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Nothing screams awkward like your supervisor facilitating an ice-breaker to a cold audience of tiny black squares (with not even their picture uploaded). I’m sure we’ve all sat through our fair share of “cringe-worthy” attempts at virtual team building. Some are successful and some are as painful as receiving a friend request, immediately followed by an invitation to a romantic dinner via LinkedIn. There just has to be a better way.
So how do we build fruitful connections with our remote team that feels genuine but also fun? We’ve got you covered. Here are engaging virtual team building ideas that encourage movement, active engagement, and uncontrollable laughter.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Get your team moving and searching around their house with this simple, no-cost, engaging activity.
- Select 15 everyday household items for your team members to locate in their home and present In the camera,
- Choose a team member to judge.
- And set a timer.
- Offer a virtual gift card to the winner
Share a 5 minute exercise
Have a dance/fitness enthusiast on the team? Have them teach a 30-minute exercise during lunch hour. You can hold the class synchronously on a video conference, or share a pre-recorded video to the team for them to follow along at their own pace.
With experts calling this migration to remote working the “new normal”, it’s time for employers to re-think how their remote team is connecting and building relationships with each other. Whatever you decide, make sure your activity feels natural and genuine.
Online Video Games
Online gaming if a thing. Why not make it a workplace thing. Jackbox games are even better than ice breakers and can have over 10,000 participants. While some of these packages cost, there are some free games as well.
The best workplace online games:
1. Fibbage: A trivia game where participants guess whether a fact is true or false.
2. Quiplash XL: a game where prompts are given to two players to answer. The answers are then compared and the players select which one they find more interesting thereby deciding a winner.
3. Jokeboat: A joke-making game where participants re-write jokes and vote on best the funniest sets.
Play creative games, win creative employees. Refusal to adapt is a refusal to grow and make an impact. Remote teams must care about how their team is connecting and engaging. And to do that, we need to think different, organize different, and connect different. Have fun with your team, and most importantly, “make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh”.
If this article helped you in any way, please leave a comment.