Remote work offers employees the freedom to work from anywhere and anytime, but it has also brought new challenges for managers to keep their remote teams engaged, active, and motivated. In an office setting, employees can invite their colleagues to converse over a cup of coffee or hop onto their desks for casual banter. Remote teams, on the other hand, may find it hard to collaborate and bond with their teammates through screens.
Modern problems require modern solutions. Keeping teammates who are miles apart from each other connected and bonded is a challenge, virtual team-building activities are the solution. A great team activity for work can turn a group of remote employees into a high-performing team that’s always motivated, meets deadlines, and reaches goals on time.
Keep reading as we explore the best virtual team-building activities that can transform a group of remote employees into a unit that works together towards a common goal.
Why Virtual Team Building Is Essential For Remote Teams
Virtual members of a team don’t have the luxury of face-to-face interactions. If not handled the right way, virtual team members can feel disconnected from their teams which may lead to reduced productivity and bored teammates. Virtual team building activities are a necessity for remote teams to thrive because they play an important role in;
Strengthening team collaboration from afar
Virtual team bonding can only happen when the members are interacting beyond work tasks and virtual team activities offer the perfect opportunity for you to enhance collaboration between your team members. These activities may include solving puzzles, online escape rooms, and virtual scavenger hunts. Not only do these activities help foster stronger communication and collaboration but they also help your team members enhance their communication and problem-solving skills.
Overcoming the challenges of isolation and loneliness
It’s true that virtual team members work alone but they don’t have to be lonely and isolated. This is where team building activities virtual come into play. They give your remote employees a chance to socially interact with their colleagues in a relaxed setting without the pressure of work. It’s important to make your employees feel like part of a team and team bonding activities such as virtual coffee chats and happy hours can go a long way.
Building trust and connection virtually
For any team to grow as a unit, it’s important to make every member feel valued. Bonding exercises for teams such as “show and tell” or “would you rather” allow team members to share personal experiences with their teammates. Fun activities like these not only allow your employees to share a few laughs with their teammates but also help build trust between them so they can share ideas and ask for help without any hesitation.
Fostering creativity and problem-solving in remote settings
Innovation is as important a parameter as productivity in assessing the performance of a team. It’s important to keep your employees motivated and engaged to enable them to think outside the box and approach challenges in a new way. This is why you need to make team building activities for work virtual a regular part of your team culture.
Quick And Fun Virtual Team Building Activities For Work
Keeping your remote employees energized and engaged doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. If done right, a simple gesture can lighten the mood, boost morale, and improve the communication between your teammates.
Virtual icebreaker games: Break the ice fast and fun
Starting your virtual team meetings with quick and fun icebreakers can help you get everyone engaged. You can invite your employees to answer fun questions such as “What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?” or “What are your goals for the future?”. Simple questions like these do not only help break the ice but they also encourage your virtual team members to participate actively.
Online escape rooms: Collaborate to solve puzzles
Online escape rooms are also great for enhancing communication and collaboration between your team members. These games allow your employees to work together to solve puzzles or challenges before the time runs out. These games can also help improve the problem-solving skills of the participants and strengthen teamwork.
Virtual show and tell: share personal stories and interests
Show and tell is not just a kid’s game, it’s a great way to help your employees bond with their colleagues. Everyone gets a few minutes to share their interests or personal stories. Not only does this help your employees know more about their colleagues but it also helps build trust between them.
Lightning scavenger hunt: fast-paced, energizing fun
A scavenger hunt is another fun game that can do wonders in online team sessions. This 30-second game is fast-paced but it’s guaranteed to boost the energy of your team and bring a lot of laughter. This game involves giving your employees 30 seconds to find an interesting item in their room or an item fitting a category such as something blue, something weird, or the first snack that they see in their fridges. The winner of this game is the one that comes back first and shows what they collected.
Emoji mood boards: express your team’s feelings in creative ways
Emojis are the modern way of expressing one’s feelings, you can utilize them in your virtual team sessions to keep your team members engaged and expressive. You can ask your employees to share their current moods or thoughts on the matter under discussion by using emoji boards. This unique way of expressing one’s feelings will enable you to understand where every team member stands and it is fun.
Pantry pop quiz: test knowledge, team bonding with snacks
People store interesting things in their pantries. This activity involves asking your employees to bring one thing from their pantries and then answer different trivia questions about it. This game is fun because team members can ask anything about the item and the owner has to answer, even if it’s wrong. “Wrong answers only” is also a fun game to play during team meetings.
Collaborative karaoke: let your team sing their heart out
Music brings joy and people together. Host online jams with your employees where they can sing their favorite songs or lip-sync to them. They can choose any song and even prepare music skits by collaborating with their teammates. This activity can help you and your employees let loose and create wonderful memories together.
