relevant information on each of its screens.

Using Poppulo’s software, the TFDL team created a comprehensive interactive directory that includes bus schedules, computer availability, an up-to-date event calendar, and wayfinding capabilities.

Digital signage also plays a key role in the communications strategy of West Virginia University (WVU)—particularly to enhance the experience of its 28,000 students—and when it needed to move on from its legacy software platform it chose Poppulo, due to its superior flexibility, network security, and high level of functionality.

The university needed additional flexibility within the template management and scheduling functions as well as the ability to leverage interactivity for donor recognition and hall of fame projects. It also wanted to enable building-specific wayfinding.

The Poppulo Harmony platform not only delivered on these requirements, but it also provided the University with access to multiple new features. 

Additionally, WVU’s software managers gained the ability to centrally control every aspect of the institution’s digital signage network while also enabling various user groups to access and update custom content databases. 

This functionality gives each group ownership of the content displayed on their screens.

So, there you have it, from Cambridge to Calgary and Augusta to West Virginia, when Universities need to solve very different and frequently complex communication challenges, they find the best-in-class solution is the Poppulo Harmony platform.

Interested in learning more about how the Poppulo Harmony platform can help your campus with student, faculty, and staff communications? 

Best in Class: How Poppulo Helps Universities Get Top Communication Grades

Digital transformation continues to be a key priority across many industries and organizations in 2023. 

When successful implementation is known to improve efficiency and productivity, the employee experience, company reputation, and sustainability, it’s obvious to see why.

But it’s not as simple as sourcing and rolling out the latest tech capabilities or digital platforms. There are significant challenges to overcome to ensure any digital transformation is successfully adopted by your employees.

Employee Communication Can Make of Break Your Digital Transformation—Here's How to Do It Right

Here are six ways that IT and Internal Communications can work together to ensure any digital transformation effort is adopted successfully, and the business benefits are realized quickly.


It’s fundamental that everyone involved is clear on why the transformation is required and what the benefits are for both the business and employees—this starts with IT and IC coming together to understand the desired and expected outcomes themselves. 

Having a shared vision and understanding of how the transformation aligns with the organizational objectives and values is a critical first step in establishing trust and support amongst employees that these changes are both necessary and a positive step forward for the organization.

# 2. Understand and respect the employee change journey


Change can be exciting. It can also be daunting, worrying, and stressful to many. However, combining the tech expertise of IT and the people-centric know-how and networks of IC creates a recipe for implementation success. 

Any concerns about change can be massively reduced if employees feel they are supported through the process. This starts with having a solid internal communication strategy and plans for the campaign that fully considers the change journey that employees will go on.

Employees will make or break the digital transformation process

. No matter how incredible or transformational your platform or tech promises to be, it will be a flop if employees are not engaged early on. 

This is where IT can really leverage IC’s people connections and expertise in employee engagement. Inform your employees, involve them in the whole process, and ask for their feedback. 


Leaders from the C-Suite to first-line managers need to buy into any digital transformation, not just personally speaking, but because they will be key ambassadors and role models of any adoption and behavioral change across the organization. 

They need to walk the talk. IT and IC must therefore work together to ensure all leaders are aware of what’s changing, why, and when, and that they’re enabled to build their tech capabilities and feel confident in using it or at least understand the terminology. 

Then they’ll be well established to become change champions, and better decision makers and lead the rest of the organization forward on its digital transformation journey.


Nothing resonates more effectively than a personal story. Weave personal stories and real-life examples of how employees are adopting the new technology or behavioral changes and other 

employees will more easily understand what’s expected of them

Share success stories of how the transformation has improved a colleague’s work-life or role and don’t be afraid to share employee challenges or doubts about the change and how they overcame it. 

Be human, relatable, and honest in your communication story-telling and you’ll convert the biggest nay-sayer to an advocate in no time.


IT and IC have such different areas of expertise, but combined they create a partnership powerhouse. Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes! Share, collaborate, seek to understand one another, and leverage your skills for the greater good and any digital transformation will be all the more effectively adopted than if you didn’t.

How IT and IC Can Partner Effectively to Ensure Successful Digital Transformation

If a CEO could spend just a few minutes inside the minds of thier employees on a Sunday night, they would have a pretty good understanding of how healthy their organization’s work environment is.

