Transforming new hire onboarding with a scavenger hunt
Mar 11, 2025
Starting a new job can feel overwhelming—new names, new tools, new routines—so much to process in so little time. One critical aspect of onboarding is ensuring new hires feel connected, not just to their immediate team members but to the broader company culture. Without meaningful integration, those first few weeks can feel isolating, leaving employees disengaged and struggling to transition smoothly.
Enter the onboarding scavenger hunt.
This approach offers a creative and interactive way to enhance the onboarding process. By incorporating team-building elements, it helps new employees feel welcomed, connected, and aligned with the company culture. It provides a platform for fostering genuine relationships while making the transition into a new role an enjoyable and memorable experience.
Why onboarding scavenger hunts are game-changers
An onboarding scavenger hunt offers significant advantages for new employees and the organization. Here's why it works so well.
Improved engagement
Joining a new workplace comes with an information overload. A scavenger hunt transforms this overwhelming process into a hands-on activity. Instead of passively absorbing information, new hires actively engage with their coworkers, leading to better retention and a more personalized onboarding program.
Faster integration onto the team
A scavenger hunt introduces employees to their coworkers quickly and naturally. Whether your team is remote, hybrid, or in-person, this structure encourages meaningful interactions that fast-track a sense of belonging.
Reinforcement of company culture
A scavenger hunt built around connecting employees demonstrates that your company truly values people as individuals, not just coworkers. By encouraging genuine interactions and meaningful connections, it provides new hires with a firsthand experience of your company culture. Instead of simply talking about your values, this activity brings them to life, celebrating the unique contributions and stories of team members in an engaging and authentic way.
Adaptability for remote employees
Even virtual onboarding has space for scavenger hunts! Remote-friendly tools like Slack, Teams, or email can be leveraged to structure interactive and collaborative experiences. This makes onboarding inclusive for every employee, no matter where they’re located.
Designing your onboarding scavenger hunt
Crafting an effective scavenger hunt requires thoughtful planning, especially if your focus is ensuring new employees meet their teammates and feel connected. Here’s how you can design a hunt that ticks all the boxes.
Step 1: Define clear objectives
Decide what you want the scavenger hunt to achieve. Since the goal here is to foster connections, the tasks should go beyond job roles and emphasize interests and shared experiences. For example, having a task like “Find three coworkers who also love hiking” creates instant rapport.
Step 2: Create engaging tasks and clues
Think outside the box to develop tasks that promote both learning and fun. Here are a few ideas:
Build connections: “Find a teammate who share similar interests, like someone who also enjoys gardening or who also has a pet reptile.”
Company context: “Find a teammate who has been at the company for over five years and ask them their best insider tip.”
Shared geographical ties: “Discover someone who lives in the same city as you, or someone who has lived in the same city in Spain as you.”
Step 3: Incorporate company culture and rituals
Tasks can provide a glimpse into your company's unique rituals. Whether it’s referencing a shared love for “Pizza Fridays” or the company's ongoing battle between cat and dog lovers, these light-hearted touches make learning enjoyable while starting to understand the company culture.
Step 4: Leverage technology
Platforms like InCommon can elevate—and automate—your scavenger hunt. With personalized data about employee interests and experiences, InCommon can auto-generate scavenger hunts tailored to your team’s unique dynamics. Shuffle through endless options to find the right mix, and the platform does the heavy lifting to create a ready-to-use, interactive experience for onboarding.
Implementing your scavenger hunt
Now that your scavenger hunt is designed, successfully implementing it is key to ensuring a smooth transition for your new hire.
Choose the right tools and platforms
For in-person teams, printed task lists can work just as well as digital versions. For remote teams, use tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or email to distribute your scavenger hunt. A platform like InCommon can also be used to both create and distribute the entire experience.
Provide clear instructions and support
Make sure new hires know exactly how the scavenger hunt works. Include details such as how to document their answers (e.g., email, Slack, etc.) and how to submit them. Creating clear instructions ensures that the activity feels fun and organized, not confusing.
Encourage collaboration and teamwork
Whenever possible, encourage teamwork by involving other employees. For example:
Pair up your new hire with a seasoned employee so they can get even more authentic information about their new team.
Create teams within larger onboarding cohorts, where they work together to complete specific challenges.
Amplify their answers by sharing them in a common Slack channel, either with other new hires or their team. This helps ensure their discoveries are shared widely, allowing everyone to benefit from the insights gained during the scavenger hunt.
Gamify the experience
Add incentives to make participation more exciting:
Offer branded swag for completed tasks.
Host a friendly competition across departments with small prizes for the first to finish.
Just ensure this doesn’t add pressure—keep it playful and light-hearted.
Practical examples of scavenger hunt tasks
If you’re looking for inspiration, here are some coworker-based scavenger hunt ideas.
Coworker connections:
“Find someone who’s a fan of live music. What’s their favorite artist?”
“Who's the pickiest coffee drinker you can find? What's their favorite drink or brand?”
Fun facts:
“Find out who on the team has a dog named Beans.”
“Which teammate has rock-climbed Mount Rainier? Bonus points for photos!”
Shared locations or schools:
“Find someone who grew up in Chicago. How do they feel about deep dish pizza?”
“Who has lived in Paris? Ask them to share their favorite hidden gem in the city.”
“Find a coworker who went to Stanford University. What was their favorite class or memory from their time there?”
“Who on the team attended a university on the East Coast? Find out which one and what they studied.”
Pro tip: Using a platform like InCommon makes this process even easier to manage. The platform automatically pulls employee interests into its algorithm and builds custom scavenger hunts in minutes—saving onboarding managers hours of effort while ensuring the experience feels highly personalized.
Measuring the success of your scavenger hunt
How do you know your scavenger hunt is effective? By tracking tangible outcomes and collecting feedback.
Feedback surveys
Send out a quick post-hunt survey for your new hires to gauge how the experience impacted their confidence and sense of connection.
Performance metrics
Does this activity shorten the average time it takes for new hires to feel integrated? Look at metrics like retention rates or productivity among recently onboarded employees.
Qualitative assessments
Get feedback from veteran team members to understand how much easier the scavenger hunt makes introductions on their end, too.
Build bonds from day one
Onboarding scavenger hunts are more than just fun team-building activities—they’re powerful tools to ensure a smooth transition for your new hires while reinforcing company culture. By turning introductions into an engaging challenge, you help employees build real connections and feel at home in your organization faster.
Want to make creating scavenger hunts automated and scalable? Take a tour of InCommon or contact our team to learn how InCommon can enhance your onboarding process. Together, we can make onboarding a warm, memorable experience.