Virtual teams have become the norm in today’s interconnected world, allowing organizations to tap into global talent and thrive in the digital age. The challenge is fostering strong relationships and camaraderie between remote team members. The solution lies in virtual team building activities. Gone are the days of mundane virtual meetings and disengaged participants in video conferencing. Get ready to unlock a world of excitement, laughter, and connection as we delve into a blog dedicated to Best Virtual Team Building Activities For Remote Set Up That Guarantee Fun & Engagement.
Whether your team is scattered across different time zones or works from home on their comfortable schedules, remote team building activities have the power to transcend physical boundaries and create a vibrant virtual community. Team building is the process that may be challenging in a remote and hybrid team setup. Hence we have compiled a list of super fun online team building games and activities that are sure to bring a gala virtual team building experience for all your remote employees.
Why are Team Building Activities important for Remote Teams?
Engaging virtual team building activities and games offers numerous benefits to organizations, especially in today’s remote work landscape and hybrid teams. Here are some ways they can help your ongoing setup:
- Improves Team Bonding: Online team building activities promote a sense of unity and camaraderie among team members who may be physically dispersed. By engaging in fun and collaborative activities, team members feel more connected, build relationships, and develop a stronger sense of belonging and personal connections.
- Boosts Morale and Motivation: Virtual team bonding activities inject a sense of fun, energy, and excitement into the workday. Engaging in enjoyable virtual activities outside of regular tasks helps alleviate stress, break monotony, and increase overall morale in the company culture. This, in turn, boosts motivation and engagement levels among team members in hybrid teams.
- Enhances Communication and Collaboration: Online office games and activities in a virtual setting on virtual platforms are like happy hours and encourage effective communication and collaboration. In a virtual team activity employees get the opportunity to interact, share ideas, and work together towards a common goal in a team. That’s the virtual meeting fun that fuels a creative team. This leads to improved teamwork and cooperation, even in remote environments.
- Supports Employee Well-being: Make virtual team activities contribute to overall employee well-being. By providing opportunities for social interaction, fun, and relaxation, they help combat feelings of isolation or disconnection that remote workers may experience. Virtual activities help build personal connections. Engaging in enjoyable and fun activities boosts mood, reduces stress, and promotes a healthy work-life balance. This ultimately yields your organization’s employee happiness.
- Builds a Positive Organizational Culture: Incorporating virtual team building experience as a regular part of your organization’s practices helps establish a positive and inclusive company culture. It demonstrates a commitment to employee happiness, well-being, teamwork, fitness goals, and a healthy work environment. This, in turn, attracts and retains top talent, enhances employee satisfaction, and boosts overall organizational success.
Virtual events are a valuable investment for organizations, as they promote teamwork, communication skills, and employee engagement in remote settings.
Best Virtual Team Building Activity Ideas
Whether you’re looking to boost team morale, enhance communication, or simply infuse a sense of joy into your virtual work environment, we’ve got you covered. This blog isn’t just about any run-of-the-mill virtual team building ideas. We’ve scoured the digital landscape to curate a list of virtual team building activities that are most exciting, innovative, and guaranteed to leave your remote team inspired, connected, and enthusiastic.
So, let’s dive into the list of games and activities to discover the secrets to building strong bonds and fostering a thriving company culture through these exciting virtual activities!
Celebrate Personal & Professional Milestones with Digital cards
Creating personalized digital group cards for special occasions is a fantastic activity for team building that brings members of your team together in a fun and heartfelt way. They offer a creative and collaborative opportunity for team members in larger teams to express their appreciation, share well wishes, and celebrate special moments together. Weather its virtual birthday party, virtual farewell, or any general team celebration, group ecards are a great way to commemorate the occasion.
The act of designing and contributing to a digital group card allows team members to showcase their creativity and personal touch. It provides a platform for them to express their gratitude, share memories, and add a personal touch that reflects their unique relationships within the team.
