2023 Virtual Kick Off Events
Top 20 Virtual Kick Off Events for Companies & Teams
With companies in the full flow of business, strategies and targets for 2023, it’s inevitable that the world of virtual meetings and events will continue to be the platform of choice. But how do you keep individuals and teams motivated, connected and driven as we roll into a new year with a positive vision of the future.
To help we’ve put together our list of the top 20 virtual 2023 kick off & team experiences which can dovetail with any business session to create fun interactive interventions where your staff can come together, connect, communicate, share ideas, plan, creative and use their innovation in a fun way, all targeted towards teamwork and performance in a virtual world.
With lots to choose from, here’s the nations favourite top virtual team building events:
UK's 10 favourite virtual team building ideas
Learn the amazing art of Chocolate Making with our Master Chocolatier & Michelin Star trained chef
Virtual Cocktail Making – An amazing hands on experience with world class cocktail mixologists
Virtual Murder Mystery – Become expert detectives in this virtual Cluedo style adventure
Virtual Escape Room – Can your team solve all the puzzles and escape before time runs out?
Virtual Wine Tasting – Explore the delights of famous wines guided by our interactive wine experts.
Virtual Cooking Events – Hosted by Michelin Star trained chefs, you’ll learn how to cook some amazing culinary delights.
Virtual Horse Racing – All the fun, thrills and excitement of being at the races, just virtually!
Virtual Gameshow Mania – Immerse yourselves in a fully interactive upbeat virtual gameshow experience
I’m Working From Home Get Me Outta Here! – Can you take on the celebrities and show them what you’re made of in the jungle?
Virtual Bear Grylls Survival – Learn amazing new survival skills by a team trained by the world most famous face of survival, Bear Grylls
Our guide on how to organise a virtual team building event
We’ve taken our most popular conventional teambuilding events and adapted them to be run in a safe virtual environment. People from all over the world can come together, take part and enjoy themselves without the fear of social distancing rules.
All events are hosted by a fun, upbeat compere, who will run the show, keep everyone entertained and engaged, and make the entire experience slick, upbeat and engaging.
Live hosts – all virtual team events are hosted by a live compere / host who will welcome everyone and run the experience from start to finish. A live host is far more upbeat and interactive than any pre recorded session. It also means the experience is slick and hassle free for the organiser and anyone taking part.
Are people in teams for virtual events? If so how many? Teams – some virtual events work with everyone in the same virtual arena. These tend to be the likes of our food and drink events where the focus is on the experts who are guiding you through the different elements of the event. Others use virtual breakout rooms where people start all together in the main arena where we welcome everyone and explain the experience and rules. We then automatically divide people into virtual breakout rooms in teams of 3-5 where they play against each other in fun competition. We then bring everyone back together at the end in the same arena for the results and announcement of the winners. For example our virtual cooking events and virtual cocktail making are run with everyone together, as are our gameshow style events such as Master of the Tasks. Events such as our virtual escape room, virtual murder mystery and virtual horse racing work with teams playing in fun competition in mini breakout rooms.
Some events cater for different group sizes. Our app based events and games can cater for up to 250 people in one game, but multiples can be run at the same time which allows the event to run into the 1000’s. We also have specialist formats where unlimited numbers of people can play at the same time. Some events are better suited to smaller groups where a more community feel is required. These include our amazing I’m working from Home Get me Outta Here.
The most common platform for virtual events is Zoom, given it’s popularity and functionality. Zoom has very user friendly functionality for most of our events, including the use of a high volume of breakout rooms. We can also run on many other platforms preferred by different companies. Virtual events can be run on the likes of Microsoft Teams, WEBEX and Google Meet. We are always happy to demo events on different platforms to give you the comfort and security of how they work.
For most events the answer is no. The only time we need peoples details is when we’re sending out packs to people in advance. These tend to be our food and drink events and some of our gameshow experiences. All details received are fully GDPR compliant. We don’t store anyone’s information post event. For the majority of our other events, you don’t need to send us anything. We simply send you an event pack in advance via email with everything you need to know. You just need to forward that on to everyone taking part.
