Your team may have always been virtual or your at-home transition might be due to quarantine. No matter the reason, virtual team building activities during quarantine can provide your team with improved productivity, help establish and reach goals, and foster much-needed connection between team members. When you put value and focus on the relationships within your team and intentionally work to build communication skills, you can expect your virtual team to work better together than ever before.
Virtual Team Building Activities
Virtual team building activities can come in many forms. While your team might be apart due to quarantine, this list of activities can bring your team members together through bonding experiences, goal setting, and building deeper connections.
Hold a Virtual Retreat
When in-person environments were available, team building retreats were a wonderful way to grow relationships, relax as a group, and work on teamwork skills. While it won’t be at a new trip destination, hold a virtual retreat for your team.
As a leader, you can incorporate many of the key aspects a team-building retreat would provide. Give your team a glimpse of retreat serenity right at home. Have a group meditation zoom call where each team member can release any stresses they hold and look to the future they want for their team.
Look for a yoga instructor who holds virtual classes to host a group yoga class. If everyone enjoys the virtual retreat experience, hold a class once a week or month to keep your team relaxed and motivated.
At the end of your virtual retreat, hold a virtual happy hour to go over experiences during the retreat that each member enjoyed and to share goals and visions for the future of the team.
Virtual Show and Tell
For many, working from home during quarantine is a brand new experience. Unlike a regular workplace, virtual meetings can come with surprise intrusions from a curious pet or background noise from a cranky toddler. Transition these new distractions from a negative to a bonding experience. Hold a virtual show and tell where each team member can tell the group who they are spending their quarantine with, be it a family member, a pet, or maybe just a new plant they’re growing. This show and tell provides your team with a glimpse into the lives of their coworkers and can make each member more comfortable when hiccups or interruptions happen in the future.
Virtual Book Club
Work might be the center of each conversation during the day, but deeper relationships are formed when bonding experiences are created outside the virtual office. To create some after-hours bonding time, hold a virtual book club for the team members who want to join in. Have your team create a list of books they love, books they want to read, and best-selling books. When a book has been chosen for the group, set reading goals for each meeting. Team members will grow closer over reading chats, creating a more connected environment when work starts up again.
For a more personal option, have each book club member choose a book they loved for another coworker. Hold one-on-one meetings for each member to chat with their new book buddy as they read the book they suggested.
Virtual Game Night
For more after-hours fun, hold a team virtual game night. Use online programs or game applications to connect each team member for a night of fun and value. While games and activities keep the energy high, your team will also be improving communication skills, fostering valuable relationships, and taking advantage of a chance to connect in a disconnected time.
Coffee Roulette
Most team members know those in their department really well. They may know others through quick chats or emails, but most companies struggle to get teams connected as a whole. To help team members get to know those within the team or company they may not know as well, hold virtual coffee roulette. Use your communication platform if they have it available, or just choose names at random and set up one-on-one coffee dates for team members. These more intimate and non-work-related chats will add value to your team by helping members broaden their look on neighboring departments and will create new connections throughout your company. This can improve communication and productivity within teams and within your entire company.
How to Liven Up Video Calls
Video calls and virtual meetings have become an essential part of the business world today. Even before quarantine transitioned most companies into the virtual forum, many utilized video calls for cross-country or even cross-national relations. Now that virtual meetings have become the norm for most teams, many are finding it difficult to expect enthusiasm and maintain focus from their home-bound team. Since virtual meetings aren’t going anywhere, leaders must find new ways to hold their team’s attention and create value in a virtual setting.
Start each meeting with an ice-breaker activity or goal casting session. This gets team members engaged from the start and gets them in a mindset to remain connected throughout the meeting.
Create another opportunity for engagement in the middle of your virtual meeting. Ask each team member to add value with a point they feel strongly about or an update on a project. This regains investment in the virtual meeting and holds attention for the duration to follow.
End your virtual meeting with a feedback session. Asking for any feedback on any work topic gives team members the feeling that they are heard and valued and helps leaders know what to expect for future goals and meetings.
Most importantly, make it fun! Create a list of topics to go over so your team can know what to expect from your virtual meeting. Ask questions and allow your team to participate. If your team struggles to stay engaged for long periods of time, break up your meeting into sections with a quick activity or game in between. Keep your team interested.
Benefits of Virtual Team Building
The value and benefits of virtual team building activities are endless for your company. When your team transitioned to a virtual workplace, many team members probably felt disconnected. These activities allow your team to grow meaningful relationships, increase team morale in a difficult quarantine time, and work on valuable team skills. Your team can expect increased productivity, improved communication, and overall virtual satisfaction when you invest in team building activities for your virtual team.