The pandemic has made adjustments in all areas of our lives. Millions of people have switched to remote work and already experience a lack of socialization. In this post, we are going to share 10 remote team building activities that were tested and approved by our experts. Enjoy!
10 Best remote team building activities in 2021
Сommunication within the team mainly involves discussing tasks in online chats and conference calls which leads to the team spirit and motivation drop. Fortunately, remote team building activities and games can fix the situation.
1. Online parties
If your remote team doesn’t mind grabbing a beer and pizza on a Friday night, they will surely like a real party! You can reach a catering company who will deliver a party set to employees’ homes. It should include their preferred drinks, fruits, cheese, and an invitation with a QR code. After scanning the code, they join a virtual party with DJs and bartenders who play nice music and share cocktail recipes. Later in the evening, you can start virtual karaoke on Zoom or dance in an imaginary club.
2. Gift-giving
We all love presents, so why not start a new corporate tradition without the need to wait for Christmas? To make everything work, set a budget cap and ask employees to complete surveys where they share their likes and dislikes. Be like Secret Santa but in May, October, or February! Great gift ideas include chocolate, snacks, tea, coffee, and favourite alcohol. By the way, you can use an online gift generator not to rack your brains.
Also Read: Employee Gift | The ultimate guide
3. Cooking competitions
Social distancing and isolation made us all cook at home more often. So why not turn this habit into a way to engage the team? Here’s how you can organize the competition:
- Choose the date.
- Pick a theme (cuisine type, desserts, pizza, etc.).
- On the competition day, participants should post photos and videos of the dishes they have made. By the way, photos can be edited with Canva to look finer.
- Everyone votes for the best dish.
- The winner receives a prize.
4. Outfit of the day
One of the simplest team-building activities is to choose a particular colour or theme for the outfit of the day. For example, on Thursdays, everyone’s wearing blue clothes, on Mondays – evening dresses and suits. The ones who don’t follow the rules may be ‘punished’ with funny tasks. For example, meowing during a call or communicating in a poetic form.
5. Singing competition
It is time to take your sing-in-the-shower habit to a completely new level. A singing contest can be a great event for remote workers. Every participant chooses a song and sings it during a video call. Then, chat members vote for the best performer. You can record the video and use Movavi to edit files and make real clips. Who knows, maybe you will start a rock band afterwards?
6. #MYWORKPLACE challenge
To brighten up the working routine, you can join this fun challenge. Remote team members take pictures or videos of their workplaces at home, post them on social media with an MYWORKPLACE hashtag and invite colleagues and subscribers to join. If you are not a fan of Facebook or Instagram, this challenge can be a part of the Slack team-building routine. Create a separate chat with this challenge and share photos inside the company.
Also Read: Employee Morale | An ultimate read for best results
7. Eat and learn
Remember the times of working in an office when we gathered together for lunch and discussed personal matters? Remote work has robbed us of this pleasure, but this doesn’t mean that we can’t revive the tradition.
Order a lunch delivery and get on a video call together. While eating, discuss a particular topic, watch an interesting video (for example, TED Talk or a new episode of the series you all follow), or even invite an outside speaker. This will level up your communication and bring you closer to each other.
8. Yoga session with an instructor
Zoom and other virtual platforms for party events can also be used for holding yoga classes under the guidance of professional instructors. This activity is good for reducing stress levels and improving health and will be a great way to take a pause amidst a busy workday.
9. Quiz games
It is difficult to find a better virtual team-building activity than playing a few games. And while most of them are difficult to organize remotely, quizzes don’t take much time and resources. To start such a game, you need a list of questions that are either related to your company or a general topic. For example:
- When was our company launched?
- What is our motto?
- How many employees are there in the company?
- Who starred in the Titanic movie?
- Why do dogs stick out their tongues?
To play these virtual games, you should decide on teams. Once the caller announces the question, participants leave an emoji or another sign in the chat. The first to leave a comment answers. If the answer is correct, the team gets one point.
Also Read: Performance Management Process | An ultimate read for best results
10. Typing speed competition
If you don’t mind remote team building games with a competitive spirit, try this free and fun activity. Choose an online typing test and post the link on the message board along with your own results. Encourage colleagues to participate. You can unite in teams, create leaderboards, and give prizes. When playing this game, you not only become closer with each other but also improve typing speed, a crucial skill for many workers.
Closing thoughts
The entertainments discussed above are good for learning more about each other, reducing stress, and showing that the management of the company takes care of its employees. Some of the ways are free and simple, while others take a bit more time and money. We are sure that with these remote team building activities for conference calls and chats, the communication and bonds inside your company will improve. And if you already have a few favorite activities, don’t forget to share them with us!
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