What Are Team Building Companies and Should You Hire One?

Planning team building activities is not a cakewalk, whether your team is remote or working from the office. You have to work around packed schedules, different time zones, diverse interests, and budget limitations to come up with something that everyone enjoys. That’s where team building companies step in to help you manage everything in the best possible way. They specialize in hosting events, games, and activities for teams, no matter where they are. Let’s walk through the basics to help you find the best team building company for your needs.

In this article, you’ll explore:

• Who uses team building services 
• Types of services team building companies provide
• How to choose the right corporate team building company
• Best team building event companies for remote teams
• Best team building companies for hybrid teams
• Best team building companies for in-person teams

Table of Contents

What are Team Building Companies?

Team building companies are professional service providers that plan, run, and host events to help teams connect and collaborate more effectively. They plan and host events like games, activities, or challenges for remote, hybrid, or in-office teams. These companies manage everything from coordinating logistics to providing facilitators so teams can focus on enjoying the activity.

Some common activities that team building companies provide include interactive games, creative workshops, volunteer programs, and outdoor adventures. These companies usually have expert consultants who can help tailor each experience to meet your team-building goals. 

Who Uses Team Building Companies?

Team building companies are typically hired by businesses and organizations of all sizes to strengthen employee morale and develop a positive work culture. These include startups, mid-sized businesses, or giant enterprises that want to improve their team dynamics through organized activities. HRs or office managers typically book these services to plan events for onboarding, employee engagement, team bonding, or company milestones.   

What Services Do Team Building Companies Provide?

Team building companies offer a wide range of team engagement services for teams of all sizes, industries, work setups, and occasions.

• Hosted virtual or in-person events: These include professionally facilitated team-building sessions like games, workshops, icebreakers, or challenges designed for remote, hybrid, or on-site teams. 
• Kits and hands-on experiences:  Many team building companies offer hands-on experiences that come with curated kits shipped directly to each team member’s home or office. These kits contain all the materials needed for the activity, like cocktail mixing, cooking classes, tasting experiences, or creative workshops. 
• Employee Appreciation Events: These events are designed to celebrate company milestones and recognize team efforts in a fun and personalized manner. They may include happy hours, talent shows, award ceremonies, and themed celebration events.
• Wellness and DEI programs: These initiatives support teams in enhancing their mental well-being and fostering a more inclusive culture. They may include meditation sessions, gratitude circles, wellness challenges, DEI workshops, or cultural awareness talks.
• Seasonal or holiday team-building themes: These events help teams celebrate festive occasions and seasonal moments in engaging ways. They may include holiday trivia, costume contests, themed escape rooms, charity drives, or virtual Secret Santa games.
• Custom program design: Team building companies also offer tailored experiences based on your team’s goals, industry, culture, and preferences. These events can be industry-themed challenges, personalized workshops, or multi-session programs.

Is Team Building Really Necessary for My Employees?

Yes, team building is necessary for creating a cohesive and connected workplace. With busy schedules and project deadlines, teammates often have limited opportunities to engage in casual conversations and socialize outside of work. This creates a communication gap between team members, which can affect productivity in the long run. 

Team building events help bridge those gaps by creating fun and interactive group experiences. They give teams a chance to unwind and connect through games and activities like Trivia, Bingo, Escape Room, paint party, or outdoor experiences. 

How Do I Choose the Right Team Building Company?

To choose the right team building company for your workforce, here are a few things you should look for:

• Team goals: Decide the goals you wish to achieve with your team building efforts. Whether it’s improving communication, onboarding new hires, or celebrating company milestones, your goals will help guide the kind of experiences to look for. 
• Range of events offered: Look for companies that offer a wide range of options, such as games, wellness sessions, DEI programs, and skill-based workshops. A wider range means you’re more likely to find something that suits your team’s preferences.
• Customization options: Select companies that can tailor the event to your specific goals, culture, industry, occasion, or preferences. Adding custom touches, such as personalized trivia, branded kits, or themed sessions, makes the event more relatable for your team.
• Logistics and Budget: Ensure the company you choose offers experiences that align well within your budget. Also, don’t forget to account for hidden costs, such as shipping, tech platforms, or additional facilitator fees.
• Experience and Expertise: Look for companies that offer hosted experiences with live facilitators. A good host keeps the energy up and ensures that the event flows smoothly from start to end. 
• Client reviews and testimonials: Make sure to read through customer reviews and client testimonials. They can give you honest insights into the quality of service and whether the provider is reliable or not.

