Virtual team building exercises to boost engagement and morale

If anything, today, virtual team-building exercises have become an absolute necessity in terms of connection and bonding for remote teams. But with the rise of working from home, finding innovative ways to bring your employees together with creative online activities has become more vital than ever. This article explores diverse exercises that can strengthen team morale, facilitate better communication and collaboration, and make those zoom calls much more enjoyable.

The need for virtual team building and bonding among the employees

Traditionally, the physical interactions of the teammates cannot be facilitated anymore. Thus, organizations need to seek new ways of virtual team building activities and help create a strong community within the teams. These activities help in relieving day-to-day monotony, interaction amongst employees who may not otherwise connect, and promoting positive work atmosphere.

Virtual team building activities allow one to consider employees’ self-esteem and let them feel more valued and appreciated. They provide opportunities for colleagues to bond over shared experiences, which in turn can raise the overall morale of your team. Happy, connected employees are more productive and fulfilled in their work.

Icebreaker games: lightening up any meeting.

Icebreaker games at the start of the meeting are an excellent way to warm up the group and set up a positive tone. These can be as simple as question-type games or as adventurous as challenges that best fit the preference of the team.

The “Two Truths and a Lie” game is also an excellent way to get each participant to talk three times about their self, and the rest have to guess which one is the lie. Another popular activity involves “Show and Tell,” sharing something interesting about your home office setup.

• Two Truths and a Lie: This encourages participants to learn more about each other.
• Show and Tell: It shows personal interest, so one might find things in common.

Online Games for Communication and Teamwork

These online games are just the perfect idea to have fun while learning good teamwork skills. Most of these activities require critical thinking, solution finding, and communication skills, thus finding their perfect application in the virtual teams’ communication and team-building strategy.

Virtual Escape Rooms: A Thrilling Experience

Virtual escape rooms are one of the most popular ones due to the thrill involved in team building. Teams solve puzzles, hunt for clues, and work on tasks to “escape” within the time limit. This would surely result in encouraging cooperation, quick thinking, and improvement in their communication and collaboration. There’s a range of themes for one to choose from, like haunted houses or space adventures.

That usually includes video-conferencing tools to converse on while working your way out of the virtual escape room. Most such experiences are provided on various online platforms that include instructions and facilitation.

Trivia quizzes

Take a test of your knowledge through trivia quizzes over virtual team sessions, which sound quite educational yet entertaining. It may range from general knowledge, pop culture to company-specific information. Individual participants or teams participate in it that helps build camaraderie with friendly competition.

You can create your own quizzes using free online resources or use ready templates. At the end of regular zoom calls, invest a few minutes to keep the cadence going. Time well invested, maybe worth its value in gold for morale.

Creative team-building for remote workers

Apart from classic games and quizzes, the creative activities that can be used to inspire remote teams are unlimited. What matters is to be inventive and tailor the activities to the specific preferences and nature of your group.

Virtual cooking classes: Share a meal together

With the virtual cooking class, let the team get closer together through cooking. Choose a recipe, source ingredients, and cook together virtually using video conferencing. Not only does this allow time for casual conversation, but it also provides an avenue for everyone to learn something new and get a nice meal in return. In fact, this is an excellent way of adding fun, and at the same time learning about something useful and dear to every heart’s love: food!

You could hire a professional chef to teach the class or can take turns being in charge of the class, depending on who is up for it. Either way, it’s a fun way to spend time with each other away from the work context.

Art and craft sessions: Let the creativity loose

Encourage your team to express their artistic side through virtual sessions of art and craft. Be it painting, drawing, or any other DIY project, the idea keeps people out of work stress and pushes their creative juices. Plus, sharing finished projects is a good way to have meaningful conversations and appreciation.

You can send out the kits of materials well in advance, or you simply have your members use any available material at their homes. It is an excellent way to feel the team spirit while showcasing each individual’s talents.

Establishing Continuing Traditions and Routine

Regularly scheduled virtual activities of team building soon become a tradition dear to everybody. Establishment of routines creates some kind of predictable structure that is looked forward to by your employees. Consistency will keep engagement and team spirit high.

Themed days every week: The spice in the routine

Introduce weekly theme days in order to spice up the workweek. Themes can range from “Wacky Hat Wednesday”, where people wear funny hats to meetings, or “Throwback Thursday”, which includes old photographs and stories. The themes should be simple to put into place and accessible so that all people can participate in them with ease. This will make the workplace light-hearted and encourage bonding within the team.

• Wacky Hat Wednesday: Adds humor and character to meetings.
• Throwback Thursday: discussions of past experiences.

Monthly recognition and awards: Celebrations

Highlight hard work and dedication through a monthly recognition event. Create categories relevant to your team’s achievements, such as “Best Team Player” or “Most Creative Solution.” Organize an online award ceremony announcing the winners and giving them prizes.

It is important to acknowledge and celebrate each and every contribution. Recognition does not have to be so serious; you can keep in some fun awards like “Best Zoom Background” just for comic relief.

Enhancing communication and collaboration: using technology to your advantage

Virtual team-building exercises are only as good as the level of your tools and technology. You must invest in good, reliable video-conferencing tools and platforms, period.

Videoconferencing tools: how to choose the right one

There are a range of options for video-conferencing, each with different features. Some of the most common include screen sharing, breakout rooms, and interactive elements like polls and Q&A sessions. Consider which functionalities will best suit your team’s needs before deciding. Accessibility and ease of use are critical. Make sure that whatever platform you choose can support large groups and foster easy interaction among participants.

Collaborative software: Streamlining workflow

Certain collaboration software allows team members to communicate and work together with much more ease, such as project management systems and chat applications. With platforms that employ real-time updates, task tracking, and integrated messaging systems, teams can remain in sync with one another. This, in turn, may improve coordination in terms of virtual team building activities, overall enhancing effectiveness. Choose software that is easily integrated with your systems and which provides just the right kind of functionality you need. Good collaboration tools help avoid misunderstandings and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Adapting to different schedules and time zones

This is one of the major challenges that are faced by virtual teams: the issue of time zones and different schedules. When organizing virtual team-building activities, try to accommodate all team members for maximum inclusivity.

Flexible Scheduling: Making the Most of Participation

Provide different time slots for activities, so that everyone can join in, irrespective of their geographical location. Rotating schedules will help cover different time zones so as not to leave anyone out. Communication and flexibility are key in this area. Make sure it’s not a must, so that your employees are not put in a tight spot. Being considerate of different schedules shows respect and appreciation for the varied situations each team member may be in.

Recorded sessions: On-demand involvement

If there are activities that require special instruction or presentations, consider having these sessions recorded. That way, team members who don’t have a chance to catch it in real-time can always go back and refer to it. On the other hand, this is quite useful when recording sessions would serve well for future use. Ultimately, that means continued learning and engagement. Encourage feedback from those watching the recordings so you understand how you might improve in terms of accessibility or delivery. On-demand availability of content indicates your commitment to inclusive practices.

Virtual team-building exercises are an important part of the modern workplace. The more things continue to shift to remote working, the more creative one needs to get with finding newer ways to bring teams together. It would be worth trying some of these ideas to see how they work to make your team dynamic work that little bit easier.