Today’s employees are the least tolerant of a negative or hostile work environment. Given their willingness to quit for greener pastures, it is crucial to proactively monitor employee sentiment and prioritize the creation of a positive, supportive work environment.

But this shift toward focusing on employee well-being and workplace culture is a positive trend that actually benefits both individuals and organizations alike. By prioritizing a healthy work environment, organizations can attract and retain top talent, while also seeing increased productivity and, ultimately, success.


Tackling Attrition: Time to Ramp Up Employee & Workplace Experience

study by the American Psychological Association

, 80% of US workers say that their employer “has a responsibility to ensure a mentally healthy workplace.”

Creating an upbeat atmosphere where your employees feel respected, valued, and heard, can help your organization thrive. On the other hand, a toxic work environment can have serious adverse effects on your employees’ motivation levels, productivity, and engagement—along with your bottom line.

Many factors determine what makes a healthy work environment, and providing employees with a physically safe, clean, and welcoming workspace is only the tip of the iceberg. A 

 found that 56% of job seekers prioritize the non-tangibles—the culture and values—over salary when considering a job offer.

Let’s take a closer look at what we mean by a healthy working environment and the many benefits it offers.

How to Provide a Safe, Healthy Space for Employees

As an employer, it’s your responsibility to provide employees with an organized, comfortable, and safe workspace.

Tips for providing this type of workspace include: 

Adhering to building regulations and guidelines

Implementing quiet areas for focus or relaxation

Including natural elements in the design of your office

Providing a workspace where employees can be productive is an excellent first step. But attaining a healthy environment goes beyond this. You can be confident that your employees feel good about the work week ahead if you are consciously cultivating a calm atmosphere, reinforcing positive company values, and embracing a culture of open and honest communication.

The 8 Signs of a Healthy Work Environment

What constitutes "strong internal communication” in a modern, successful organization? There is a lengthy list to tick off—communications must be consistent, timely, relevant, tailored, and accessible. Information should not only be delivered to employees, but crucially, ideas should be shared and discussed, and employee feedback gathered and heard.

 offer this level of sophistication, ensuring highly personalized content reaches all employees—no matter what channel they prefer to use.

 fosters a collaborative environment where employees feel safe and welcome to express their opinions. Managers should embrace an open-door policy, encouraging employees to call on them anytime to voice their concerns or make suggestions.


When employees are engaged in their roles and passionate about what they do, the knock-on effect can transform not only their own personal mental health, but the whole atmosphere and culture within an organization.

 are energized, efficient, and frequently go beyond what’s expected of them. This is key to keeping 

There are a ton of ways to improve employee engagement levels, but some examples include the following;

providing opportunities for growth and development

building a culture of open and transparent communication

hosting regular team-building activities and events

3. Clearly Defined Roles and Responsibilities

, only 50% of employees strongly agreed that they know what is expected of them at work! This lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities can lead to confusion, frustration, and disengagement among employees. Mistakes are bound to occur. Essential tasks will fall between the cracks. Blame and finger-pointing will inevitably result.

In a healthy work environment, everyone is clear on what they are doing, and, most importantly, clear on their own personal objectives and goals, plus the overarching goals of the entire organization. Understanding how this all fits together and how their role impacts the organization’s overall success gives employees an extra motivational edge.

4. Employee Wellness Treated as a Priority

 help to prevent work-induced stress, facilitate better physical, mental, and emotional employee health, and mitigate the risk of burnout.

Initiatives can include everything from yoga sessions to mental health talks, nutritious snacks to mental health days—but should be incorporated into a holistic,long-term wellness program rather than treated as one-off ideas. Ideally, a wellness officer would be appointed to oversee and champion an employee well-being strategy if feasible.

Workplaces that focus on well-being can increase retention levels, improve employee morale, reduce absenteeism, and build a more resilient workforce.

Nearly half of employees say they would consider resigning from their job 

if the values of the company did not align with their own values

Company values are important because they help to create a shared sense of purpose and identity among employees. When company values are well thought out and meaningful, they can also help to build trust and credibility with customers, partners, and other stakeholders.