Best Team Building Companies for Different Work Groups

Looking for the best team building companies for your work group? We’ve rounded up top companies for virtual, hybrid, and in-person teams, so you can easily choose the one that fits your needs.

Remote Team Building Companies

Looking for the best virtual team building companies to plan your events? The options below offer services to both big and small businesses, with a range of themed games and activities.

1. Hooray Teams

Number of Participants: 2–1000
Duration: 60 minutes

Hooray Teams is a virtual team building company that helps remote teams connect through curated experiences for fun team building, onboarding, new-gen townhalls, and themed celebrations. The platform offers a diverse range of events, including trivia, escape rooms, and murder mysteries, as well as painting, arts & crafts workshops, and cooking classes. Additionally, Hooray Teams offers custom activities tailored to your team’s goals and preferences.

Highlights

• Fully hosted events over Zoom or Microsoft Teams
• Curated kits are shipped to participants for hands-on experiences
• Expert account managers for real-time assistance 
• Customizable events based on size, goals, and occasions
• DEI-driven events that honor worldwide cultural and holiday traditions

Best for: Teams looking for professionally hosted virtual events for a range of purposes or celebrations, or those with specific preferences. 

2. Outback Team Building & Training

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

Outback Team Building & Training offers over 60 team building solutions and professional development programs across North America. These include a range of activities, such as game shows, charity events, murder mysteries, scavenger hunts, and other engaging events. Teams can explore options based on the goal they want to achieve, such as collaboration, creativity, friendly competition, improved communication, or problem-solving. 

Highlights

• Self-hosted and fully facilitated formats
• Hosts events virtually, in-person, or in hybrid formats
• Includes optional add-ons like custom branding, photo and video challenges, or charitable components.
• Large-scale programs for conferences, town halls, and company-wide events.

Best for: Teams looking for a wide range of outcome-driven activities. 

3. Team Building

Number of Participants: 10+
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Team building offers experiences that are backed by consistently high NPS scores. They offer over 90 virtual team building experiences to suit different team needs and occasions. Their lineup includes a wide range of formats, from fast-paced games such as trivia and game shows to immersive experiences like escape rooms. Team Building also offers wellness-focused activities, creative workshops, virtual happy hours, and seasonal events like virtual campfires or holiday parties. Most of these experiences are fully customizable with branding options and flexible scheduling across different time zones. All their events are led by in-house trained hosts who are experienced stand-up comedians or Broadway performers. 

Highlights

• Team building activities organized by the city
• Customizable based on group size, goals, and preferences
• Free demo sessions to preview the experience
• Dedicated support team for planning and logistics

Best for: Teams looking for unique events hosted by performers.

4. KraftyLab

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: 60 minutes

KraftyLab takes an eco-conscious approach to team building, offering creative experiences for remote, hybrid, and in-person teams. You can explore their curated list of games, activities, and experiences like candle making, virtual entertainment, butterfly garden, zero-waste cooking, and more. All their kitted events come with eco-friendly packaging, and they deliver activity kits to participants situated all across the US and Canada. 

Highlights

• 800+ five-star reviews from top global companies
• Events led by highly qualified and vetted instructors 
• Provides pre-event guidance and post-event engagement support
• Dedicated to CSR-aligned experiences and DEI-conscious programs

Best for: Teams looking for creative, hands-on experiences while supporting sustainability.

5. WildGoose

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

Wildgoose offers app-led team building experiences for virtual and in-person work groups. It has a range of themed options for quizzes, murder mysteries, and escape rooms. The company also offers DIY activities for training, onboarding, and orientation, with the option to book a demo session. You also have the option to use ready-made templates and create personalized games for your team. They run all their events with a 100% carbon-neutral approach, allowing teams to have fun while supporting and promoting eco-consciousness.