As team members add their messages, photos, and anecdotes to the digital card, it creates a sense of camaraderie and connection. The digital card becomes a virtual space where everyone’s contributions combine to form a collective expression of celebration and appreciation. Viewing their colleagues’ messages and well wishes adds an element of surprise and delight, fostering a positive atmosphere within the team. Digital group cards are easy to share and access from anywhere, allowing all team members to participate and strengthen team bonds.
GreetPool is a collaborative platform for creating and sharing collective ecards for special occasions, designed for remote teams, friends, family, or virtual communities. It aims to simplify the process of sending office-style cards while providing more engagement and enjoyment. Try now!
Mystery Gift Exchange
Create a mystery gift exchange program where participants are randomly paired up and tasked with finding a personalized gift for their assigned colleague. Set a budget and provide some information about each person’s interests or preferences and other necessary information. This activity for team building promotes employee happiness and builds connections between team members. Give your team a chance to bond over a virtual call as they open their presents and guess their gift sender. Bond with a remote team through such interesting activities.
Online Workshops or Webinars
This could be one of those activities for team building that also ensures the professional growth of your remote employees. Learning activities are a great way to get everyone together for a productive purpose. Arrange interactive workshops or webinars in remote team meetings on topics relevant to the team’s professional development. Invite industry experts or internal trainers to deliver sessions on subjects like communication skills, time management, or leadership. Encourage active participation and Q&A sessions.
Virtual “Lunch and Learn” Sessions
Organize virtual “Lunch and Learn” sessions where employees can showcase their hobbies, interests, or expertise outside of work. It could be anything from cooking demonstrations, DIY crafts, or tutorials on niche subjects. This virtual team building experience provides an opportunity for remote employees to learn from each other and appreciate their diverse skills.
Virtual Coffee Breaks
Organize virtual coffee breaks or informal gatherings over video conferencing platforms. These casual sessions on virtual platforms provide an opportunity for hybrid team members to connect, share stories, and engage in non-work-related conversations. This virtual event helps to build stronger relationships among remote employees and hybrid teams, enhancing their sense of belonging and appreciation.
Virtual Pet Parade
Invite employees to share pictures or videos of their pets and organize a virtual pet parade in a virtual event. Create categories such as “cutest pet,” “most unusual pet,” or “best-dressed pet.” Allow remote employees to vote for their favourites and award virtual certificates or prizes. This lighthearted and fun virtual activity brings joy and celebrates the furry friends that bring happiness to employees’ lives.
Virtual Storytelling Sessions
Encourage employees to share personal success stories or anecdotes with the entire team in a virtual storytelling session. These remote meetings can be themed around sharing experiences that have shaped remote employees’ lives, taught them valuable lessons, or made them laugh. This online game is a unique way to appreciate the rich tapestry of life experiences within your special team and foster social interactions and also deeper emotional connections.
Online Personality Quizzes
Share online personality quizzes with your entire team and encourage everyone to take them. Discuss the results together and explore commonalities and differences. This online team building game promotes self-awareness, and understanding, and can spark interesting conversations within the team. It is a perfect virtual icebreaker.
Two Truths and a Lie
A classic icebreaker game, “Two Truths and a Lie” can be easily adapted to a virtual game setting. Each team member shares two true statements and one false statement about themselves. The rest of the team tries to guess which statement is the lie. It’s a simple yet effective game to encourage team bonding and get to know each other better in an online experience.
Online Team Challenges
Engage your team in online challenges that require them to collaborate and complete tasks together. For example, you can create a “photo scavenger hunt” where participants have to find and capture specific objects or scenarios within their own environments. Another option is to have a “virtual building challenge” where teams indulge in a friendly competition and compete to construct the tallest tower using household items. This online team building game promotes teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills. It is a perfect healthy competition game idea for remote meetings (casual meetings).
