10 virtual team-building activities for motivating employees

This article was originally published on 17/04/2020.

Remote work has led HR teams to face unique challenges when planning remote team-building activities, including maintaining team cohesion and motivation in this new environment. How important are these activities, and how can HR managers address these challenges with software tools? This article outlines ten virtual team-building activities businesses can use to help employees connect and have fun while working from home.

The working landscape has changed in the past few years, and remote work has become more common. With this, the need for remote team building is also increasing. Working in a business with enjoyable company culture and high morale can be beneficial in helping teams work together. 

However, it can be challenging for HR teams and managers to build relationships and create a motivated, cohesive team when employees are not physically in the same space. Nonetheless, with the help of virtual collaboration activities, remote teams can come together and build connections.

This article will highlight the challenges and importance of virtual team-building and outline ten remote team-building activities to help your team connect and have fun while working from home.

What are virtual team-building challenges?

Human Resources face unique challenges when planning remote team-building activities. Firstly, remote teams cannot connect during coffee or lunch breaks or after-work activities. Maintaining team cohesion and motivation in a remote work environment can also be challenging. HR staff also need to find ways to engage employees that do not always include nonverbal communication and body language. 

How do I bring my team together virtually?

Virtual team meeting activities are possible through software tools designed for remote work. These can include team communication software like Slack, video conferencing tools like Zoom, Skype or Google Meet or project management tools like Asana. These tools can help remote teams communicate, collaborate and stay connected.

Human Resources can also leverage HR software to schedule team-building activities and send reminders to team members. These tools help maximise participation across different time zones.

What are the steps to make a strong virtual team?

Building a strong virtual team can help maintain productivity standards and rapport between colleagues while making up for the inability to plan on-site activities. Here are five steps to help businesses build a strong virtual team:

• Pick the right tools and communication channels: Communication is critical in virtual teams. Selecting the right tools and guidelines is essential to help managers keep teams engaged. 
• Encourage communication: Managers can encourage employees to speak up, ask questions and offer suggestions. HR should ensure that employees find themselves in surroundings where they can comfortably communicate their ideas. 
• Foster team collaboration: Team managers can improve collaboration and teamwork by assigning group projects, creating cross-functional teams, and providing peer feedback and coaching opportunities.
• Provide regular feedback: Regular feedback is essential in virtual teams to ensure everyone stays on track and promptly addresses any issues. For example, managers should know if virtual activities could be more convenient, exciting or productive. Employees and managers should also provide positive feedback to celebrate successes and constructive feedback to help team members improve.
• Encourage team bonding activities: Finally, encourage team bonding activities, such as remote team building exercises, social events, and informal check-ins. These activities help to build trust and relationships among team members, which is crucial for a strong remote team.

What are some virtual activities businesses can organise?

There are numerous ways you can build engagement with your remote employees. A clear way of doing this is by having fun. Managers can also utilise video to give their teams more facetime to bond personally or encourage employees to spend time away from their screens for their well-being. 

One way to have fun is to plan virtual team-building activities such as icebreakers, team bonding exercises, online games, talent shows, or happy hours. These activities can occur in a casual and relaxed atmosphere during a virtual meeting and encourage open conversation and humorous exchanges. 

These activities can help team members get to know each other better and foster a sense of community. Virtual team meeting activities can also help break up the monotony and distance of remote, online meetings and keep team members engaged.

Here are ten virtual meeting games and activities that businesses can use for team-building activities for employees and the tools they can use to help them:

1. Morning coffee with a side of good news

Time: 15 minutes

Tools: Video conferencing software with screen-sharing

We’re not all morning people, so help your teams kick-start the day with energy and positivity over coffee and a slice of good news. Each morning, the team can get together on a video call to enjoy a brew and discuss a positive news story shared by a different team member each day. It can help to start the day upbeat and remind ourselves that it’s not all doom and gloom out there!

2. Virtual icebreakers

Time: 15 minutes

Tools: Video conferencing software

Whether you want to get to know your teammates better or need to present new colleagues getting onboarded, icebreaker games can be a great way to build rapport. As long as the questions avoid uncomfortable or awkward questions, they will likely open up debates or conversations. Need some questions? Here are a few to start with:

• How often do you work from bed?
• Which two team members would you want with you during a zombie apocalypse?
• If you could switch jobs with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be?

3. Lunchtime yoga stretch

Time: 15 minutes

Tools: Video conferencing and screen sharing

Working remotely can have us glued to our seats, so get your team up and active with a quick yoga stretch over lunch. It’s easy to find yoga stretch tutorials on YouTube; it just requires a team member to screen share the tutorial for everyone to stretch along to at home. It’s a great way to keep the body (as well as the mind) in a good state of well-being.

4. Conference call bingo

Time: 30+ minutes

Tools: Web conferencing platforms

It’s ok to admit conference calls aren’t always the most thrilling of experiences, so have a bit of fun during calls by playing a bingo-style game. There are plenty of templates available online. The game revolves around common occurrences on conference calls – recurring phrases (“can everybody see my screen?”), certain behaviours and things that go wrong. Team members need to mark off a square every time one of these occurs (and ensure they’re on mute for any sniggering). 

5. Virtual pub quiz with drinks

Time: 30-60 minutes

Tools: Video conferencing and screen sharing or learning experience platforms

If the team can’t go to the pub together, then bring the pub to them. End the week with a virtual pub quiz and a well-earned drink. A different team member is the quiz master each week, and it’s as simple as picking three categories with five questions in each.

6. Virtual scavenger hunt

Time: 30-60 minutes

Tools: Video conferencing and gamification tools.

Virtual scavenger hunts involve finding a list of specific items within the home or the workspace within a designated time frame. Participants can work independently or in teams to complete challenges. The first to find all the items wins. This game can be played in any location with an internet connection, and challenges can be tailored to different themes.

7. Workspace photo competition

Time: 15 minutes

Tools: Team communications

Desks look relatively similar in an office, but there are no rules at home. So have fun by getting the team to submit a photo of their workspace – good, bad, or ugly. It allows them to revel in each other’s humble abodes and inspire friendly competition. The team can share photos using Slack or similar team communication applications for the ultimate judgment to begin. 

8. Self-care tips

Time: 30 minutes 

Tools: Email

While working from home has benefits, it can be emotionally taxing, so sharing self-care tips with the team is valuable. Whatever keeps you sane when working at home —structuring your day, motivation boosters, starting a new hobby— teams can share their tips over email and look out for each other. 

9. Virtual talent show

Time: 30-60 minutes

Tools: Video software

Team members all have their hobbies, quirks and hidden talents. Virtual talent shows allow team members to showcase their unique talents, from painting, singing, dancing or impersonation. This can be a fun activity that can also be an icebreaker. All you need is a webcam and your own hidden talent, and the spotlight is yours.

10. Conundrums

Time: 20-45 minutes

Tools: Team collaboration software and gamification software. 

These activities can encourage out-of-the-box thinking, creativity and brainstorming. By challenging employees to solve a problem or a puzzle, small teams can improve communication and collaboration while flexing their brain muscles. The first team to solve the problem earns a reward. 

If you ask people what they enjoy most about work, it is often the people. Working remotely in different places doesn’t mean your team can’t bond and have fun. With a selection of remote team-building activities, conferencing tools and the aid of collaboration software, you can maintain an exciting company culture that connects your team and boosts morale, making for happy employees and, ultimately, a better-performing team.