Highlights

• Tech-driven gameplay for indoor, outdoor, virtual, and hybrid formats
• Smart event booking with instant pricing and flexible rescheduling (up to 7 days prior)
• Delivers all activities as 100% carbon neutral to support sustainability
• Optional extras like photo/video challenges, leaderboards, and event passes for enhanced engagement

Best for: Teams looking for customized events or app-based solutions.

Hybrid Team Building Companies

If you have a hybrid work setup, these companies offer flexible experiences that work seamlessly across different locations and schedules.

6. The Go Game

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

The Go Game delivers gamified team building experiences powered by its proprietary technology platform, Weve. They have a range of event themes to choose from, including lawn games, conferences, kit-based, charity, professional development, and cultural celebrations. You can use ready-made templates or work with game producers to create personalized games for onboarding, conferences, product launches, and cultural celebrations.

Highlights

• Offers self-hosted sessions as well as on-site and on-screen host options. 
• Hosts events globally across the US, Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, and South America
• Free game show demos to test the experience before booking
• Provides eco-conscious and carbon-neutral game experiences

Best for: Teams that need customizable events in multiple regions worldwide.

7. Teamraderie

Number of Participants: 5–12
Duration: Customizable

Teamraderie delivers research-backed experiences for globally distributed and hybrid teams. Their sessions are designed in collaboration with leadership and organizational experts to help teams connect and work more efficiently. Each experience focuses on team behaviors, such as accountability, inclusion, and collaboration, through guided activities. As part of their environmental initiatives, they plant a tree for each attendee when you share a group photo on LinkedIn.

Highlights

• Virtual, hybrid, and in-person formats available globally
• Events led by renowned facilitators like Stanford professors and Olympians
• Includes post-session tips and follow-up resources
• Option to opt for one-time session or multi-session series

Best for: Teams looking for hybrid science-backed sessions.

8. Wildly Different

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

Wildly Different offers custom-designed team building experiences, aligning with their long-standing mantra “Play Outside the Cubicle”. Their hybrid activities are designed to engage participants with creative game-based formats. Besides their pre-designed events, they also offer fully customizable experiences like branded challenges or theme park hunts tailored to your team’s goals. All their events are hosted by a dedicated game master and include tech support to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Highlights

• Offers hybrid games with both hosted and self-led formats
• Handles end-to-end planning from concept to execution
• Dedicated game masters and tech support for every event
• Supports small groups to large-scale events across locations

Best for: Teams that want game-based hybrid events with a creative twist.

In-Person Team Building Companies

Looking to host an off-site team event? These companies specialize in in-person team-building experiences to help your coworkers connect and enjoy together. 

9. Marco Experiences

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

Marco Experiences is a full-service corporate retreat specialist that offers customizable team building experiences. Teams can go for venue-only booking or a full-service planning that includes itinerary design and vendor coordination. They have a curated hotel network and a smart tool named Marco AI to choose ideal destinations. You can also opt for a dedicated event planner in their Offsites Pro service.

Highlights

• Supports virtual, in-person, hybrid experiences plus immersive retreats in major hubs like NYC and SF.
• Access to a vetted hotel network at 20–30%  less than regular prices
• White-glove support included with every booking
• Delivered experience for high-profile clients like Netflix, Apple, and Exxon

Best for: Teams planning off-sites with smart venue matching options. 

10. Team Building Hub

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

Team Building Hub is the official corporate events arm of The Escape Game, known for high-quality group experiences. It offers in-person experiences, such as icebreaker challenges and convention games, for conferences or offsites. Their team handles all planning and logistics with high-tech support, so you can focus on enjoying the event. They work with team-building experts to create exclusive add-on packages for the events that align with your company’s goals. Team Building Hub also offers fully customizable experiences for special events, such as conferences and product launches, within your company.

Highlights

• Instant access to free live demos like game show previews
• Free game show demos available on request
• Virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats with white-glove planning support
• Features expert-designed conference games and custom add-ons

Best for: Teams planning live events or conferences that need fully customizable experiences.

11. Team Bonding

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

With over 25 years of experience, Team Bonding specializes in charity-focused team building events that combine fun with purpose. They collaborate with a global network of facilitators to deliver experiences that range from problem-solving challenges to conference openers and CSR activities. You can even filter activities based on team building goals, whether it’s leadership, collaboration, friendly competition, or charity. Their events are fully customizable and well-suited for groups of all sizes. 