However, for company values to be truly effective, they must be more than just words on a page. They must be lived daily and reinforced through actions and decisions—by the leadership team and throughout all levels of the organization. When employees see that their organization is genuinely committed to its values, they are more likely to embody these values themselves.

A DEI policy is a non-negotiable for any modern organization. And while establishing a policy is a crucial first step, it represents only the beginning of creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace culture. Organizations must also take action to address systemic biases and inequalities, create opportunities for underrepresented groups to succeed, and foster a culture of respect and openness. This requires ongoing effort and commitment from leadership, as well as buy-in and participation from all employees.

Low levels of diversity in a company can often indicate a toxic work environment that alienates certain employees and affects how comfortable they feel at work. Conversely, an organization with a strong DEI ethos promotes strong employee morale and engagement by creating a sense of belonging.

Teamwork will always come before competition in a positive, collaborative work environment.

While competition is often encouraged by employers in an attempt to make their employees more productive, it can easily backfire. Ties between workers become strained, and a tense atmosphere can build.

When teamwork is endorsed, the opposite is true, as employees show up for one another and inspire and motivate each other to do the best job possible. (Maybe we should talk about “healthy teamwork” rather than “healthy competition”?!)

"Almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you." — Anne Lamott. 

A healthy balance between an employee’s personal and professional activities can significantly benefit an individual and their organization. For example, Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company, is famously known for encouraging employees to take time off to pursue outdoor activities and also offers flexible schedules and on-site childcare.

Happily, more accommodating working arrangements, such as the ability to work remotely, flexible hours, and generous parental leave policies are becoming a reality for many.

Along with greater employee satisfaction, an excellent work-life balance leads to higher productivity, lower absenteeism, and improved physical and mental health among employees.

What Are the Benefits of a Healthy Work Culture?

Creating a positive workplace atmosphere where employees feel respected brings many benefits, including:

Fewer workplace injuries and compensation claims



Are You Ready to Amplify Your Company’s Culture?

A healthy working environment is a vital component of any successful business. While creating a safe, comfortable, and organized workspace for your employees is essential, a positive environment goes far beyond your organization’s physical surroundings.

Many factors make up a positive working environment, from promoting open communication and an excellent work-life balance to embracing diversity and inclusion.

Your organization and employees will benefit greatly when you make a healthy working environment a priority. The most significant of these benefits include increased productivity, higher employee engagement, reduced turnover, and improved business performance. 

The 8 Vital Signs of a Healthy Workplace Environment 

Nestled in Denver's LoDo neighborhood at the heart of Colorado’s transportation hub, Kimpton Hotel Born brings modern alpine luxury to the city. 

With every facet of its guest experience—from the architecture to the culinary offerings, service, and more—designed to welcome guests and ensure they have an exceptional experience, the hotel is dedicated to making each visit memorable.

This boutique hotel sought to incorporate video content into its digital signage to further differentiate its property and impress guests. However, they did not have a specific vision for what the video content could include. The Kimpton approached Poppulo to ideate a solution. In addition to providing the software powering the Kimpton’s digital signs, Poppulo provides a robust in-house design team that specializes in everything from sign design through motion graphics and video creation. After initial discovery conversations with the hotel’s GM and Marketing Director, as well as a site-walk to understand signage location, Poppulo proposed a video content package that could set the standard for the hotel’s screens.

After completing the discovery calls and site walk, the hotel’s many amenities stood out as major differentiators that warranted special attention. This upscale hotel in the heart of downtown Denver boasts a popular restaurant, a cocktail bar, and many other unique offerings, including a Tesla Model Y available for guests to rent. After identifying these amenities and offerings, the team at Poppulo knew digital signage could be better leveraged to ensure guests knew how to advantage of everything the property had to offer.

Poppulo scheduled a 2-day video shoot to capture high-quality footage of every aspect of the hotel. In coordination with the GM, the restaurant’s chef, and other stakeholders, Poppulo created a shot-list and gathered footage using a combination of a digital cinema camera, a drone, and a Steadicam, to create more immersive and engaging video content. Because of the hotel’s prime location, the team at Poppulo made a point to gather footage of the immediate surroundings of the hotel, given that guests could walk right out to Denver’s Union Station, or 16th Street Mall, extending the scope of the shoot in order to bring the energy and charm of the city into the property.