Quick, Effective Team Building Exercises For Small Groups
Small groups have better chances of having personal and meaningful interactions than large ones because everyone gets a chance to participate actively. Here are the best team building activities for small groups.
Show and tell: share a favorite hobby or recent achievement
Teams have better chances of succeeding when their members know each other on a personal level. This fun and classic activity lets team members share their favorite hobbies, passions, and recent achievements and gives people a chance to know someone or everyone in their team better.
6-word memoir: summarize your life in six words
This fun activity can also spark creativity in team meetings as everyone has to express their feelings or life in six words. These memoirs can be of any nature, that’s what makes this activity fun. One example of such a creative and simple 6-word memoir is “Dreams pursued, obstacles overcome, success achieved”.
Virtual office tour: a peek into team member’s workspaces
An informal office or workspace tour is also a great way to let team members know each other on a personal level in a short time. Remote work can feel distant but this activity can help you and your team members know how everyone works and relate to them.
Birth map: Mark where everyone’s from
Another way to make virtual teams feel connected is by utilizing a digital map that everyone can see. Ask your employees to mark their birthplaces on the map and list fun facts about their birthplaces and their cultures.
Messy desk photo share: lighten the mood with a desk snapshot
Nobody keeps their desk clean at all times. This activity involves asking your employees to share messy desk photos. Ask them not to change anything and just take a snap of the desk as it is. This can help everyone get a peek into others’ workspaces and remind everyone that it’s okay not to be perfect.
Would you rather? Quick decisions, lots of laughter
Everyone knows what “Would you rather?” is and how it is played. In team meetings, this fast and fun activity can make team members bond with each other as it helps them get to know more about each other. In addition to that, the “Would you rather?” game is also guaranteed to make your employees laugh or at the least, smile.
Enhancing Team Bonding With Virtual Team Building Challenges
Nothing is more effective than friendly competition when it comes to making team members bond together. Here are the best team challenges that can make your employees work together and bond.
Craft challenge: creative competition from home
This 5-minute challenge can spark creativity in your employees as it gives them a chance to craft something creative using common household items. It can be a paper plane or a quick drawing. In the end, team members vote for the best creation and only one wins for being the most creative or funny.
Virtual trivia: test your team’s knowledge in real time
Virtual trivia is another great team activity for work. It requires team members to answer fun trivia questions while working together. Questions can be about anything and you can use a trivia app to create a list of interesting trivia.
The GIF that keeps on giving: send and guess the right GIF
This interactive activity can also bring laughter and lighten the mood as it requires one team member to pick a theme or situation and the other chooses the GIF that best represents that theme or situation.
How To Organize Successful Virtual Team Building Activities
Virtual team building activities may sound easy to host but without the right approach, they can feel awkward. Here’s how to make sure your team building activities will bear fruit.
Tailor activities to your team’s preferences and dynamics
Before planning any activity, take a quick poll about the interests of your employees and create a challenge or activity that keeps everyone engaged and involved.
Ensure activities are short, fun, and easy to participate in
The goal of these team building activities is to lighten the mood, enhance engagement and collaboration between team members, and keep the work going. Don’t make these challenges complex or hard so that everyone can join in.
Incorporate team goals and challenges for a more engaging experience
Try to create challenges and activities that tie to your company’s goals. For inspiring creativity, you can choose a brainstorming game and for enhancing teamwork, choose a team activity that requires everyone to work together.
Use technology to keep activities seamless and interactive
Technical difficulties are fun-killers. Utilize high-end conferencing equipment such as conference cameras, audio equipment, and tools such as Zoom to ensure that your virtual team sessions run smoothly.
The benefits of regular virtual team bonding exercises
Unlike in-office settings, virtual team connections and bonding don’t happen accidentally. Regular team building activities are crucial for virtual teams as they help you and your employees in:
Fostering trust and cooperation across remote teams
Enhancing creativity, problem-solving, and innovation
Retaining employees by promoting a supportive team environment
Conclusion: Transform Your Virtual Team Into A Cohesive, High-Performing Unit
Building a strong team requires effort, consistency, creativity, and the right bonding exercises for teams. To build trust, enhance communication and collaboration between your employees, and create a positive and thriving work environment for your remote employees, engage them in the right team activities listed above.
Encouraging fun, collaboration, and success in remote teams
Virtual team meetings don’t have to be all about work. Engaging your employees in fun activities such as trivia competitions and DIY challenges helps create a sense of belonging and improves communication and trust between them.
Start building your virtual team’s strong foundation today
A strong, connected, and effective remote team doesn’t come easy. It requires fun activities that offer your employees a chance to know their teammates better. So, the sooner you start these activities the better. Don’t forget to utilize high-quality conferencing equipment to ensure that your team building activities run smoothly and include everyone.
