Remote working is bliss for many. Employees prefer working remotely for many reasons. virtual team building activities for Remote teams have more flexibility, work life balance, and a working environment. Today, remote teams have become quite popular globally. Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are hiring remote teams in large numbers.
Although remote teams are great for software development, they require virtual team building activities to keep working with the most productivity. You must have heard the saying, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, well this saying stays true to the remote teams as well. Just like in-house teams, team-building activities and games are crucial for remote teams. The team building activities and games conducted and played virtually are called virtual team building activities. These activities strengthen employee engagement and bring the whole remote team together.
Since team-building activities are a must for every team, in this blog we will talk about some of the best Fun team building Improv Activities that remote teams must engage with. However, before we begin with the activities and games, let us understand why virtual team building is important. So, let’s begin!
Why is virtual team building important for remote teams?
Virtual team building is important for engaging remote teams online and deepening their bond. Team building activities boost the team’s morale and make the employees comfortable with each other. Below, we have listed some of the major benefits of remote team building. Have a look.
Promotes workplace collaboration
Team effort and coordination are important as there are a lot of tasks that require coordination between the team and different resources. Team collaboration is easier in a physical workplace but gets challenging in a virtual workplace. However, fun virtual games and activities can help the employees to stay connected and work with each other cohesively. It also helps the team to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and coordinate better.
Increases productivity
Lower productivity sometimes becomes an issue for remote teams and that’s where virtual team-building comes to the rescue. Virtual team-building activities allow teams to explain organizational goals with great clarity. When employees feel productive, they work their best to reach their goals and productivity increases without any burnout.
Maintains positive work culture
Having a positive work culture can make all the difference in remote teams. When the team interact virtually and has work-related discussions and catch-ups, it results in a significant influence on the employees. It also reinforces positive work culture in remote teams. Events like lunch or coffee breaks, contest nights, and birthday celebrations can boost positivity in the organization.
Builds diverse relationships
Remote teams are not bounded by any location or time zones and therefore they embrace diversity. Team-building exposes virtual teams to diverse people and their cultures. These activities also help in building long-lasting relationships and connections with the entire team. With fun activities and online team-building games, the team learn to work across boundaries and build diverse relationships.
Improves communication
Since remote teams don’t meet daily, communication is the key. Team-building activities promote seamless communication among the team. It creates a fun and relaxed environment apart from stressful work situations. It gives coworkers a chance to learn more about each other and improv class communicate with each other more openly.
Have a look at the list of virtual team building activities below.
Moving on, we will look at the best remote team building activities that you must adopt for remote teams and employees. So, find below the list of fun events and virtual team event games that promote coordination, teamwork and friendliness among the employees.
Online zoom interaction
Interacting with the team is always a good idea. For remote teams, Zoom is a great platform, to begin with. Remote developers can interact and socialize with each other, discuss their interests and know about others once in a while. These interactions bring the team together and bring out their fun side and also make them feel connected with each other.
Employee wellness programs
Although many employees enjoy remote work, it can be challenging for some. Thus, for the mental and social well-being of employees, conducting wellness programs can be very helpful. These wellness programs can also work for the mindfulness of the employee and help them adapt better to the remote work culture.
Timely recognition and awards
Appreciation works like magic. When employees get recognition and awards for their hard work, they feel motivated and valued. Thus, team leaders should praise and acknowledge deserving employees and boost their morale regularly. It will also motivate others to perform their tasks better.
Weekly pulse surveys
Running weekly quizzes and pulse surveys is a great way to stay connected with the virtual team. These surveys help to keep a check on how everyone is feeling and how things are taking place in the team. This also helps in identifying the problems that the employees might be facing and help them with the right solutions.
Donut
Donut helps the remote team connect with virtual coffee dates, workshops, and more. Its main purpose is to introduce the team members who don’t know each other well or don’t connect daily. Donut is a great tool to get the new employees onboard and encourage them to know each other well.
Here’s a list of the fun team games for remote teams.
Apart from these fun virtual team-building activities, there are some fun games that the remote teams can play every once in a while. Let’s discuss some of the most popular and fun team games below.
Video charades
This is a virtual team-building game that can be played online with the team. Basically in this game, the members act out an object for the rest of the team to guess. You can either try to act in movies or even go for the names of animals, places etc. Since the game is meant to be for fun, you can add your own variation and just have fun with the team.
Heads up
Heads Up is another fun virtual game that promises the team a fun time. It is available as an app on Zoom. The app invites the virtual team to guess random topics. The players try to act out the clues while the others try to guess them. The players can either split into pairs or play as a group. Heads Up! Is one of the most fun games to play in virtual meetings.
Virtual Pictionary
Pictionary has been one of the most popular games because it is quite easy to play. Virtual teams also enjoy playing this game in their meetings. Players can play Pictionary in pairs and teams. The game is simple- each player receives a prompt and draws that object while the others try to guess the drawing. Those who identify the object correctly win. Now, doesn’t that sound fun?
Virtual “Never Have I Ever”
Who doesn’t know this popular game already? It is one of the most popular games to play with friends and colleagues. The virtual edition of this game is just as fun. The rules are simple- players take turns saying something they have never done in their life. Those who have done that thing will get one point and those who haven’t will get none. The person with the least points wins the game. As simple as that!
Virtual scavenger hunt
In a virtual scavenger hunt, the team members are given a list of items to search around them. The items are general and can be found in the home or in the workplace easily. The hunters then show their collected items on the video call to other team members. The one who collects more items is considered the winner.
5-second rule
This is a board game that is adapted well in a remote environment. In this game, the players have to create a list of different categories such as names of trees, animals, cities, etc. On each player’s turn, 5 seconds are given to the other players to name three objects that fit into the category. Those who fail to answer within 5 seconds are out of the game.
Encourage virtual team building activities for your remote team now!
Fun activities and virtual games help to connect the remote team in many ways. If you have an exciting project coming up and wish to hire a remote team of developers for the same, you should keep these games, virtual team events and fun team games in mind. This will not only help the team members to know each other well but also increase their productivity. Since remote work can be quite monotonous at times, such team building activities will keep the employees engaged, happy and entertained.
When you plan these activities for your team, make sure to ask the team what they enjoy. Moreover, you can take suggestions from the team about the games and activities they would like to participate in. All of this makes the work environment friendly and easy-going. Since hiring remote teams are much in trend, taking note of these team-building activities and games will help you keep your remote employees and support their mental health as well.