Absolutely not. Our teams have a wealth of experience in running and delivering virtual team events. We will guide you through the different options and recommend the best style of event for your group and organisation. Once you’ve chosen your event, our event management team kick in and make everything hassle free for you. The service is designed for minimum work from your side as the organiser. We want you to enjoy this as much as everyone else. You will have a dedicated project manager who will arrange every aspect of your event. They will also send you everything you need in advance to send to anyone taking part.
100% they are! We’ve taken everything we know from over 14 years experience running team building events for over 60% of the FTSE 100 and adapted the right events to be fully virtual interactive team experiences. We beta test all the different experiences in advance with our own teams and sometimes our clients to get the right level of feedback and make the right adaptations to ensure each event really hits the mark.
One thing we’re always very conscious of is the amount of video calls the world is hosting at the moment. Each and every one of our virtual experiences take this into consideration. The design, function, pace and hosts ensure the event doesn’t just feel like another Zoom session. Our specialist team will work closely with you to recommend the best style of event for your group. Whether it’s a hands on creative experience or a laughter packed virtual gameshow. The proofs in the pudding. Simply read our Feefo reviews to see what our clients say.
In lots of circumstances we can run demo events in advance so you can get a real feel for how the different experiences work. Alternatively we’re always happy to jump on any live call or Zoom session to talk through all the different styles of events so you can really get to understand how they work and what would best fit your team.
We know the feeling…After nearly a year of video rather than face to face contact, the last thing people want is ‘another Zoom meeting’. To combat this all our virtual team building events involve huge levels of participation. A lot of them also include surprise packs that everyone receives in the post. Each experience is very different to a normal Zoom session. You’ll notice the difference as soon as you login!
Top 20 virtual kick off events & activities
1. Virtual Chocolate Making
A virtual team event that’s a real treat for the taste buds. Hosted by our master chocolatier, we’ll take you through the amazing journey of how chocolate goes from bean to bar. It’s then hands on with the ingredients as everyone designs creates & brands their very own unique box of themed chocolate delights. The event also includes the option of individuals receiving a custom pack with all ingredients, equipment and a surprise gift in the post in advance of your event.
2. Virtual Cocktail Making
Become the ultimate party host as you learn some very cool tricks & skills to mix a range of delicious great looking famous cocktails. Hosted from our virtual bar our mixologists give you an amazing demonstration of bar skills before we kick in to a range of fun rounds where everyone will learn how to mix famous cocktails such as Mojitos & Sex on the Beach. The final round hots up with a competition to see who can come up with their own award winning drink. This event also includes the option of a full cocktail kit including all required mixers, drinks, fresh fruits & glassware being posted to everyone in advance.
3. Virtual Murder Mystery
Who dunnit? That’s the ultimate question! We run two versions of our festive Murder Mystery events. One using a high tech Cluedo style app based game, the other with live virtual actors. Each experience tasks teams with the challenge of solving all kinds of clues, examining evidence & hunting for suspects to unravel the crime. Players work in mini teams to share ideas and information to try and work out who was the murderer,
4. Virtual Escape Room
A virtual Christmas event using the latest app based technology & amazing augmented reality. Teams go head to head in our virtual arena to battle it out to find hidden clues, complete puzzles, hunt for mystery information and unravel brain busting conundrums. The clocks ticking, the pressures on & the games masters watching. Who will be the first to successfully escape the room and take the win…?
5. Virtual Wine Tasting
Especially popular at for January Christmas parties, socials, client entertainment or kick offs, our virtual wine tasting experience is a favourite for a lot of companies. Hosted by a professional wine expert, we’ll take you on a journey of taste and aroma with wines from around the world. In advance everyone receives a pack containing all the tasting materials and an amazing selection of different vintage wines. As well as being great fun & educational, this event is a great way to virtually socialise and enjoy a glass or two!
