Staff Onboarding Get-to-know-you Interactive Activity
Leading a 5-10 minute interactive get-to-know-you activity for your group?
Slido is great as a fun game. Everyone answers from their phone and the room reacts together.
But if you'll have over 100 people, and your goal is to get people talking and getting to know colleagues or professionals from different organizations or teams, you should see how Jam Bingo works!
Why Use Slido for Onboarding?
Quiet people participate too.
Slido lets people answer anonymously from their phones.
That leads to more honest, and often funnier, responses.
The results pop up on screen and become a shared moment the whole room reacts to.
Here are 50 ready-to-use Slido questions for your next onboarding session, organized by format.
1. Word Cloud Questions
One-word answers, one shared picture.
Word clouds are the best place to start. They are fast, visual, and low pressure.
Everyone submits one word and the screen lights up. Great for the first few minutes while people settle in.
- Describe your first job in one word.
- One word for how you feel right now on day one.
- What is one word your closest friend would use to describe you?
- Describe your morning routine in one word.
- One word for what you are most looking forward to in this role.
- Describe your ideal Friday afternoon in one word.
- One word for your current energy level.
- Describe your relationship with coffee in one word.
- One word for the city or town you grew up in.
- What is one word for the skill you are most proud of?
2. Multiple Choice Polls
Relatable options, instant laughs.
Multiple choice polls are where you get the laughs.
Give people four options that are all a little too relatable, then watch the room react to where everyone lands.
11. Your working style is closest to:
- A) Early bird who is done by 3pm
- B) Slow starter who hits their stride after lunch
- C) Chaotic sprinter who somehow meets every deadline
- D) I have no idea, ask me in 90 days
12. When a meeting could have been an email, you:
- A) Smile politely and take thorough notes
- B) Mentally rewrite the entire agenda
- C) Doodle until it is mercifully over
- D) Quietly calculate how many hours of your life this is costing
13. Your desk setup is best described as:
- A) Perfectly organized with matching accessories
- B) Organized chaos that only I understand
- C) Whatever flat surface is closest to the fridge
- D) I exclusively work from coffee shops
14. Your relationship with your inbox is:
- A) Zero unread, always, without exception
- B) 4,000 unread, zero regrets
- C) I archive everything and pray
- D) What inbox?
15. When you get stuck on a problem at work, you:
- A) Google it immediately
- B) Sit with it until the answer comes to you in the shower
- C) Ask the nearest human for help
- D) Make a cup of tea and pretend it will solve itself
16. Your lunch break strategy is:
- A) Meal prepped and ready to go
- B) Whatever is closest and fastest
- C) I eat at my desk while working, do not judge me
- D) Lunch is a social event and I take the full hour
17. In group projects, you naturally become:
- A) The one making the agenda and assigning tasks
- B) The one executing quietly and delivering on time
- C) The one keeping everyone's spirits up
- D) The one asking if we really need to do all of this
18. Your approach to a new tool or software is:
- A) Read the full documentation before touching anything
- B) Click around until it makes sense
- C) Watch one YouTube tutorial and wing it
- D) Find the person who already knows it and follow them around
19. When someone says there is a team social after work, you:
- A) Already have it in your calendar and you are excited
- B) Go but mentally check out by 8pm
- C) Attend once and assess before committing to future ones
- D) Politely RSVP yes and then reassess on the day
20. Your relationship with deadlines is:
- A) Done early, always, it is a personality trait
- B) Done right on time, not a minute before
- C) Done slightly after but with a very good explanation
- D) The deadline is a suggestion and the extension is the real deadline
21. How do you prefer to receive feedback?
- A) Direct and immediate, do not sugarcoat it
- B) Written so I can process it at my own pace
- C) In a one-on-one where I can ask questions
- D) Positive sandwich: good, bad, good
22. Your note-taking style is:
- A) Color-coded, organized, borderline obsessive
- B) Whatever app is open on my phone
- C) Scraps of paper I will never find again
- D) I rely entirely on memory and regret it constantly
23. When you do not know the answer, you:
- A) Say so immediately and go find it
- B) Give my best guess with appropriate caveats
- C) Stall with a follow-up question while I think
- D) Panic internally while looking calm externally
24. Your ideal work environment is:
- A) Completely silent with headphones in
- B) Light background noise like a coffee shop
- C) Music on, fairly loud, high energy
- D) Wherever nobody can find me to add things to my plate
25. When onboarding documentation says 'this will take 30 minutes,' it actually takes you:
- A) 20 minutes because I read fast
- B) 30 minutes because I follow instructions
- C) 90 minutes because I read every footnote
- D) 5 minutes because I scroll to the end and wing it
3. Open Text Questions
Specific prompts, surprising answers.
Open text questions are where the real gold is.
These are the answers people read out loud and remember later. Use them once the room has warmed up.
- What is a skill you have that has nothing to do with your job title?
