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What is virtual team building?
35 unique virtual team-building activities
6 benefits of virtual team building
Virtual team building logistics
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What is virtual team building?
35 unique virtual team-building activities
6 benefits of virtual team building
Virtual team building logistics
One afternoon early in the pandemic, I logged out of my work and assembled some basic ingredients on my kitchen countertop.
I logged into a Zoom meeting. I then positioned my laptop so my camera angle looked down at my countertop. Flour, check. Eggs, check. Rolling pin, check. Ricotta, herbs, garlic, check.
Soon, two Italian voices boomed over Zoom. “Are we ready to make some pasta today?!”
I tied an apron around my waist, rolled up my sleeves, and joined my then-team for our first-ever virtual team-building activity. We booked an online pasta-making class with Airbnb, hosted by two Italian chefs in Italy. For them, it was dinner. For us, it was lunch.
And I have to tell you, it was the best cooking class I’ve ever taken. I walked away from the virtual team activity full-bellied and happy. My teammates — spread out all over the US — joined from their kitchens, too. And together, we cooked and enjoyed a meal.
Pre-pandemic, 1 in 5 workers were remote. Despite some returns to the office, much of the workforce is remote or hybrid today. The future of work has been disrupted. Employee needs have shifted. One thing hasn’t changed: we still crave human connection.
Chances are, you’ve worked remotely for an extended period of time. And perhaps, your company has embraced the hybrid culture. Virtual teams are here to stay. In fact, 64% of companies say the increase in remote work will be a permanent change.
But with remote teams, it can be difficult to create the trust and camaraderie that comes from shared experiences. Many of us have never even met each other in person.
This makes finding the right virtual team-building activities even more important. Virtual team-building events can also help create a feeling of inclusion and connectedness for team members.
Virtual team building is pretty new for a lot of organizations. Let’s take a minute to dissect what this means.
Virtual team building is a set of activities that helps build trust among teammates. Virtual team building can help develop team members personally and professionally. It also helps to foster empathy and understanding of peers’ work and brings a sense of commitment, belonging, and inclusivity.
In this remote world of work, we’re all adjusting to the new normal. And while many organizations want a high-performing culture, we know one thing to be true. Leading inclusively in a hybrid world makes a monumental difference in the employee experience, and employee experience is a cornerstone of performance.
Beyond inclusivity, it takes getting to know the whole person to design an experience that helps to engage employees. Twilio, a BetterUp customer, shares why this component can be critical to how people show up every day, especially when it comes to building and developing teams.
“It’s a mistake to not consider the Whole Person and everything that is going on in their world. It all comes together to impact how people show up every day, and BetterUp’s approach aligned with this.”
Head of Talent Development, Twilio
At BetterUp, we’ve found inclusive leadership pays dividends for organizations. Employees with inclusive leaders are:
As you build out your virtual team-building strategy, keep in mind inclusivity. How are you making the activities accessible for your teammates? If you manage a global team, are the time zones accommodating? Will all teammates feel comfortable doing the activities? Small details matter.
Buckle up, we’ve got a full list of virtual team-building activities for you. Here are 35 unique activities to try with your team.
There are plenty of benefits to virtual team building. Let’s run through six reasons why it’s worth investing in your employees to provide fun activities at work.
It promotes fun and playfulness in the workplace. When employees are happy, they’re more likely to be engaged. Work doesn’t have to be boring or serious all the time, either.
At BetterUp, we place a high value on playfulness, zest, and imagination. Employees are recognized for their actions that model these high-impact behaviors.Virtual team building may look simple and easy. But ask any event host and you’ll soon learn the logistics can be tricky and at times, even overwhelming.
Many larger organizations have teams dedicated to building and creating a remarkable employee experience. Oftentimes, these folks may be able to help lend a hand. If your organization doesn’t currently have an employee experience arm, consider bringing the idea to HR.
With dedicated staff committed to creating an employee experience that stands out, you can alleviate some of the stress and tension on volunteers. Many people managers or individual contributors will take on extra work to help plan virtual events. While it might work for the short-term, it’s not necessarily scalable as an organization grows.