6. Virtual Cooking Events
There’s no better time to learn some amazing skills, and no better person to teach you than our Michelin star-trained chef! We have a variety of cooking options including the great Bakeathon, 2-3 course meals, sushi making & even the stunning Molecular Gastronomy. We either send individuals a list of ingredients or why not let us send them a lovely pack of food, goodies and a mystery gift with everything they need for this amazing virtual cooking experience.
7. Virtual Horse Racing
Get ready for some serious fun and excitement as we bring all the thrills of horse racing direct to your screen. In a fun team head to head competition, players study the forms of each runner for each race before deciding how much fun money they want to bet and on which runner. Our live bookie will then take all bets before each amazing race is run. All races are taken from real events at real stadiums, so this is as close as you can get to the real thing!
8. Virtual Gameshow Bonanza
We’ve taken everything you know from the most famous game shows and mixed them into one fast paced, action packed, fully interactive, comedic hosted experience. In virtual teams, everyone goes head to head in a variety of hilarious rounds that promise to offer something for everyone. Laughter is guaranteed, and be warned, this is no ordinary quiz!
9. Virtual Master of the Tasks
One of our favourite events for all year round, but even more fun with our festive twist. This side splitting event is complete with a professional comedic host playing the role of the master. Everyone receives in advance a game pack with everything they need to play. Teams then go head to head in fun competition to try and crack a range of absolutely crazy challenges.
10. Virtual Deal or Not Real
Teams take part in a range of fun tasks and energizers in advance to win funds. They then enter the nail biting series of rounds against the banker to see which team has the nerves of steel to win the most money and take the win.
11. Virtual Mega Quiz
Our Virtual Mega Quiz is an upbeat fully interactive quiz themed experiences. Loaded with all kinds of fun tasks games and challenges, our virtual quiz is a great experience to create a real social scene for your 2023 team event.
Themed rounds include:
- Festive brain busters
- Individual and Team photo and video challenges
- Collaborative challenges where you all come together at various points throughout the game to compete en masse
- True or False
- Grand finale to crown your winning team
12. Virtual Musical Bingo
Like bingo? Like music? Then this could be for you. Musical Bingo is a pure fun fast paced version of normal bingo, but with music instead on numbers. It works well for Virtual team events where a pure social fun, relaxed experience is required.
Hosted by our professional comperes, we welcome everyone to the game, and explain the simple rules of play. Everyone receives a musical bingo card listing all the different songs and artists. We then pump up the wheels of steel as we flow through all kinds of music tracks from different genres and decades.
Recognise the song? Strike it off, and keep your ears peeled for the next tune! Just like normal bingo, there’s winners for two lines, three lines and of course the full house. This is a virtual team activity that will always bring fun laughter and energy to the table.
13. Virtual Charity Skateboard Build
If you’re looking for an virtual event that offers a heart-warming feel good factor, then our charity concept is ideal. The premise behind this experience is to benefit underprivileged children. For some kids out there, Covid has been an incredibly tough time . This virtual experience enables you to give to an amazing cause and bring the magic of fun to the lives of people who need it most.
In advance everyone receives a pack containing a kit to build a full size skateboard, art materials, tools, stencils and instructions. Guided by our live virtual hosts and artists everyone builds and decorates their very own unique skateboard. We then arrange for couriers to collect the finished items where they return to us for safety checks before they are wrapped and delivered to the designated charity.
14. Virtual House Party
Sit back, crack open a beer, pour a glass of wine and be prepared to have the most fun possible from a virtual team event. In advance everyone receives a game pack in the post containing everything they need to play. Items are as random as a toilet roll, Sellotape, a small Tupperware box, dice and a lolly stick. They all have a roll to play!
As soon as you log in, our lively host welcomes you to the fun and explains the rules. Teams now go head to head on a range of hilarious challenges that will literally have you in stitches of laughter to watch and play. Imagine Celebrity Juice mixed with The Generation Game and you have House Party!
15. I’m Working From Home Get Me Outta Here!
This virtual jungle-themed challenge is your chance to pit yourselves against the celebrities and see if you’ve got what it takes to be crowned the kings and queens of the virtual office.
