Harris KhanLast year saw the rise of remote working – thanks to the pandemic. And here’s the thing – the work-from-home culture is here to stay.
Companies have started realizing the importance of this culture, and most employees find it more convenient. No wonder productivity has increased, too.
But is it this easy to implement? Certainly not.
Instilling a sense of belonging and maintaining rich company culture is a headache for companies of all sizes. Therefore, they are constantly looking for ways to develop activities to bring them together and keep them engaged.
Virtual team-building activities are one such amazing idea.
And no, it’s not always about Zoom meetings. As a manager, you can organize several interesting virtual activities that will keep your employees engaged.
We have mentioned three such virtual activities that you can conduct online.
Have a look.
Virtual Team Building Games
At the end of a hard day, an online team-building game is just what you’d like your employees to unwind and bond with each other.
Most times, people think of games as mere fun and play, but there are ways that games can help build a team. There are benefits to playing games with your entire team that extends beyond having fun. For example, you can grow closer as a team during gameplay and bond over interactions that would not occur in daily work life.
And, who doesn’t want that?
Also, it’s best to conduct the online games with a team leader (or moderator). The last thing you’d want in a team game is frustration due to disorganized activities. If you want to get the best out of these activities, it is best to go with an organized structure. The best team-building games always incorporate a theme, where each game is about a different aspect of teamwork, and participants being selected randomly using a spinner.
Moreover, online team-building games challenge employees to work together and communicate constructively. If you have a big team, you can segregate your teams into smaller groups and assign separate moderators for each group. For companies with fewer employees, things can be easier to manage and control.
Come Up With Fitness Challenges
With the bed always within reach, we all can be inclined to get cozy while working from home. While this may sound all comfy and cool, it actually compromises your physical wellness in the long run.
So, it’s advisable to keep your employees engaged in various online physical challenges like a 3-day push-up challenge or a yoga session. Slack, Zoom call, or Google Meet can be the go-to platforms for these activities.
Moreover, such activity will boost laughter and communication between everyone!
Organize an Activity For a Cause
The best way to keep the employees motivated is to make them believe they are working for a social cause. This will push them to go beyond their virtual office hours and engage in a team activity that can benefit the people in need.
For example, the “Build-the Hand” CSR activity by Odyssey teams is an effective give-back activity organized by the company. The employees came together to build prosthetic hands for amputees and have helped thousands of people ever since.
Such Virtual team-building experiences boost the morale of the employees, and they tend to form not only professional but an emotional bond with their firm.
After all, we’re humans and have feelings; why not channel them for a cause?
Final Word
Working from home can sometimes be isolating, and employees can feel like they’re not as productive as their colleagues.
Events aimed at connecting remote teams, such as monthly in-person meetings, are the best way to cultivate an “in-person” environment, even with a distributed team.
Allowing collaborative experiences like working out, playing board games, or a healthy cooking challenge help create productive employees. Any day better than a deliberate email update or Slack message asking how your week went.
So take some time to plan monthly challenges and activities to keep the team feeling energized.
What do you think about these virtual team-building activities? Let us know in the comments!