Virtual Board Games
Virtual board games are online adaptations of traditional board games that allow participants to engage in gameplay and collaboration remotely. These online team building games recreate the experience of playing board games virtually, providing a platform for interaction and friendly competition among team members. There are various online platforms and websites that offer virtual board games. Some popular platforms include Tabletop Simulator, Board Game Arena, and Tabletopia. These platforms provide a virtual tabletop where team members can gather, interact, and play games together. Virtual board game platforms offer a wide range of games, including classics like Monopoly, Chess, Scrabble, and Risk, as well as modern board games like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, and Codenames. The availability of games may vary depending on the platform.
Virtual Show and Tell
Dedicate a virtual meeting for a show and tell session where remote team members can share something meaningful, interesting, or valuable to them. It could be a favourite book, a treasured possession, or even a new skill they’ve acquired. This virtual activity is a perfect virtual icebreaker and helps build connections, sparks conversations, and encourages team members to express their unique interests.
Emoji Storytelling
Assign a team member to kick off an insightful story using a single emoji. Then, each participant adds another emoji to continue the story. Keep going until you have a complete and amusing story created solely through emojis. It’s a creative and lighthearted virtual activity that encourages imagination and collaboration. Again a great virtual icebreaker activity for a creative team and other teams in general as it includes social interactions.
Virtual “Guess Who”
Create a virtual version of the classic “Guess Who” game using any virtual platform. Each participant privately selects a famous person or character and provides clues about their identity without revealing it directly. The rest of the team takes turns asking yes or no questions to guess the mystery person. It’s a fun way to test deductive reasoning and knowledge about famous personalities along with a healthy competition for victory.
Online Personality Assessments and Discussions
Have team members take personality assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or DISC assessment. Later, organize virtual sessions using online platforms where they can discuss their results, learn about each other’s personality traits, and explore how to work effectively together. This virtual activity shall also improve project management and the ongoing setup of the remote and hybrid teams to an extent.
Virtual Team Olympics
Host a virtual team Olympics where teams compete against each other in a series of mini-games. You can include challenges like virtual charades, Pictionary, or even online multiplayer games. Keep track of points for each game and award prizes to the winning team at the end. It’s a lively and engaging activity that fosters teamwork, communication, and personal connections.
Virtual Trivia Night
Organize an online trivia competition night where team members can test their knowledge on various subjects. Create different rounds of questions and assign points to each correct answer. You can use online trivia platforms or simply share your screen and ask questions verbally. Virtual trivia is a fun and competitive activity that encourages teamwork and healthy competition among participants.
Virtual Escape Rooms
Challenge your team’s problem-solving skills by participating in a virtual escape room. These interactive online experiences require teams to work together, solve puzzles, and unravel mysteries within a set time limit. This virtual team building experience is a great way to foster collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
Wellness Programs and Challenges
Launch wellness programs or challenges focused on physical and mental well-being. This could involve virtual fitness goals, mindfulness exercises, or access to meditation apps. By supporting their overall health and fitness goals, you demonstrate that you care about their well-being beyond work tasks. Video conferencing about health and wellness can always be great virtual icebreakers.
Team Building Bingo
Virtual Team Building Bingo is a fun and interactive activity that brings remote and creative team members together. Each participant receives a bingo card with tasks or challenges to complete within a specified timeframe. The tasks encourage collaboration, communication, and team bonding. By completing lines on the bingo card on a virtual platform, team members foster friendly competition and create opportunities to learn more about each other and build personal connections in a virtual setting. This fun activity breaks the monotony of work, strengthens connections, and enhances teamwork, making it a great choice for virtual team building.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Inject excitement and teamwork into your virtual team building session with a thrilling virtual scavenger hunt. Divide your participants into smaller groups and provide them with a list of items or clues to find within a specified timeframe. Participants can use their webcams or smartphones to capture and share their discoveries. This online experience encourages collaboration, problem-solving, and friendly competition while fostering a sense of camaraderie among team members.
Virtual Cooking Class
Unleash culinary creativity and bring your team together with a virtual cooking class. Hire a professional chef or culinary instructor to guide your team through the preparation of a delectable recipe. Participants can follow along, ask questions, and engage in friendly conversations while honing their cooking skills. This online experience fosters collaboration, creativity, and the joy of creating something together. Consider accommodating dietary restrictions and providing alternative recipes to ensure inclusivity.