Another virtual Christmas event where teams receive packs in the post with everything they need to play. As soon as teams log in they’re thrust into a series of themed rounds in fun competition. One of our favourites for this event is ‘nominate’. If your team wins the jackpot, they get the chance to nominate a player from a competing team. Everyone receives edible critters in their posted packs. You can guess what comes next!
16. Virtual Bakeathon
Hosted by our Michelin Star trained chefs, we have 6 bespoke virtual kitchen studios where we live present these amazing Bake Off inspired cookery workshops. In advance of your event everyone receives a box of ingredients with everything they need to create and cook something amazing. Our chef’s will demo a number of cooking techniques before hands on guiding everything through the hands on baking experience. Whether you’re good at cooking or not, this is an inspirational experience which will teach the pro’s new ideas, and guide everyone else through the skills and techniques to design and bake something delicious.
17. Virtual Wine & Cheese Tasting
With a warm welcome the guests arrive and greeted by our very own host along with the cheese and wine experts. With numerous tastings guests will go back and forth between breakout rooms where they can network and chat about the different tastings. When the Cheese expert comes on there will be a short introduction about the rich history of cheese along with some interesting facts about British cheese. Guests will also learn about sourcing the best UK cheeses and how to correctly taste them. We then delve in further where guests learn about the tasting map on your tongue and a little bit of science and what the key is behind tasting cheese & wine. Our cheese expert will include a blue cheese, a cheddar, a soft cheese and goats cheese. Luckily they are also accompanied by chutneys, dried fruits, dates, apricots, olives and sourdough crackers.
After every tasting our wine expert and the UK’S award winning wine hero will marry up the wines and the cheeses. He will include wines with numerous international accolades which will challenge even the most discerning palettes. He will touch on regions, old and new world wines, grapes and varieties. Our wine expert will discuss each wine with the guests with some information on the vineyard and wine producers of the wines showcased.
18. Virtual Bear Grylls Survival Experience
With the world in survival mode, this is the perfect experience to adapt the mindset, step outside of work mode and learn some amazing new skills, all under the brand and guidance of survival experts, trained by the worlds most famous face of survival, Bear Grylls. Don’t worry, we wont be lighting fires in your kitchen, this is a virtual journey into different skills required, both mentally and physically to help us all charge through these crazy times. In mini teams everyone will be given a series of survival challenges, all taken from real life and real potential situations. The design for this is to help people step outside of their own challenges, think bigger picture, and re equip their minds with the right attitude to overcome and tackle problems head on. For example, if you were to take on summiting Everest, what 5 items would you prioritise to carry from a choice of 20? A compass, a torch, a sleeping bag, a map, spare gloves, water, a stove…
19. Virtual Den of Dragons
Do you think you and your team have the entrepreneurial knowhow to squeeze the all important backing finance out of our fierce and foreboding dragons?! Inspired by the highly successful BBC show ‘Dragons’ Den’, this virtual event is a brilliant way to test team work in a fun and unique environment. Create your brilliant ‘Idea’ and get your brains ticking. With the assistance of our experts, you will have the chance to earn money to purchase essential props and materials at the business superstore. Once you have your winning idea it’s off to the intimidating ‘Dragons Counsel’ to face the business tycoons. Finally it’s your turn to shine in the ‘Pitch’, which must include your watertight budget plans and a well researched design.
20. Virtual Apprentices
Do you think you and your colleagues have what it takes to beat the world’s most belligerent boss?! Inspired by the highly successful BBC show ‘The Apprentice’, this now virtual topical event is a brilliant way to test team work in a fun and unique environment. Our virtual team building ‘Apprentices’ event has been specifically designed to test and bring out all the core business attributes in you and your group, including leadership, delegation, commercial awareness & above all, team work!
Throughout the experience, you and your team will be set challenging and fun business tasks. Once completed, Lord Alan will consult his experts and declare one of the teams the winners. The other teams however are hauled into the boardroom to fight it out in the effort not to hear the immortal phrase: “You’re fired!” Of course those who are fired won’t be sent home early in a black cab with a cameraman to record the tears! Instead you will be sent back in to the next task to try and redeem yourself and win back some all important points!