After the shoot, post-production work began, with multiple deliverables provided, including a promotional video the hotel leverages on its website today. In addition to the promotional video, other videos were delivered, focused on the restaurant, the bar, the Tesla rental, and more. The video content was then scheduled to play on the Born’s digital signage network at varying times throughout the day to target different audiences. This approach not only helps the property stand out from an overall branding and advertising perspective, but also allows the hotel to immerse its guests in content designed to drive specific actions. Just take a look at the brand video Poppulo created for the Kimpton Hotel Born and you’ll get a glimpse of what the hotel provides, and what guests get to see on the property’s signage. And if you’re interested in talking with the Poppulo design team to see if they can help add impact to your property’s signage, 

Kimpton Hotel Born: Driving Guest Engagement Through More Immersive Digital Signage

When employee needs or expectations change in relation to work, as they have dramatically over the past few years, leaders need to respond empathetically and quickly to mitigate attrition, disengagement, or reputational issues. 

None of us can predict the future so—in the absence of fortune-telling capabilities—open communication, and collaboration is the next best thing.  

They are both critical components to help positively shape the employee experience and ensure the needs and expectations of employees are consistently understood and met throughout their employment lifecycle.

The Maximus Story: Aligning Internal Comms with the Workplace Experience

With workplace evolution and transformation continuing to be a theme in 2023, the focus on people-centric leadership, and an employee experience that enables employees to bring their best selves to work, should remain a top priority for Human Resource and Internal Communication leaders alike.

Here are five ways HR and Internal Communications can collaborate effectively to ensure the employee experience is, and remains, sustainably superb while enabling positive business outcomes.

# 1. Foster open and honest communication

, organizations need to up the ante on what good looks like for listening to and communicating with employees in 2023. IC and HR are perfectly placed to drive and influence this with their combined people-centric focus, connections, and communication capabilities.

Ensure the organization's communication channels are fit-for-purpose and meet the needs of your employees

Actively create opportunities for employees' needs, concerns, and ideas to be heard without judgment or retribution

Treat staff with respect, empathy, and intelligence when company communications are shared

Utilize a communication champions network to use as sounding boards or proofreaders to ensure your communications resonate and hit the mark

Ensure employees know what was done with their feedback, ideas, or concerns—or, equally, communicate a valid, honest explanation of why change didn’t occur

 highlighted, trust in government and institutions hit an all-time low in 2022.  This reflected an upshift in employees' trust in their employer as employees sought to find transparency and honesty elsewhere. 

The benefits of employer trust are far-reaching.  According to 

, employees who feel they have a culture of trust at work experience 74% less stress and feel 76% more engaged than those in "low-trust workplaces."

Internal Comms and HR can support one another and their organization in dealing with the 

Actively and openly address toxic behavior

Ensure honest, respectful, and transparent communications

 Openly share and educate employees on company policies and practices

We’re moving into an era where collectivism rather than individualism is the route to sustainable success.  We are stronger together. Since HR and Internal Communications are united in their focus on people—while being aligned to support organizational success through their people-focused work—it makes absolute sense to double-up on advocacy across and between these heart-of-the-organization functions.

Establish cross-departmental communication to ensure that HR and communication departments are aware of each other's activities and objectives

Brainstorm challenges together to broaden both sets of  perspectives and insights to improve the employee experience

Plan measurement approaches and share the people-centric data you collect with one another to inform your next steps

Rotate your talent through secondments and cross-departmental projects to cross-pollenate expertise and insights, as well as enhance your relations and understanding of your employees, to ensure your strategies and tactics remain relevant and sustainable

, three-quarters of employees would stay longer at a company if they could benefit more from learning and development support. Work isn’t just a means to an end or necessary duty anymore, it represents opportunity, purpose, and personal fulfillment.

Organizations that instill a culture of learning and enable their employees to build critical career-development skills will be front of the queue when it comes to talent retention too.

Employees actively want and look for employers to support their ongoing career growth.  From recruitment to onboarding and throughout an employee’s active employment lifespan, HR and IC can collaborate to understand their employee needs and deliver learning and development opportunities that serve both people and businesses well.