If you’re serious about investing in your people, think about ways you can bring fun, levity, and playfulness to your workplace. With help from human resources pros, you can build out a team dedicated to keeping your employees engaged and happy.
Well, there are too many options out there and more all the time. If we know anything about software tools, we know we have plenty of options.
Do your due diligence to make sure you’re vetting available tools and software. Sometimes, you may stumble across a tool that your company already has in its digital transformation strategy.
Here are five common tools that can help with virtual teams and virtual team-building activities:
Hopefully, by now, you’ve been armed with all the resources you need. Now, try to keep these 12 helpful tips in mind.
Team bonding doesn’t need to happen in person.
Being virtual actually opens up new possibilities. Not everyone enjoyed or benefited from the big happy hours of old and sometimes we learned very little about our colleagues. Look for opportunities to encourage different types of participation with virtual events. With little events or big, you can form strong connections and do virtual team building.
Head to our section above to see what sort of team-building games you can implement for your next activity.
There are lots of ways to make virtual team meetings fun. You can start with an icebreaker game or icebreaker question to help kick off a meeting.
Even better, ask team members to submit potential icebreaker questions in advance so you always have a list to pull from. Feeling ambitious, get people to submit answers in advance and use a polling tool to match the answer to the team member. You could also have a mini- team-building exercise to help break the ice, especially if you’re hiring new employees often.
Virtual meetings in a virtual office don’t mean that we’re not allowed to have fun. At BetterUp, employees often show up with zest and playfulness. For example, some of the best virtual team-building activities have been a simple 5-minute icebreaker at the start of a staff meeting.
Employee recognition should happen in all work environments, not just in a physical office. When it comes to celebrating your team, get creative. How can you have a little fun on your next video call with celebratory Zoom backgrounds?
There are fun ways that you can celebrate. Try hosting a virtual happy hour or coffee break in honor of a recent team win. Or, could you send your remote team members a gift card for a virtual team lunch?
Meetings are already a hard nut to crack. We know that virtual team meetings can feel flat and transactional.
But it’s possible to spice up Zoom and Webex with more interaction. For example, we use online polling and online games in some of our big meetings. At our last All-Hands, we had a trivia game where employees were quizzed on the answers to some information that was presented. It’s light-hearted and fun but also easy for people to interact real-time. If you have the budget, give out prizes to winners.
Also, consider encouraging the use of the chat feature in meetings. Just be thoughtful about establishing norms around how it’s used and “plant” some cultural pioneers to lead the way. At BetterUp, for instance, the chat is a scrolling love-fest of appreciation and witticisms. While it might be a little distracting, it also keeps people connected and engaged.
It totally depends on the activity. For example, a virtual game show event is going to take up more time than a Zoom get-together on a Friday afternoon.
Use your best judgment — and ask for your team’s input. If you’ve allotted for two hours for virtual karaoke, you probably will be able to tell by their faces if it’s a good idea.
We may not be face-to-face as much as we used to be. We may not have a water cooler to gather around at the end of the workday. And we may have teams that are now spread across the country — and even the world.
But the best virtual team-building activities are sometimes the simple ones. Keep the games simple and easy. Make virtual team-building games inclusive and easy to participate in.
Whether you have large groups or small, there are plenty of team-building ideas. Virtual pub trivia, Pictionary, a simple Slack giphy, or emoji contest. The ideas (and creativity) are endless. And the best part? You get to create an activity that works for your team.
While you are having a lot of fun (and friendly competition), keep in mind your employees’ development. We’re human beings, which means we show up as our whole selves to work. It takes intention and awareness to get to know our employees and colleagues as whole people. And sometimes, we need a little help.
At its heart, virtual team building is about stepping away from work to do Inner Work®. We all need that time and space away from our laptops, emails, and meetings. In doing so, we’ll return to our jobs with fresh perspectives, clear minds, and increased creativity. With an established Inner Work® practice, your team will be more productive, more innovative, and more likely to perform better.
With BetterUp, you can help create and nurture meaningful connections. A coach can help unlock the potential in your workforce. All it takes is a little employee engagement magic with some help from virtual coaching. Don’t worry, you’ve got this.
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Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.
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