PLANNING A 2023 VIRTUAL KICK OFF EVENT? WHAT TO DO NEXT…
Visit our contact page and get in touch to discuss how GOTO Events can run your 2023 Virtual Kick Off Event
Our team will give you the right level of advice and options available to suit your group. We can also happily advise on alternative options for live events, and what the current government guidelines and regulations are.
For all of our virtual corporate events, we will ensure you get the right level of fun and entertainment in a safe, upbeat and controlled environment. All of our events have been tried and tested throughout the year, with participants enjoyment as the primary objective. We’ll help you kick off 2023 with a bang!
GOTO Events experiences are all fully risk assessed and compliant with all government requirements. We are accredited with the industry standard Visit Britain ‘Good to Go’ policies.
Click here to contact us for help planning your 2023 Virtual Event.
6 Good Reasons to Host A Virtual Kick Off Event
Cost Effective Packages
Understandably budgets may not be what they were in the past for conventional team building. HOWEVER, our virtual team experiences can be a lot more cost effective than conventional events. Without the need to hire a static venue, and the cost of travel and logistics, you can still hold an amazing fun experience for your teams for a fraction of the cost. There might even be something left in the pot for some beers & wine in the post!
Interactive & Engaging
Let’s face it, we’re all a bit Zoomed out. Our virtual team events allow people to relax, step away from work content, engage with each other and interact with colleagues. All of our events purposely steer away from normal video conferencing formats. The activities, games and experiences are all very upbeat, interactive and engaging. Fun and laughter is the key ingredient, which the feedback from all the virtual team events we’ve run, has proved in abundance.
Stay Safe – Have Fun
With all the regulations in place it’s difficult for companies to keep staff motivated and maintain positive teamwork. By hosting a virtual team building experience you will ensure the safety of your staff & teams, whilst still allowing them to switch off, relax and take part in a fun social group experience.
There’s no masks required here!
Involve Friends or Family
A lot of our virtual team events are designed to include the option of people involving their friends or family. Obviously we have to stick to the rule of 6, but a lot of companies are family orientated so we have designed a series of games, events, and experiences that involve children of all ages, partners, or friends. It can often add a great deal of comfort and satisfaction to see your company plan something that benefits your whole family.
Look Ahead & Boost Morale
With a new year, new visions, new strategies and new targets companies need to ensure their staff are on board and motivated for the year ahead. We all thought it would be over by now, but we’re charging on as best we all can. Quarter 1 of 2023 will be another year of change, with a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s also the time to get allay the January blues, keep teams and people motivated, and ensure they maintain the teamworking skills such as communication, planning, lateral thinking, and the sharing of ideas and information that’s always helped them in the past, and done right virtually, can continue to help as things start to get back to normal.
Have Fun & Connect With Each Other
Fun, engagement and teamwork has always been and always will be a big part of business and social agendas for companies & teams. People are the biggest asset to any organisations. Maintaining positive momentum, and the requirements for people to be working as teams is ever more important given the remote situations we’re all in. All of our virtual team activities allow people to step away from the feeling of Zoom content, and pivot into interactive scenarios where they can work, connected, communicate and play. It’s an essential ingredient, especially at the moment, which when done right, will make an amazing difference to the performance of people and teams.
Make Your Virtual Kick Off Event More Social
Include a hamper, party pack or gift delivered to everyone's homes in advance.
Make it feel like a Party
The addition of a party pack, hamper of gift, delivered to everyones homes prior to your event, can make all the difference to a virtual party. Not only does it make for a lovely present for everyone in advance, it adds a great social aspect to the experience.
We can start your session early so everyone can have some social time, crack open a beer, pour a nice glass of wine, and enjoy some sumptuous snacks.
Lot’s to Choose From
Our variety of hampers and party packs make sure there’s something for everyone. The nature of the gift really takes away the feel of work, and with the hand picked selection of food and drink you will always get lots of chat and interaction on all the different flavours.
