10 Fun Virtual Team Building Ideas
With the disruption caused by social distancing, many of us are now feeling a little disconnected from our teammates. Without the daily face-to-face interactions that would normally take place at the office, working from home can take its toll emotionally with the potential to affect some more than others. However, by using video conferencing technologies like Zoom or Slack, there are now many ways to bring back the collaborative team spirit.
10 Fun Virtual Team Building Ideas
Here is a list of fun suggestions for you and your team to try during your next internal virtual meeting.
Or, if your team does not meet as a large group, you can also post videos to your work space channel so everyone can partake and watch the excitement together.
Scavenger Hunt - Build a list of thought provoking clues pertaining to common household items. The clues can be revealed one by one or all at once and the first person to find and bring the correct item(s) onscreen will be declared the winner.
Open House - At one point or another, we have all heard our coworkers boasting about their amazing home theatre or hilarious make shift home office. Get to know your colleagues more by giving them the chance to show off their new work spaces and see them in their “natural environment” with a personal home tour.
#Random Channel - Create a Random channel in your office communications tool (Mircosoft Teams, Slack, etc) where everyone can post jokes, memes, and generally share a laugh. This is a great way to share some levity and random facts throughout the work day.
Family Bonding - We’ve all heard stories or seen pictures of spouses, roommates and kids. Have your coworkers introduce their family members to the group so you can share amusing stories and hear first hand how hilariously awkward each other is outside of the office.
Virtual Pictionary - Most communication tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom have a whiteboard feature that you can use for Virtual Pictionary. The first person to respond with the correct answer wins the round and gets to their chance to be the next office Picasso.
Cooking With Colleagues - Similar to movie night, you can enlist one coworker each week to suggest ingredients and supplies and teach the group how to create a special dish. If cooking isn’t someone’s forte, they can teach the group how to do another hobby, like playing an instrument or gardening.
Coffee Breaks Together - Randomly pair each other off in small groups of 2-4 so they can schedule a time for a virtual coffee break together. This gives each person a chance to get to know people they might not have had the chance to at the office.
Live Remote Coworking - Similar to the paired coffee breaks, colleagues will break off into groups of 2 and run a live stream while they work. The goal is to be able to help each other work in an office-type environment with the ability to lean over and ask a quick question in real-time when things come to mind. This also provides a sense of social accountability knowing each other is supposed to be task oriented. To keep junior colleagues on task, a trio including a supervisor or manager for extra support will help keep things on track.
Internal Office Challenge - Create an office challenge where everyone can take turns posting their attempts at something clever and fun. Be sure to make it E for everyone so no one physically or emotionally gets hurt… Let the games begin.
Live Remote DJ - Select a person to create a video call that’s open for anyone to join. This person will act as the day’s office dj, supplying some background tunes for everyone to enjoy.
Hopefully, these activities can help working at home more exciting for you and your colleagues. If you have tips that you would like to share, tag us and comment on our social media @happierit.