15 Jul 5 Virtual Team Building Ideas
With many teams working remotely on both a temporary and permanent basis, it can be difficult to build team unity. When outside of the office, employees do not have the same opportunities to socialize and collaborate as they do when in an in-office setting. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t build unity, engagement, and purpose as a team.
By hosting team building activities that are well thought out, have a purpose, and are enjoyable, it can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness in remote workers. It can boost engagement levels, strengthen communication, and remind employees of why they love their job.
Plus, planning virtual team building activities is not that difficult and there are many ideas that you can incorporate or adapt to your own team. Here are five virtual team building ideas to help you get started.
1. Guess the Person
Guess the Person is a fun game that can be done virtually or in an office. Before your activity, ask each team member to share three personal facts about the individual. This could be something silly, professional, personal, etc. List all of these facts on a piece of paper and have your team members guess who the fact belongs to. Make this game a little more fun by offering a fun reward to the winner such as a digital gift card, the opportunity to clock out early one day, etc.
2. Two Truths and a Lie
Another fun game that will help team members get to know one another is Two Truths and a Lie. Go around the room and have each employee state two truths and one lie about themselves. As a team, you will have to guess which statement is the lie. This is a great way to get to know more about each team member and is a simple and fast way to break the ice. However, keep in mind that this game does best with a smaller team.
3. Show and Tell
Who says that Show and Tell must be for children? During your next virtual meeting, give each team member one minute to show an item that means a lot to them. This should be a simple task as many employees will be at home and can easily grab something to talk about.
4. Start a Book Club
Reading is a great way to expand knowledge and a task that many individuals enjoy. Each month, or even once a quarter, choose a book that all employees will be required to read. This doesn’t have to be a long book but something that can provide some help with their career and professional lives. During one of your virtual meetings, spend some time discussing the book and gather feedback from your employees on what they learned, what they liked or didn’t like about the book, etc.
5. Have Lunch Together
Just because you may be miles apart, it doesn’t mean you can’t socialize and enjoy one another’s company. Regularly host virtual lunchtime meetings for your employees. This is a great opportunity for your team members to sit back and relax, ask questions, get to know one another, share ideas and thoughts, etc. You could even take this a step further and send all team members a small gift card to a fast-food establishment that they can use during this meeting.
When planning a virtual team building activity, be creative and have fun. Send swag and encourage all of your team members to wear it to the meetings, use apps like Kahoot or Assembly that make it easy for everyone to participate in team-building games. These activities may seem silly but they are a great way to engage and have fun while social distancing and working apart.
