According to a recent survey by PwC, 83% of office workers would like to continue working remotely at least once per week after the coronavirus crisis has ended. Many companies are adopting hybrid models of virtual working, where employees split their time between the office and home.
In lieu of recent times, virtual team building has become an increasingly common aspect of modern business. Savvy online team builders must regularly improve their tactics to offer quality and effective results. It takes a lot of effort to develop a thriving community – friends – as we work remotely.
It's well worth it in the long run, though. For online team builders, it’s a journey worth having in the long run. With a proper plan and the right technology, see how you can form meaningful connections with Oreed. A software solution that can provide holistic results for online team builders! Keep reading to discover more.
Top Tips for Online Team Builders
Through team building, co-workers can get to know each other beyond their workplace personas and introduce levity into the workplace. Recent Gartner research shows that by 2030, remote work will increase by 30% as Gen Z enters the workforce.
This way, they won't just see someone who shows up for eight hours every day at work or occasionally appears on a computer screen. They will be valued for their unique talents, interests, and commitments outside work. Experiences like these can humanize team members.
Make conference calls more team-oriented
Most virtual teams meet via video call. It is particularly true for distributed teams that work across different time zones.
During conference calls, you can facilitate team activities and maximize peer-to-peer interaction by facilitating team activities.
Consider these suggestions:
- Be sure to leave a buffer of five to ten minutes between calls so that teammates can mingle.
- An icebreaker question or activity can be used to kick off a call.
- For more intimate discussions, use breakout rooms.
- Organize online scavenger hunts or virtual bingo games in video conferences.
- Encourage peer encouragement through chat and reaction features.
- For a team show, assign a theme and ask members to explain the significance of an object or photo.
While Zoom fatigue can result from too many online meetings, video calls are often the only means of face-to-face communication available to remote teams. Meetings can be made more engaging by incorporating group activities and raising peer interaction.
Provide wellness programs to employees
Many employees struggle to adjust to the sudden shift to a virtual work culture during these challenging times. Employees' psychological and physical well-being are both important factors for a company's success.
Therefore, companies should invest in initiatives addressing all three domains of well-being.
Introducing mindfulness and wellness packages to employees can be an effective way for companies to motivate their employees.
Additionally, other supports can address employees' stress, work concerns, and challenges, such as counseling for mental health in remote employees and reimbursement for fitness activities.
Provide recognition and awards
A team leader can recognize and reward well-performing employees by providing praise and acknowledgment. Awarding recognition, such as employee of the month, team hero, etc., will boost employee morale and motivate others to improve their performance.
Besides financial incentives, employees can also receive online training, workspace upgrades, wellness packages, and technology allowances. Everyone will be aware of the performance expectations and will feel responsible for their work as a result.
Host virtual events
What's to stop you from hosting events virtually? A videoconference can not only be used for work purposes but can also be used to strengthen relationships among colleagues and socialize.
Bring your team together virtually for lunch or happy hour. It might be a good idea to ask employees to share a few photos of their favorite memories or major life events over the past year during these internal events. In addition, you can also play some fun games.
Utilize a robust virtual event platform to schedule virtual happy hours weekly or biweekly. Taking part in remote teams team-building activities can help shed that social distancing anxiety. And to host ever-lasting experiences, you would need a virtual event platform such as Oreed to give you those outstanding results!
Assemble a virtual mentor-mentee pairing
It is possible to have a mentoring program in a virtual space. The mentor and mentee should also videoconference regularly for check-ins and for mentees to ask questions or receive coaching, similar to how teams and managers meet regularly.
Remote employees may find it helpful for their manager to assign them to a workplace buddy if they are new to the organization or have recently changed roles or teams. They can assist with the transition, answer questions, and just be a familiar face for them.
Either of these relationships can enhance an employee's connection to a company.
Make feedback loops more effective
People don't want their work to exist in a vacuum. To thrive, they need feedback. The number of word-of-mouth referrals in remote workplaces is minimal.
In a remote teams team building situation, it is important to share both positives and negatives. There's nothing that brings a team closer than a problem to solve – especially when it's from another department. Your customers' feature requests should be discussed so that everyone knows what their customers are thinking.
Training your teams on an accurate roadmap will prepare them to speak intelligently about your company to customers and prospects and is the best way to align your teams.