- What is the most unusual thing on your desk right now?
- What did you want to be when you grew up, and how close did you get?
- What is one thing you are genuinely better at than most people you know?
- What show or podcast are you currently unable to stop recommending?
- What is something you have surprisingly strong opinions about that has nothing to do with work?
- What is the best piece of career advice you have ever received?
- What is a fun fact about you that nobody would guess from your resume?
- What is a hobby or interest that people are always surprised to learn about you?
- What was your very first job and what did it teach you?
- What is one thing you wish every workplace did?
- What is your go-to order at a coffee shop?
- What is a book, film, or article that genuinely changed how you think about something?
- If you could instantly become an expert in something outside your field, what would it be?
- What is the most useful thing you taught yourself?
- What is one thing on your bucket list that is actually achievable?
- What is a food you could eat every single day and never get tired of?
- What is something you are currently learning or trying to get better at?
- What would your colleagues from your last job say about you in one sentence?
- What is the most interesting city or place you have ever worked from?
4. This or That Questions
Fast, fun, and great for reading the room.
This or that questions are perfect for the last stretch of your Slido session.
They are quick to answer and always split the room. Run two or three back to back to close on a high note.
46. Morning person or night owl?
- A) Morning person, absolutely
- B) Night owl, without question
47. Remote work or in the office?
- A) Remote all the way
- B) In the office where the energy is
- C) Hybrid, I want both and I will not apologize
48. Overcommunicator or undercommunicator?
- A) Overcommunicator, I send the update before anyone asks
- B) Undercommunicator, I assume no news is good news
49. Planner or improviser?
- A) Planner, I have a plan for the plan
- B) Improviser, I do my best work on the fly
50. Headphones in means do not disturb or just background noise?
- A) Headphones in means I am in the zone, leave me alone
- B) Headphones in is just how I listen to music, talk to me freely
How Many Slido Questions to Run
Three to five is all you need.
You do not need to run all 50. This list is a menu, not a checklist.
Open with one word cloud, add one or two multiple choice polls for laughs, and finish with one open text question.
That is about 10 minutes, and it shifts the energy without eating into your onboarding agenda.
Save the rest for your next all-hands or team meeting opener.
What Slido Can't Do
It connects people to a screen, not to each other.
Slido is genuinely great at what it does. It gets participation from people who would never raise their hand.
But here is the thing. Everyone is looking at the screen, not at each other.
After a Slido session, most new hires know a few fun facts about the group.
What they often don't have is a real one-on-one conversation with a single colleague. They reacted to answers, but they haven't really met anyone.
How Jam Bingo Gets People Mixing
One prompt at a time, scan to connect.
Jam Bingo takes the warmth Slido creates and turns it into real conversations between real people.
- Everyone scans one QR code on the screen to join from their phone.
- Each player gets one prompt at a time, like 'Find someone who grew up in another country.'
- They walk over, find someone who matches, and start talking.
- They scan each other's QR code to connect, then get their next prompt.
Prompts push people past the coworkers they already know.
That makes it a great fit for mixing new hires, different teams, or professionals from different organizations.
A 10-Minute Get-to-Know-You Plan
Slido warms the room. Jam Bingo fills it.
Short on time? Here is a quick block that fits into any onboarding or team meeting.
- Minutes 0 to 2: Open one Slido word cloud. 'Describe your first job in one word' is a great opener.
- Minutes 2 to 3: Put the Jam Bingo QR code on screen and give everyone a minute to join.
- Minutes 3 to 10: Let people loose. They follow one prompt at a time and meet as many people as they can.
Have 30 minutes? Run three or four Slido questions first, then give Jam Bingo a full 15 minutes.
Either way, everyone laughs at something together and has real conversations with people they didn't know an hour ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good Slido questions for onboarding?
Start with a one-word word cloud like 'Describe your first job in one word,' then add a funny multiple choice poll and one open text question like 'What is a skill you have that has nothing to do with your job title?'
How many Slido questions should I run for an icebreaker?
Three to five is plenty. That fills about 10 minutes and shifts the energy in the room without eating into the rest of your agenda.
Does Slido help people get to know each other?
It helps people learn fun facts about the group. But everyone is looking at the screen, not at each other, so most people leave without a real one-on-one conversation.
What should I run if I want people to mix and mingle?
Run Jam Bingo. Everyone scans one QR code, gets one prompt at a time like 'Find someone who grew up in another country,' and walks over to find a person who matches. They scan each other's QR code to connect and get the next prompt.
Can I run a get-to-know-you activity in 5 to 10 minutes?
Yes. Open with one or two Slido questions for a quick laugh, then give people 5 to 10 minutes of Jam Bingo to actually meet a few colleagues face to face.
Does this work for people from different teams or organizations?
Yes. That is where it works best. Prompts push people past the coworkers they already know and toward people from other teams, departments, or companies.