Running an Alt-style Scavenger Hunt to Promote Well-being

In the remote-working world, it can be tricky to come up with fresh ways to bring people together with a positive impact on community and well-being.

This is my take on an alt style scavenger hunt that focuses very much on promoting both those things. We tried it out at Armakuni and it turned out to be one of the most popular and economical group activities we ever ran.

Here’s how to do it.

How to run a remote scavenger hunt

1. Come up with a list of ~10 suitable tasks (scroll down for mine!)
2. Setup a #scavenger-hunt channel on your company’s preferred instant messaging platform. This is where you’ll post each task in a separate thread for people to respond to with their finds. Don’t post the tasks yet though! Let the excitement and anticipation build!
3. Communicate the timings, format and purpose of the activity. Do this well ahead of time to give people the opportunity to plan ahead. They might decide to meet up with colleagues in their geographic area. Make sure people know that they must join the group channel ahead of time, because that is where tasks will be posted on the day. Give them an exact time when the tasks will appear. I would also suggest posting a short video to promote the activity and start the creative juices flowing. Don’t forget to communicate a follow-up activity! (See 6.)
4. Make sure there is at least one alternative activity for those who may be unable to participate in the scavenger hunt for various reasons. For example, a remote board games or crafting session.
5. Start posting the tasks at the exact time you specified in the comms. This might seem like a no-brainer, but for every minute you’re late, people may lose a bit of their energy and enthusiasm.
6. Include a follow-up activity. This can be a short online meeting in which everyone comes back together to look over their haul. You might figure out a way of administering some prizes or another form of appreciation to your top scavengers. I facilitated our debrief over Miro. For each task I created a frame and invited people to paste their favourite finds in it. We then did a bit of dot voting to identify 3 winners who were honoured via a virtual winners podium.
7. Make time for reflection. I always like to close off any group activity with some form of reflection. It can be included in your debrief session, or it could happen at the end of the day. It can be as simple as inviting people to share something that moved them.
8. Collect feedback. However you choose to do it, make sure you give people an opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences safely.

Screenshot from the Miro-board outlining the agenda. Used with kind permission from Armakuni.

10 Alternative Scavenger Hunt Tasks

Here are my suggestions, but you can always come up with your own. The nice thing about these is they invite people to be playful. In our case, the top scavengers were the people who used the most creativity.

★ 4 things beginning with ‘C’, ‘A’, ‘L’ and ‘M’. (You may want to replace these letters with some that are more personal to your company.)

★ Perform a random act of kindness.

★ Something delightful you can wear.

★ Conceal yourself.

★ Artfully place an object of wonder for someone else to find. This can be a natural object.

★ Something with 2^n legs where n can be any positive integer.

★ Force a different perspective. Hint: Use a camera?

★ Practice sound walking for 5 minutes. This involves walking in silence while listening attentively to the sounds around you. Try not to think about the origin or cause of the sounds. Focus instead on their textures, shapes and colours. Notice how they sound individually, as well as how they sound together. Comment on your experiences in the chat.

★ Practice forest bathing for 5 minutes. This involves slowing down, breathing deeply, and stopping to look, touch and smell what’s around you. If it’s safe to do so, you might want to remove your shoes. (Remember to wash your hands after touching anything!) NB: You don’t have to be in a forest to do this.

★ Do something your 6 year old self would do on this walk.

Happy scavenging!

Let me know if you enjoyed this activity with your teams.

If you’re after further inspiration for impactful cross-functional learning events, get in touch with me via LinkedIn or visit laas.consulting.