It shouldn’t all be training program-based learning either, as there’s much to be gained from learning within a role, and learning from your peers and leaders. 

HR and IC would be smart to enable a learning culture where mistakes and failures are embraced, where lessons learned are shared, and where colleagues are actively encouraged to try new approaches and ways of working. 

HR and IC can influence and encourage leaders to role model this, sharing stories of lessons learned to help create the underlying psychologically safe culture that underpins a successful learning environment.

Everyone is done with BS, fakery, propaganda, and political spin. Employees want to be spoken to straight and with respect. They can sniff out dishonesty and disingenuity a mile away.

As key influencers of and trusted advisors to leadership, IC and HR can align and partner to ensure leaders, including themselves, actively role model the company values, do what they say they will, show empathy, and be much more human in their everyday working lives.  

Employees today are truth-seekers and they demand authenticity and respect, so make sure that’s what they get through their employee experience at work.

5 Ways HR and IC Can Collaborate to Create a Superb Employee Experience

What you say is almost as important as how you say it—and when and where you say it. 

The right message at the wrong time and place results in a missed opportunity to make an impact, essentially rendering that “right message” pointless. Not only that, it’s frustrating to the people you were trying to reach in the first place. Think about driving your car and seeing an important message about something ahead. Have you ever passed the sign before you are able to read and understand the message fully? It happens all the time. It’s highly likely that you’ve been in this situation and been left wondering, “what did I miss? What’s happening ahead of me?” Missing out on critical information is not fun—and not just in your personal life, but in your professional life too.

Give Your Audience the Info They Need (When & Where They Need it)

If people are unable to absorb the messaging you need them to see, you are minimizing the effectiveness of your communications. Think about that in terms of your digital signage network. It doesn’t matter who you’re trying to reach—guests in your hotel, passengers on your cruise ship, patrons on your casino floor, or students on your campus—if you’re not reaching them in the moments they need to know what you have to say, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

That’s why it’s critical to consider the location and messaging strategy for each screen. Every screen should have a defined purpose, and the content it shows needs to be tailored to the needs of the person at the receiving end of the content.

If you want to optimize your ability to reach your audience, you need to consider how they use your space and what they need while they use it. Think about the physical location of your signs and how the space around them is used. Are the signs in a hallway in the Business School’s buildings or are they in your lobby where patrons enter? Are you trying to inform students about an upcoming event or guests about your latest promo? These questions—while simple—are critical to ask. Because without answers to them, you can’t tailor your content to the place. Depending on where your screens are, sometimes short and impactful messages with eye catching graphics are the way to go. And in other places where your audience will likely have a longer dwell-time, video-based content and more detailed information is a better option. Consider walking your space and observing how your audience uses it. Watch for how they interact with your content. And ask yourself, is each piece of content optimized for the location?

Just imagine how changing the format of your message can connect with your audience in the moments that might make an impact on the actions they take.

Fit Your Content to the Way Your Space is Used

In any use case, the content you display should not only be tailored to the place it’s displayed, but the way it’s built should also take into account the space. So, apart from the message itself, you should also consider the formatting of the content. Each one of your signs should only display content that matches text size to viewing distance, as well as content duration to the amount of text.

Taking location into consideration has a direct impact on the readability of the signs and thereby the effectiveness of your messaging. Ensuring your content is designed for the space is one key to world-class digital signage—and it’s something we’re passionate about. A lot goes into some of these decisions, and we’re happy to help you with any questions regarding screen location and content optimization, just 

Location, location, location.

United teams don’t just happen by chance. They are built over time and depend on strong relationships. These relationships are forged by experiences, by special times, and events, bringing employees together and creating long-lasting bonds.

In other words, let’s talk about team building.

Teambuilding activities nurture employee relationships by constructing the perfect settings and perfect conditions for friendships to grow. In a world where we no longer work in physical proximity to our colleagues every single day, some might argue that it’s more essential than ever to play a sort of matchmaker—to take deliberate steps to manufacture situations and spark conversations that allow trust and camaraderie to develop.

A team that genuinely cares about one another will go above and beyond to support each other.

If successful, your team will enjoy improved employee morale, engagement, and ultimately, increased productivity.

