Are you looking for exciting team-building activities for your next huddle with your remote team?
Gone are the days of weekend retreats for team-building activities. With Work-From-Home (WFH) being the new norm, the era for virtual team-building activities is officially here.
Numerous team-building exercises can be conducted virtually to gain impressive results. This is an ongoing process that is quintessential for the creation of efficient teams in present times.
Whether it be onboarding new employees or fostering mutual trust between existing employees, virtual team-building activities are the need of the hour. For when remote workers feel unsupported or isolated, virtual team-building activities can help them connect with the amazing support system that the company has in place for them.
15 team building activities that you will love
Virtual team building activities comprise various intricately designed strategies, games, and activities that bring more human interaction to virtual work. These activities help team members connect and make them feel like an active part of a community! No matter what the circumstances are, here are the team-building activities that your team will love.
1. Virtual Coffee/Tea Session
One of the best ways to relax, unwind, and share personal experiences is to organize a virtual coffee tea session at the end of work every day. Here, all the team members can share their thoughts, experiences, and suggestions regarding something other than work, such as a movie, a sports match, an event, or a current issue. This will encourage help new team members to be acquainted with others in a relaxed atmosphere and share their inputs without any fear of being judged.
2. Share The Bucket List
One of the best ways to understand each other’s personalities in a team is to exchange your bucket lists. Every week, one team member must share his/her bucket list, including the fulfilled and unfulfilled items. Pre-determine the theme and length of the bucket list to make it an enjoyable experience for all team members. Then other team members can share their views or suggestions regarding the same, making for an interactive team-building session.
3. Online Team Quiz
Quizzes are always a fun and interactive way for team building. You can organize a fortnightly quiz and divide the team members into groups of 3 or 4 members. One individual will be appointed a quiz master and will also act as the judge for the quiz. To add to the excitement, you can divide the quiz into different rounds as well.
4. Meet My Family
Once a week, you can meet my family session wherein every team member will be required to introduce one of their family members to the rest of the team. The other team members can then ask fun questions or discuss the personality quirks of the team member with the participating family member. A great way for developing personal connections between team members.
5. Create a Story
Herein, one team member must pop a random story idea during an online group meeting. Then one by one, other team members will add to that initial idea, creating a comprehensive story with plenty of twists and turns. This will get the creative juices of the team members flowing and help improve cooperation between the team members.
6. Dumb Charades
This is a classic. A round of dumb charades will work wonders for your team. Not only will all the team members have a great time, but they will also bond well with each other during this fun game. You can choose any theme you want for this fun game, such as movies, sports, famous personalities, etc.
7. Two Truths and a Lie
Every team member will state three statements about themselves, two truths, and one lie. Other team members will take turns to identify which statements are true and which one is a lie. The person will reveal the correct answers, and all the participants who gave the correct answers will be awarded the points. The winner will be decided after all participants have had their turns.
8. My 'Emoji' Personality
This is a short and simple team-building activity. All team members will assign an emoji for the ‘person of the day’ and explain why they chose that particular emoji for the respective individual. One who gives the best answer will be declared as the winner. This will help in gaining insights into the thought process of different team members.
9. Virtual Book Club
Choice of books indeed offers an insight into the personality of the person. Every week, one team member will share the name of the best book that he/she has ever read and explain the reasons behind their preference for that book. Other team members will then be required to read that book and exchange their thoughts during an interactive session.
10. My Favourite Superhero
Who does not want to be a superhero with awesome powers? Organize an interactive session wherein all the team members must reveal their favorite superheroes and the superpowers they would like to have. This will offer extremely interesting insights into each other’s personalities and get the creative juices flowing.
11. Never Have I Ever
This is another gem of a fun activity for team-building sessions, but now in a virtual avatar. All team members will start with 10 points but will be penalized by 1 point for every activity they have done. Keep the instances safe for work without making anyone uncomfortable. The last person standing will be the winner.
12. Yoga Session
Those who stretch together…work better together!
A short, 30 minute virtual yoga session pre-lunch could help your team de-stress and prepare to attack the second-half of the workday with vigor.
13. Share a Picture
Herein, the team members must share one picture that is not related to work. It can be related to pets, sports, hobbies, personal life, or anything else. They can then explain the reason behind picking that picture and its importance for them. This will be a good ice-breaking activity that can bring a new element of camaraderie to the workplace.
14. Virtual Escape Rooms
While the physical escape rooms are extremely enjoyable for the participants, so are the virtual escape rooms like Witty Escapes. All the players will encounter the same problems as they would otherwise get in a physical escape room. Various themes can be chosen for this activity, such as escape from prison, catching the thief, or finding the treasure, based on the online platform chosen for this team building activity.
15. Look at my Work Desk
A simple and effective team-building activity! Every member of the remote working team is required to show their work desk at home to the other team members and explain the reason for the location chosen. Others can also offer suggestions regarding improvements that can be introduced for an even more productive work experience.
Virtual fun activities are a way to go!
As per research by a leading agency, employees who opted for WFH even during normal circumstances reported reduced work-related stress and mental fatigue. Many companies have also incorporated it as a part of the standard work culture. Hence, it is a foregone conclusion that WFH will only move from strength to strength in the days to come.
Since WFH is a relatively unexplored concept for many enterprises, more than 65% of remote employees stated that they have never attended a virtual team-building event.
This points towards an absence of knowledge regarding the utility and benefits of virtual team-building events amidst numerous enterprises. As a result, companies miss out on building cooperative relations, developing mutual trust, and improving the work culture.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to virtual team-building activities. You can choose any or all of the activities mentioned above, make any tweaks that you want, and get set for a highly productive round of team-building sessions.