But new trends always come with new challenges.
A team puts great amounts of effort into delivering their best work for the company individually, but when it comes to collaborating on a project, the team fails to do so. It is one of the biggest challenges team leaders face in a remote work culture.
Forming a bond and connection between team members is very important to trust each other, their instincts, and their judgment. Without the bond and communication, it is like asking strangers to trust the guts of a person with whom they have never met or never interacted and know nothing about their personality. Thus, it is significantly important to build trust and form communication between team members to bring their best work and cooperation to the project.
But a big question arises here, how can we strengthen the ties between employees remotely?
Importance of Virtual Team Building Activities:
We, as humans, have an immense need to foster connectivity for better productivity. In a virtual setting, the need to build that connectivity increases massively due to the physical distance between team members. Hence, the importance of virtual team-building activities cannot be understated.
These activities are way beyond the dose of fun we need to get out of boredom; they are the tools that help employees strengthen their bond to build trust and foster relationships between themselves to cultivate a positive and collaborative team environment.
These activities serve as a platform for employees to initiate a casual conversation and share their experience and thought process, which helps them build friendships. And hence, it leads to improved communication, a very important aspect of collaboration.
These activities are not only significant for collaboration and better communication but also for enhancing the morale of employees. Working in remote settings can lead to isolation and loneliness in employees’ lives, and these activities can help deal with these issues, resulting in increased employee satisfaction and retention.
These are not only investments in activities but also serve as investments in the overall success and welfare of the team.
The Unfunny Business of Dull Virtual Team building
Imagine that you are part of a virtual team-building event that is so bland that you feel like watching Gigly when you are promised the premiere of The Dark Night. The expectation is filled with anticipation of great heights of euphoria but receives the most flavorless experience. Each and every minute of monotony in these meetings feels like an eternity of mundaneness, but the price of this bland eternity is very high.
The types of activities that lack engagement and are repetitive can impact both individual employees and overall team dynamics. It can reduce the unity between team members, weaken communication, and also limit the heights of collaboration.
Thus, the necessity of engaging in virtual team-building activities is essential.
10 Dynamic Virtual Team-Building Activities to Strengthen Connection and Collaboration
| Activity | Active involvement required | Just watch and enjoy | Self-improvement | Relaxing | Creative |
| Online Escape Extravaganza | ✅ | – | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Trivia Triumph | ✅ | – | – | ✅ | – |
| Casual Conversation over Virtual Coffee | ✅ | – | – | ✅ | – |
| Interactive Game Galore | ✅ | – | ✅ | – | ✅ |
| Share and Shine: Show and Tell Sessions | – | ✅ | – | ✅ | – |
| Culinary Connection: Virtual Cooking Class | ✅ | – | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Fun Fitness Challenge | ✅ | – | ✅ | – | – |
| Remote Book Club | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | – | ✅ |
| Online Talent Show | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Virtual Comedy Night | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
In the realm of virtual team building, where the echoes of office chatter are replaced by virtual meetings and chat inboxes, the necessity of team-building activities cannot be emphasized more. In the journey of digital collaboration, the main challenges come from battling boring and bland activities in the name of team building.
Do not worry; we understand your need and urgency for engaging and non-lame alternatives to strengthen connection and inject vitality in the virtual workplace. Today, building and strengthening a team requires the perfect combination of connection and connectivity.
These activities turn the boring and mundane online exchanges between team members into energetic, full of life, and memorable experiences that transcend beyond the barrier of the technological screen.
Here are 10 non-lame virtual team-building activities to boost collaboration.
1. Online Escape Extravaganza:
Bring excitement within your team and transport them into the realm of mystery and problem solving through an online escape room. The game presents an opportunity for team members to collaborate, solve puzzles, and enhance their critical thinking skills.
The game often has a storyline or theme to deeply immerse the players with every twist and turn. The participant has to solve puzzles within the deadline to successfully escape the room.
The game helps team members experience collaboration in an informal and more fun-driven setting and challenges them to communicate and solve a problem, eventually allowing team members to bond and work side by side in a creative and engaging way even when they are physically miles apart.
2. Trivia Triumph
An important activity in the world of virtual team building, the game comes across as a more engaging and fun alternative to virtual meetings, emerging as vibrant trivia nights with a pinch of friendly competition, fueling the team members with excitement.
The team members enter the digital realm together, presenting a variety of professional and personal questions to each other while sharing laughter. The nature of the game itself encourages members to debate in a non-serious setting while also showcasing their expertise on diverse topics.
The game encourages team members to share knowledge and foster collaboration. It also establishes a sense of collective achievement between team members.
3. Casual Conversation over Virtual Coffee
While experiencing casual conversation over virtual coffee, the team members rediscover the magic of human touch in the digital realm. A perfect activity to bond over while drinking coffee without any structure and break the digital silence.
Since we were kids, we all have fostered friendship while having lunch or playing together, and always our conversations took out our inner selves through personal experiences and thoughts in front of our mates and strengthened the bond.
Casual conversation over virtual coffee provides us the same opportunity to connect with our colleagues in digital form, and as our screens light up with familiar faces, our hearts also warm up to each other. The simple activity withholds more value while improving the connection and building trust among team members.