Virtual Book Club
Establish a virtual book club within your team to promote learning, discussion, emotional connection, and shared experiences. Select a book that aligns with your team’s interests or professional development goals, and allocate time for team members to read and reflect on the chosen book. Organize virtual meetings to discuss the chapters, share thoughts, and explore how the book’s concepts apply to your work or industry. This video conferencing activity encourages critical thinking, fosters intellectual conversations, and broadens perspectives within the team.
Virtual Team Art Project
Foster creativity and collaboration by organizing a virtual team art project. Choose a theme or concept that aligns with your creative team’s interests, and assign each team member a specific aspect of the project. Participants can contribute their individual artistic skills, such as drawing, painting, or graphic design, to collectively create a visually stunning piece of artwork. Encourage team members to share their progress, provide feedback, and collaborate in real time using digital tools or shared virtual whiteboards. This video conferencing activity promotes teamwork, sparks creativity, and allows team members to appreciate the collective effort put into the final artwork.
Virtual Murder Mystery
Virtual Murder Mystery is an exciting and immersive team-building activity that brings the intrigue and suspense of a classic murder mystery to the virtual realm. Participants take on unique character roles, receiving profiles with backgrounds, clues, and secrets, as they work together to solve the fictional crime. Guided by a host or murder mystery online team, they utilize critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills to uncover motives, analyze evidence, and identify the culprit. By dressing up as characters, using video conferencing tools, and engaging in interactive discussions, participants immerse themselves in the experience while developing teamwork and creativity. Virtual Murder Mystery challenges provide an entertaining and collaborative opportunity for team members to bond, exercise their detective skills, and have fun in a virtual setting.
Virtual Werewolf
Werewolf is a fun online game that encourages communication, active listening, and teamwork. It’s a great way to bond and build connections during virtual team-building activities. It involves speaking, listening carefully, and voting to stay alive throughout the game. To start, players are assigned roles like werewolf, villager, medic, or seer. Werewolves try to eat villagers, while villagers try to vote out the werewolves. Medics can save a player, and seers can discover if someone is a werewolf. The game begins with the announcement that night has come, and all players close their eyes. The game master instructs the werewolves to wake up and choose a victim. Then the medic saves one person, and the seer reveals the status of another player. When the sun rises, the game master announces if a villager was eaten during the night.
If a player gets eaten by werewolves, they become a ghost and can’t talk for the rest of the game. The survivors discuss and debate who they think might be a werewolf and vote to eliminate someone or skip the round. This process continues until only villagers or werewolves are left. You may check the detailed description of the game, here.
With this comes an end to our list of best remote team building activities you can try! Share it with your team and let them assist you in the process of activities to choose for your organization.
How to do team building activities virtually?
In order to facilitate successful virtual team building activities, it is essential to leverage the power of technology and utilize virtual team building tools in the form of team collaboration software (team communication tool). These tools not only enhance engagement and interaction but also streamline communication and collaboration among remote team members. Here is a list of tools and communication touchpoints that every virtual team building needs and hence should consider incorporating:
1. Video Conferencing Platforms
Video conferencing platforms serve as the foundation for virtual team building activities by enabling face-to-face communication and real-time interactions. Platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack channels, and Google Meet provide features like video calls, screen sharing, breakout rooms, and chat functionalities, fostering seamless collaboration and engagement during virtual team building sessions. Utilizing these platforms allows team members to connect visually and build personal connections, despite being physically distant.
2. Collaboration and Project Management Tools
Collaboration and project management tools play a crucial role in virtual team building challenges by facilitating teamwork, task management, and document sharing. Platforms like Slack channel, Microsoft Teams, Trello, or Asana provide centralized spaces for communication, task assignment, file sharing, and progress tracking. These tools enable teams to collaborate effectively, delegate responsibilities, and stay organized, ensuring smooth coordination during virtual team building activities.