Five-minutes team building activities
The show and tell
You might want to take a few minutes before your next team meeting to invite people to share something they're happy about, proud of, or enjoying.
Some of these things might be tangible, like a beanie they're knitting or a new laptop, while others may be more intangible, like finishing their first 10K run or making an awesome loaf of artisan bread.
The day's dog
You probably already use team collaboration software such as Slack, Discord, or Teams, and there are plenty of channels about work. However, they don't all have to be about work. It can really boost morale to have a #Dog-of-the-Day channel where people can share pictures of their pets.
Many corporations have dog-friendly policies in their physical offices. Studies show that they reduce employee stress and promote employee engagement and retention, regardless of whether the employee owns a pet. Even though there hasn't been any research on the impact of sharing pet pictures virtually, many people find it both enjoyable and gratifying.
The virtual hat
Each player adds a fact about themselves or an anecdote about their life to a virtual hat from which news stories are drawn. A simple shared Google doc can be the ‘hat’ for remote teams. In the game, someone reads a fact, and participants attempt to guess which teammate submitted it. Games are more fun when the anecdotes shared are unexpected or unusual.
Coordination is key to a win-win situation for both parties. Oreed offers the most powerful and customizable solutions in the market for managing enterprise resources efficiently and effectively.
The Benefits of Virtual Team Building Activities
Keeps employees motivated
Continually putting pressure on teams to meet deadlines and deliver work can lead to disengagement and burnout.
To build a cohesive team, the ideal leader conducts virtual team-building activities such as group discussions, online meetings, brainstorming, and casual meetups. By empowering the team with positive reinforcement, these team bonding practices make them feel valued.
Enhances collaboration within the workforce
Due to the interdependence of most tasks, project success cannot be achieved without teamwork. It is easier for a team to collaborate in a concrete workspace. However, aligning the team with the project's progress can be challenging when employees work virtually. The chances of discrepancies in communication are greater.
Ensures innovation management is supported
The key to gaining a competitive advantage in the business world is innovation. A virtual team-building program effectively brings all employees under the same roof, promoting creativity, and fostering innovation. Any idea can lead to a breakthrough innovation when multiple perspectives are involved.
Boosts productivity
Having siloed teams can lead to lower productivity since they lack a clear direction for their work. In contrast, virtual team-building activities provide team leaders with the opportunity to explain company goals in the most straightforward manner possible.
Employees with a sense of purpose are motivated to achieve the company's objectives with all their might. The result is an improvement in the performance index of the resource pool without the risk of employee burnout.
Promote versatility
There is a growing need among organizations to have a versatile workforce so that they can respond rapidly to ever-changing developments.
Organizing team-building activities enhance expertise and resource skills in multiple disciplines. As well as being a safe zone for employees, it is also a place where mistakes can be made without being penalized.
Develop a positive workplace culture
A diligent intuitive tool provides organizations with clear insight and visibility during team building for remote teams. By doing so, all team members will be responsible for producing quality work.
Develop diverse relationships
Diversity (cultural differences/gender differences/race differences) is embraced and celebrated in the best work cultures.
By developing cross-generational relationships and meaningful relationships among geographically dispersed teams, virtual team-building activities can aid organizations in building meaningful relationships.
Virtual teams can work across boundaries in new ways by using systems, processes, technology, and people.
Why is Oreed the Best Pick for Online Team Builders?
How can you outperform team building for your remote teams? Here’s how:
- Increase employee satisfaction by providing an organized platform for easier access.
- Have a better understanding of your employees/training.
- Gauge better understanding of training.
- Better categorization of your target audience.
- Facilitate tailor-made training and courses.
- Seamless communication with better ROI.
- Measure the impact and effectiveness of your courses/training.
- CRM system to provide targeted customized customer communication and learning experience.
Importance of Community and Connection
Unlike traditional offices, where proximity facilitates camaraderie, virtual offices require more intentional team building since there is no face-to-face interaction.
There is often a feeling of disconnect among remote workers. Dispersed colleagues feel less alone when online team builders take steps to connect them. Worker satisfaction and engagement can be improved through a sense of belonging.
In addition to improving communication and collaboration among remote employees, positive working relationships reduce turnover and make the job more enjoyable.
Reach out to us, and let's discuss how to take remote building for remote teams one step further and beyond!