4. Interactive Game Galore
Interactive Game Galore includes several ingredients to form bonding, including online gaming, collaboration, and friendly competition.
The colleagues unite in this activity as allies, encouraging each other to support one another and pushing them to strategize their moves creatively and practically while improving their teamwork.
The gaming element adds excitement and thrill among participants, blurring the lines between work and play.
Eventually, the colleagues drop their guard and bond with each other in an exciting digital realm.
The activity is dynamic and entertaining and provides colleagues with opportunities to strategize, bond, and celebrate each moment of victory together.
5. Share and Shine: Show and Tell Sessions
An interesting activity to host is to deepen the connection between colleagues by sharing a meaningful aspect of their lives. Be it a book, hobby, or eccentric collection, it helps them understand each other better and also adds depth to their relationships.
The activity allows team members to share a part of themselves that is unique to their personalities, fostering in-depth understanding within the team.
They get to express the special moments and passions of their lives, which lightens their soul.
While fostering deeper understanding, the activity also instills a sense of acceptance and appreciation for the unique and diverse side of ourselves.
6. Culinary Connection: Virtual Cooking Class
Cooking a meal together, even in the homes of individual colleagues, is refreshing and cheerful. The virtual cooking class can be led by a professional chef or an enthusiastic co-worker. Free from the realm of virtual meetings and spreadsheets, co-workers welcome a new world filled with laughter and the sound of cutlery and utensils.
While sharing cooking tips, they also share their personal tastes and cultural influences. The activity turns into an evening filled with flavour and delightfulness, breaks individuals free from their professional roles, and savors a unique flavour of creativity and teamwork.
The session nourishes the bond between teammates and instills a sense of togetherness within them. It also encourages open communication and collaboration among them.
7. Fun Fitness Challenge
A fun fitness challenge is a name coined to embark on a journey shared by colleagues towards a healthier lifestyle.
It promotes team members well-being and vitality; the challenge is more than a mixture of exercises but also a collective commitment to well-being. In this challenge, team members set personal fitness goals, whether mastering an exercise routine, achieving a step count, or practicing mindfulness regularly.
The challenge helps colleagues form a community and a shared journey they can share and relate to each other. The team members can form a group virtually, keep everyone updated on their achievements on the challenge, and receive support and encouragement from their colleagues.
8. Remote Book Club
The Remote Book Club is a fortress for any book lover. The club members can suggest books to each other and share their thoughts.
The literary haven can foster a deep sense of togetherness among team members. The book club creates an intellectual space where coworkers unite as a community with a shared admiration for literature.
Each chosen book offers a diverse perspective and literary world, encouraging insightful debates and discussions and nurturing the minds and bonds of team members.
While colleagues discuss the characters and plot of the books, the idea flows freely among them, deepening their bonds beyond the confines of walls and cities. The book club not only expands minds but also encourages them to keep marching toward learning and improvement.
9. Online Talent Show
The Online Talent Show spots various talents among team members, and while showcasing their talent, they shine virtually.
The show discovers team members hidden talent and also fosters a sense of appreciation among them. Apart from their day-to-day successes at work, the colleagues get to perform various skills shining in different light.
The talent show ignites happiness and appreciation while also deepening the bond and connection among each other. The colleague feels seen, valued, and appreciated.
10. Virtual Comedy Night
What is better than a night filled with laughter after hours of exhaustion? I know, right? Nothing! To break free from the seriousness of work discussions and virtual meetings, a virtual comedy night serves as a taste of freedom.
The team members come forward and participate in the show through their favorite one-liners or a full-fledged comedy show filled with inside jokes.
The activity helps colleagues see each other in a different light, bridging the connection between teammates while they share laughter as a common language. With each joke, the spirits of coworkers are lifted, establishing a positive and vibrant team atmosphere.
We together witnessed the 10 activities and their unique features; they all serve the same purpose with some unique qualities.
Planning virtual team-building activities can be very exciting and fun, but it can also turn out to be a failure if the activity is not able to hold the attention of coworkers. And the result will be totally opposite of the expected outcome.
The above 10 activities are unique and proven activities that strengthen bonds and deepen the connection between teammates. Attending to the needs required to bring coworkers closer together to foster teamwork and extract the best potential out of them. These activities can be seen as essential investments for the growth of employees as a team and also individually to deliver the best outcome for the organization.
FAQ
The spontaneity of in-person interactions cannot be fully replicated, but surely virtual team-building activities can bridge the gap created by physical distance, turning out to be valuable alternatives by fostering deeper connection, sharing experiences, and strengthening the bond.
Yes, the mentioned activities are suitable for large teams as well; these activities can be modified as per the requirements of the team while maintaining inclusivity and engagement.
The success of virtual team-building activities measured through regular surveys and informal check-ins provides a better insight into the effects of these activities on team members. Success can also be measured by comparing the engagement between coworkers and improvements in collaboration.
Yes, of course, many of these activities require minimal to no-cost. The emphasis of these activities should be on creativity, building connection, and strengthening the bond, not on the grandeur of the occasion and its elaborated cost.
