10 Virtual Team Building Ideas
Working from home doesn't mean working alone
Team building activities may seem impossible in the current climate, however they are probably more important than ever to lift the team spirit up and motivate them to deliver good business results.
During this unprecedented time, it is important to encourage teams to socialise and connect with one another. Building a connected and integrated team is essential to help face the uncertainty of what lies ahead, both from a personal and professional perspective. Moreover, it is proven that when team interrelations are good, the mental wellbeing of employees improve and consequently business results do too.
It is hard to socialise with team members and colleagues when you are stuck in your home office and cannot have the usual face to face contact with people. Here are 10 ideas for remote team-building that you may want to explore, to help increase engagement and encourage bonding and connection with your team (as we navigate this ‘new normal’).
1. Game/Quiz Call
Quiz Night is a classic – but now, it is more effective than ever. Organise a team social call and you can set up a bingo, a quiz or a trivia game. You can use Avery Printable Cards to prepare and print everything you need for the game, and you can also create awards and prizes using the Avery Certificate Paper.
If you feel more committed, you can also opt for a Pictionary contest book an online Escape Room. Remember that the more effort you put in, the more your employee will appreciate it and feel more engaged.
2. Happy Hour with a Twist
Set up a happy hour or an after work coffee/tea to set up a more relaxed environment for a casual chat with colleagues.
This new situation has left everyone feeling a little bit stressed, so this could be a good idea to give your colleagues a little break from the daily grind and just let the conversation flow. Make sure everyone has called in with their favourite drink in hand!
3. Team (virtual) Lunch
Do you miss the lunch break at the office? If so, why not do a weekly virtual lunch call? It can help recreate the work environment at home, and makes everyone feel more included.
You can also use this time to share some of your favourite recipes – it doesn’t matter whether you cook these recipes at home or just like eating them! You can even take turns sharing these recipes or dishes in your weekly call, so you can get to know your team members better.
4. Guess Who
Organise a social ‘team call’ to help you get to know your colleagues better. A good activity that you can do is to ask your team to share an image or picture and get them to explain the story behind it. Another idea could be to ask everyone to share a baby photo and try to guess who is who!
You can print the images with Avery Photo Paper and ask the team to bring them when you all get back into the office. It can be a nice addition to the work desk, and also a great reminder of a fun activity with your team!
5. GIF Competition
Show the fun side of your team by organising a meme or gif sharing / competition in the team chat.
Set daily questions and ask people to respond with a gif – the best one wins a prize! This is a great way to add a laugh into the team chat, and just add a bit of the office humour back into your new ‘work from home’ life.
6. Quote of the Day
Why not share a daily or weekly quote with your team? Every week, pick a team member who can take the lead on this and share why they chose the particular quote.
Quotes can help inspire the team and lift spirits, especially during this difficult time. You can print these quotes using Avery Printable Cards and create a board. You can place this board in the office (when you’ve had the chance to go back), and keep the tradition going… or just use it as a positive reminder that you survived this difficult time together.
7. Virtual Class
Taking classes together can also be a good team building activity. There are lots of virtual team classes that are being organised now, from cooking class to dance class to something even more work-related like LinkedIn courses that can help team members develop new skills or further deepen their knowledge on a particular subject.
Learning and growing together as a team is one of the positive things that you can cultivate during this difficult time.
8. Best Dressed Competition
Spice up your team meetings with some fun competitions on the side! A famous one is the funniest t-shirt contest – mainly to get people out of their typical ‘work from home’ outfits.
They can either bring one that they already own or even create one using the Avery Textile Transfer Paper. Let the most creative win!
9. Company-themed Quiz
Create team building activities that tap into your company culture. You can come up with questions related to your company’s mission and values, and use them for a company-themed quiz with some fun prizes or awards!
This can also become a bigger initiative that can involve other departments or other teams, making it a multi-team building activity!
10. Surprise 'Thank You' Packages
It's been a hard time for everyone, so why not show your team the appreciation they deserve with a surprise 'thank you' package? From sending some relaxing candles, to ‘create your own’ hot chocolate – sending your team something small but personalised is a great way to show that you care for them and appreciate their hard work and contributions.
You can use personalised labels and cards from Avery which you can print with your ‘thank you’ message, and add this on to the products inside the boxes. Or you can even use our pre-printed Avery Thank You Stickers for quick and easy labelling.
Avery Products to help with virtual team building
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