Remote Onboarding Scavenger Hunt
For distributed teams and remote workers: an onboarding hunt that runs entirely online. No office locations, just connection through video calls, virtual introductions and home-office moments. Designed as a starting point: extend with your own company-specific prompts. Look for the [Customize!] challenges as inspiration.
Challenges (20)
Home office reveal
Take a photo of your home office setup on day one. Show off the desk, the chair, the cable mess. The honest version, not the "ready for a video call" version.
First call selfie
During your first video call with your manager (or buddy), take a quick selfie of the screen. Make sure your face and theirs are both visible.
The commute
Capture your "commute" today: the walk from bedroom to desk, a coffee detour through the kitchen, a balcony stretch. Photograph the longest stretch.
Background check
Take a photo of your real video-call background (no virtual backgrounds allowed). Mentally note which book you should turn around tomorrow.
Surprise cameo
If a roommate, partner, kid or pet has wandered into a call today, capture the moment. If your home is suspiciously quiet, photograph your loneliest plant instead.
Snack on screen
Take a photo of yourself eating something during a meeting (politely off-camera optional). Coffee or water counts in a pinch.
Fellow remote
Find another fully remote teammate. Schedule a 10-minute virtual coffee chat. Take a screenshot of the call (with permission).
Time-zone teammate
Find a colleague in the time zone furthest from yours. Send them a hello (or schedule a call) and screenshot the moment they reply.
The Slack intro
Post your introduction in the company-wide channel. Take a screenshot once the first three reactions or replies come in.
Screen-share moment
Have a colleague show you something on their screen during a call (a tool, a doc, a feature). Screenshot the moment they are explaining.
Wallpaper portrait
Take a photo of yourself in front of your most "you" home wall: the gallery wall, the plant corner, the blank white wall, all valid choices.
Gear of choice
Photograph your favorite remote-work item: the headphones, the second monitor, that one ergonomic mouse you bought after your wrist gave up.
Out-of-office walk
Take a photo on a walk between meetings. Yes, you are allowed to leave the house. Yes, fresh air is good for you.
Lunch wherever
Photograph your lunch wherever you happen to be eating it: couch, balcony, kitchen, in front of the screen. Honesty is the only rule.
Workspace evolution
Take a photo of your desk before any change today. Make one improvement (better light, a plant, clean coffee mug). Photograph the after. Side-by-side bonus.
Onboarding doc deep-dive
Take a screenshot of the onboarding doc, wiki page or handbook section you are reading right now. Highlight the most surprising line.
Sign-off shot
End-of-day photo: laptop closed, lights at the angle you like, the unmistakable "I am off the clock" pose. The remote equivalent of leaving the building.
[Customize!] Founders' video
Take a photo or screenshot of yourself watching the founders' welcome video or a leadership intro clip. (Organizers: link to the actual video and ask for a one-line takeaway.)
[Customize!] Values in your space
Photograph an item in your home that connects to one of the company values (a book, a memento, a habit, a plant). (Organizers: tie this to a specific value and explain the connection you want them to make.)
[Customize!] Virtual neighborhood
Take a screenshot of the team page, org chart or company directory with the colleagues you have met today highlighted. (Organizers: customize the asset they should screenshot, or replace with a specific intro task.)
Frequently asked questions
The template has twenty challenges spread across a typical first week, not a single sitting. Most companies pace it as one or two prompts per day so the new hire still has time for actual onboarding meetings and reading. A motivated hire can finish in two to three days if they want to race through it.
Just a phone with a camera and access to the company chat tool (Slack, Teams, Discord). Screenshots cover the on-screen challenges, regular photos cover the home-office ones. No special app, no laptop tricks. If your company uses a dedicated photo-feed channel, point them there for submissions.
Yes, this is the template most teams pick exactly for that reason. None of the challenges require a live moment, screenshots and photos can be posted async whenever the hire is online. The "time-zone teammate" challenge is built around the spread instead of fighting it.
Add a one-line consent norm before the hunt starts: hires ask before screenshotting a call, and faces can be blurred if the colleague prefers. Most teams find that nobody minds because the screenshots stay inside the team channel. For external customer calls or anything sensitive, swap that challenge for one of the [Customize!] prompts.
Yes, but you will get the best feel by running the Office Tour or New Hire hunt for in-office hires and this Remote hunt for distributed ones, then sharing both feeds in the same channel. That way the in-office crowd sees the home-office reveals and the remote crowd sees the office quirks, which is its own bonding moment.