Our selection ranges from simple pub snacks with beers, wines, prosecco and snacks, to more luxury hampers with more variety and themes such as Wine & Cheese, Gin Lovers or Prosecco Indulgence.
Something for Everyone
Our hampers and party packs offer something for everyone. We offer a full range of alcoholic and non alcoholic options as well as packs to cater for all dietary requirements such as vegan or vegetarian. We can also bespoke any range of hampers with a selection of hand picked items to suit your requirements.
How To Organise A Virtual Kick Off Event
A guide on how virtual team events work
How to organise a 2023 virtual kick off event
Virtual team building events come in many different formats. Choosing the right style of event for your team is critical to get the most fun and engagement from the experience. For nearly all companies across the world 2023 will be the first year they have ever organised a virtual team event or activity. It’s a leap of faith for everyone, so make sure to speak to our friendly team who will find our about your people and suggest the best style of experience for the group and culture.
Remember, not one size fits all. For example a finance team may well enjoy a very different style of experience to a competitive sales team.
4 steps to organising a virtual team event
There’s 4 simple steps to organising your event:
1- Speak to an experienced member of our team to talk about the nature of your company, the culture of your people & what style of previous events have worked best in the past.
2 – We’ll then recommend and send you a selection of options for you to take away and share with colleagues
3 – Once you’ve decided what you think will work best, share your thoughts and we’ll give you our honest advise as to what we think will be the best event.
4 – Once you’ve chosen your preferred experience and date, our project management team will take care of the rest. We’ll send you everything you need in advance by email to forward to all participants and be on hand all the way in advance to support you and answer any questions.
Virtual hosts
All our virtual events are presented by a virtual host / compere. The hosts are live, rather than pre recorded. Their role is to be the main face of your entire experience. As soon as everyone logs in, our host will welcome you all to the session and guide you through the event. There are different styles of hosts for different style of events. For example:
Cookery Events – All our virtual cookery events are hosted by Michelin Star trained chefs. They will be the main lead, and also the main chef’s interacting with you throughout the experience of demos and hands on cooking.
Cocktail Making – Again, live professional hosts, but this time our world class bar tender mixologists. As soon as you log into this session they kick off with an amazing demonstration of flaring skills that would put Tom Cruise to shame.
Virtual App Based Games – These include the likes of our virtual escape rooms, virtual murder mystery and virtual around the world. Our hosts welcome everyone, explain the nature of the game & the rules, then split everyone off into mini virtual breakout rooms where they go head to head in fun competition. As they play our hosts dip in and out the different rooms to give commentary and updates on the scores.
Virtual Quizzes & Game Shows – This is where we up the ante with the level of host. For these virtual Christmas events, the host runs the entire show, including all the different rounds. We have different levels of host, all with a very fun comedic approach. We also use celebrity hosts at different levels with upcoming events being hosted by the likes of Vernon Kay.
Pre event information
Planning a virtual team building event can be a nerve racking experience for the organiser. Our team will hold your hand through the entire experience, making it hassle free and easy for you to enjoy the event as much as everyone else.
In advance we send you two events packs. One with all the details on the overall experience, and one as a participant pack to send on to everyone taking part. With everyone’s busy lives, the participant packs are purposely simple, with just one or two links to click to enter our arena. Simply log in, and we do the rest from there,
Posted packs
A lot of virtual team events require packs to be posted to participants in the post. For our virtual cookery experiences, guests receive a lovely box of ingredients plus a chefs hat and apron. For virtual cocktail making everyone receives an exciting kit containing all the required alcohol, mixers, syrups, fruits, mixing equipment and glassware. This is theirs to keep.
For our virtual House Party we send prop packs in advance with all kinds of random objects, all used for the different challenges and games.
How many people can a virtual kick off event run for?
There’s no real limit to the number of people that can take part in a virtual team activity, but some events lend themselves better than others to different numbers. For smaller more intimate numbers where you can easily see the other players on screen then our virtual gameshow style events work well such as Master of the Tasks.
For large group virtual events, the app based experiences can run for any size group from 4 upwards. Some versions have the capacity to comfortably deal with numbers into the 1000’s.