Virtual Team-Building Activities to Keep Your Remote Team Together
As millions of people continue to work from home due to COVID-19 restrictions, managers use the latest technology to maximize productivity and profitability. While cloud computing and virtual meetings are enabling firms to keep operating, these aren’t the only issues managers need to address.
Team building and virtual team activity and cohesion are important in any business, no matter what industry you operate in. Generally, working closely with your colleagues creates an environment in which strong team connections can be developed.
Now that people are working remotely, however, managers need to find new and innovative ways to keep their teams strong. If you want to get the most from your employees and maintain positive company culture, take a look at these top tips for hosting virtual team-building activities:
Icebreaker Exercises
Icebreakers are an effective way to introduce new team members, but they can also be a fun and frivolous way to bond existing team members together. If you’re looking for inspiration, try asking every team member to submit a fact about themselves anonymously.
Then, compile these facts into a spreadsheet, along with a list of everyone on the team. Once you’ve got your spreadsheet ready, team members simply have to guess which fact is linked to each colleague!
Virtual Team-Building Activities: Photo Sharing
In this digital era, people have access to a camera at all times. Encouraging team members to share a non-work photo can be a great little virtual team activity, and a fun way to start your daily meeting. Not only does it allow your team to learn a little more about individual members, but it’s also a great way to ease everyone into the working day too.
However, you don’t have to limit yourself to snaps taken outside of work. With a virtual photo booth, you can capture your remote teams at work too. From fancy dress days to hilarious props, adding a twist into your virtual photography sessions will keep employees laughing. What’s more – it can create some entertaining content for your company blog or social media accounts.
Weekly Trivia
A virtual quiz using an app is a fantastic way to forge strong teams, particularly when there’s a competitive element thrown into the mix. Pit sales teams against marketing teams or the accounts department against HR, and you’ll soon have a companywide quiz tournament on your hands.
There are plenty of free quizzes available online, so you’ll never struggle to come up with tricky questions to include. If you want to make things a little more exciting, however, give one team member or team the task of creating the quiz each week.
Virtual Team-Building Activities: Live Office
When people are working remotely, they typically only liaise with colleagues ‘face-to-face’ when virtual meetings are scheduled. For some workers, being based at home makes it hard for them to focus or maintain their productivity. To resolve this, why not host a live, virtual office?
Launch a video chat at the start of each day and invite team members to drop in for as long as they like. Employees who work better in an office environment will enjoy the camaraderie and company as they continue to work from home, and every member of the team will have the opportunity to engage with their colleagues on a regular basis.
Movie Night
You might be wondering how you can host a movie night virtually, but it’s easier than you think. Stream the movie from one location, such as a conference room or someone’s home, and invite everyone on the team to join a group chat or video call.
As you watch the movie, team members can interact with one another via text or video communication. Hosting a virtual event outside of work hours is an effective way to build a strong team.
When people socialize outside of work, they are more relaxed and tend to open up more easily. By incorporating non-work events into your virtual schedule, you’ll get a greater insight into the lives of your team members.
Learning How to Manage a Remote Workforce
As employees adjust to working from home, managers and business owners are learning how to manage remote teams effectively too. With practical, social, and operations issues to address, the shift in working practices has been a steep learning curve for everyone involved, and the journey isn’t over yet.
By focusing on keeping your teams together and facilitating on-going cohesion, however, you can ensure that your employees continue to benefit from the stimulating, supportive, and motivating working environment they need to reach their full potential.