In this blog, we suggest some communication-based teambuilding activities that aim to strengthen the relationships within your team.

Why is it so Important to Improve Communication Within Your Team?

 is the key ingredient to any successful organization.

Alignment—clarity and understanding around a common purpose inspires team members to work in harmony to achieve their goals

What Are the Benefits of Team Building Activities?

Even though they sometimes appear to be mere frivolous games, in reality, team building activities are thoughtfully designed to encourage people to work as a unit.

These activities have several benefits, including 

Increasing employee problem-solving skills

Everyone can benefit from the cohesive, close-knit environment that comes from strong internal communication. 

12 Ideas for Communication-Based Team Building Activities



Coffee chats are a simple but incredibly effective relationship-building activity. This activity involves two randomly selected team members being paired to share a cup of coffee and a casual chat.

This communication-centered activity strengthens employee relationships by allowing them to share their hobbies, interests, and details about their personal lives. The best part about coffee chats is that they 

—they can be just as effective over Zoom or Teams.

This fun activity sees employees use teamwork and communication skills to achieve their goals.

A great thing about scavenger hunts is that they don’t have to be expensive, and it’s possible to organize one in the office. Examples of clues you might include in an office-based 

Take a photo with three separate employees who wear glasses

Find the person who has worked in your office the longest

Another simple team activity that allows employees to let their guard down and have some fun. You only need a medium-sized beach ball, a marker, and some motivated team members to play this game.

Take the marker and write ten questions on the beach ball. Gather your team into a circle and kick things off by passing the ball to an employee. Whoever catches the ball must answer the question closest to their right thumb.

Sample questions that will help employees get to know each other on a more personal level include:

What is your favorite TV show/movie/book/author?

Where was the last place you went on vacation?

This is one of the most popular games for helping people get to know one another, and not without good reason. To kick off this activity, ask each team member to come up with three personal facts about themselves. As the name suggests, one of these facts will be a lie. It’s up to the rest of the team to try and decide which of the three facts is untrue.

Although identifying the lie can be fun, the game’s true purpose is to give your employees an easy way to share interesting facts about themselves that they may otherwise not feel comfortable sharing. Again, this can be done over Teams or Zoom. 


Everybody loves a good board game. With many office-friendly board games, this is the perfect opportunity to bring your team members together for good old-fashioned fun and team bonding.

To begin this activity, split your team members into pairs. One person in each pair will get a picture of a simple image, and the other will get a piece of paper and a pen.

It’s up to the picture-holder to describe what they see on the paper as their teammate attempts to draw it. To finish the activity, have each set of partners compare their pictures with the rest of the group to see which duo created the most accurate depiction. This is sure to elicit some laughter.

For this activity, you’ll need to ask your employees to share an unknown personal fact about themselves on paper. After they’ve submitted the piece of paper to you, read each fact and have the team try to guess which fact matches which team member. This can also be done with a distributed team using whiteboarding software like Miro.

To set up the course, you can use cones, ropes, chairs, or other everyday objects to create an obstacle course. Then, divide the team into pairs, one wearing a blindfold and the other serving as their guide.

The goal of the activity is for the person wearing the blindfold to make it through the obstacle course while relying solely on the verbal directions of their partner. The guide must give clear, specific instructions, and the person wearing the blindfold must trust their partner and follow their directions.

From leadership skills and logic to teamwork and communication, escape rooms help employees to develop many valuable skills. Plus, they’re an excellent opportunity to get your employees out of the office for the day as they get to know one another in a more relaxed, laid-back environment.

Volunteering isn’t just an excellent opportunity for you and your employees to give back to your local community; it’s a fantastic way for teams to bond. A sense of teamwork is fostered when the entire team participates in a worthwhile activity for a good cause.

Divide the team into smaller groups and have them compete to build the tallest tower out of everyday objects such as straws, tape, and paper. 

The goal of the activity is for each group to build the tallest tower they can within a set time limit, using only the provided materials. Employees must work together to devise a plan and effectively communicate their ideas to build the tower. This activity helps to develop problem-solving skills, teamwork, and communication. It’s also a nice opportunity to step away from screens and engage in something entirely different for an hour.

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