Highlights

• Offers premium-level, high-touch assistance tailored to your needs
• Designs experiences based on team-building research and behavioral psychology
• Provides branded game and activity packages designed to align with corporate goals
• Allows selection by team outcome such as leadership, collaboration, or CSR.

Best for: Teams looking for expert-led CSR or leadership experiences. 

12. TeamOut

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

TeamOut helps companies plan hassle-free corporate retreats by providing free venue sourcing and comprehensive event planning services. They offer extraordinary event venues across the USA, including boutique hotels, resorts, ranches, glamping sites, and villas. In addition to lodging, they also arrange everything from catering and transportation to activities and event spaces, as per your team’s needs. A dedicated trip planner supports your team throughout the process, backed by vetted vendors and white-glove services.

Highlights

• Delivers white-glove support from dedicated trip planners
• Offers 10-30% average discount on accommodations
• Transparent pricing with no hidden fees
• Provides free online tools like Flight Estimator and Budget Estimator.

Best for: Teams looking for unique venues with comprehensive services. 

13. Best Corporate Events

Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

Best Corporate Events specializes in large-scale, in-person team building experiences with zero travel costs. Their events range from fun challenges and charity builds to tech-powered games using iPads. The company assigns trained facilitators to every event and supports clients with real-time planning tools through a proprietary portal. They also offer helpful tools to track event planning in real time. With nationwide delivery, they’ve become a go-to event planning service for Fortune 100 companies.

Highlights

• Delivers events for groups of 25 to 6,000+ with expert facilitators
• Integrates CSR-driven activities like Build-a-Guitar, Bike Build Donation, and Operation Toy Donation.
• Uses proprietary apps to manage in-person, hybrid, and virtual events smoothly
• Awarded “Outstanding Partner of the Year” by MotivAction

Best for: Large teams seeking tech-enabled events with minimal travel hassles. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why is team building important? 

Team building helps coworkers get to know each other better in a fun and engaging way. It enhances the morale of team members, making the workplace more enjoyable and increasing productivity among coworkers.

What makes a great team building company?

A great team building activities company offers fun, well-organized activities that match your team’s goals and size. They should have experienced hosts or facilitators, flexible options (in-person, virtual, or hybrid), and clear communication throughout. Bonus points if they customize the experience, handle all the logistics, and get great feedback from other teams.

What are the best companies that do team building activities?

The best corporate team building companies that offer group events and activities include Hooray Teams, Team Building, KraftyLab, WildGoose, and Teamraderie. 

How do team-building companies foster communication?

Companies that offer team building help work groups communicate more effectively by engaging their coworkers in challenging games and activities. These can include quizzes, puzzles, or strategic games such as escape rooms or murder mysteries, as well as trivia and Jeopardy. Team members have the opportunity to interact in various formats and learn from one another, while strengthening their team communication.

What kind of events do team building companies host virtually?

Online team building companies come up with out-of-the-box ideas to bring your team together through shared activities. If you’re looking for some healthy competition, virtual team building activities company hosts online versions of popular games like Trivia, Taboo, and Jeopardy.

Do team building companies offer DEI or wellness-themed events?

Yes, many team-building companies now offer DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and wellness-themed events. Some examples of such events include Drag Queen Bingo, Virtual Ramen Cooking Class, Name That AAPI Holiday, and Virtual Black History Jeopardy. 

Can I do team building if my team works in different time zones?

Yes. Many team building companies, like Hooray Teams, offer virtual experiences designed to work across different time zones.

Can we include team building during our regular work hours?

Yes, you can easily incorporate team building activities into your regular work hours. It doesn’t always have to be a long event; even a 30 to 60-minute session can help teams connect and unwind together.

Can we add our own theme or branding to the event?

Yes, you can add your own company’s theme or branding to your team building events. Personalizing the experience helps make the event feel more relevant and engaging for your team.

Can we try a free demo before booking?

Yes, some team building providers offer a free demo or a quick preview session before you book. It’s a great way to see how the activity works and make sure it’s the right fit for your team.