3. Virtual Whiteboarding and Brainstorming Tools
Virtual whiteboarding and brainstorming tools are invaluable for fostering creativity, idea generation, and collective problem-solving. Platforms like Miro, Mural, or Google Jam board offer digital canvases where team members can collaborate simultaneously, brainstorm ideas for virtual team building challenges, draw diagrams, and share visual representations. These tools replicate the experience of traditional whiteboards and encourage active participation, allowing virtual teams to brainstorm and visualize concepts collectively.
4. Icebreaker and Team-Building Game Platforms
To kickstart virtual team building sessions and promote engagement, utilizing icebreaker and team-building game platforms can be highly effective. Online platforms like Kahoot, QuizBreaker, or Donut provide pre-designed icebreaker games, quizzes, and activities that are specifically tailored for remote teams. These platforms offer ready-to-use templates, customizable questions, and leaderboard functionalities, ensuring a fun and interactive start to virtual team building sessions.
5. Feedback and Survey Tools
Collecting feedback and evaluating the effectiveness of virtual event ideas is essential for continuous improvement. Feedback and survey tools such as SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, or Typeform enable teams to gather insights, opinions, and suggestions from participants. These tools provide a structured approach to collecting feedback, allowing team leaders to assess the impact of activities, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to enhance future virtual team building initiatives.
By utilizing these virtual team building tools, organizations can create engaging and meaningful experiences for their remote teams and measure employee happiness. These tools facilitate effective digital communication, collaboration, and participation, ensuring that virtual team building activities are enjoyable, productive, and impactful.
How do virtual team building activities work?
Virtual team building activities work by bringing remote team members together in a video conference call to engage in collaborative, interactive, and fun exercises that foster team bonding, communication, and camaraderie. This team building exercise is designed to overcome the challenges posed by physical distance and create a sense of emotional connection among team members.
- Planning and Preparation: The team leader or facilitator or event coordinator selects or designs virtual team building activities based on the team’s goals, interests, and preferences. They schedule the activities and ensure that all participants have the necessary tools and instructions to participate effectively. Make a virtual meeting fun using this guide of ours to plan virtual happy hour.
- Technology Setup: Participants are provided with the necessary virtual team building tools such as video conferencing platforms, collaboration software, and other specialized tools specific to the chosen activities. They are guided on how to use this reliable technology (communication tool) effectively to ensure smooth communication and interaction during this team meeting.
- Icebreaker and Warm-Up: Virtual team building activities often start with icebreaker exercises to create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere as the entire company has employees who work remotely. These activities can include introductions, sharing personal stories, or engaging in light-hearted discussions. Icebreakers help participants get to know each other better, build rapport, and establish a positive foundation for the activities that follow.
- Engagement and Collaboration: Virtual team building activities are designed to encourage active participation, collaboration, and problem-solving among the fun team. They can include virtual scavenger hunts, team challenges, problem-solving exercises, virtual escape rooms, or trivia games. These fun virtual team building activities are structured to require teamwork, effective communication, and the sharing of ideas and solutions.
- Debrief and Reflection: After completing the activities, it is important to provide time for reflection and debriefing. Team members can share their experiences, discuss challenges faced, and identify lessons learned. This reflection phase allows participants to consolidate their learnings, reinforce the team’s bonds, and discuss how the skills developed during the activities can be applied to their work. Help your team building a list of the best and their favorite virtual team building online games and activities.
- Follow-Up and Application: To ensure the impact of virtual team building activities and games extends beyond the session, it is essential to have a follow-up plan. This can involve integrating the skills, lessons, and team dynamics developed during the activities into the team’s daily work processes. Team leaders can create a team to assign follow-up tasks, create action plans, or provide opportunities for ongoing communication and collaboration.
Virtual team building activities work by providing opportunities for remote team members to connect, collaborate, and engage in shared experiences. These activities help to build trust, strengthen relationships, improve communication, and enhance team dynamics. By fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie, virtual team building activities contribute to a positive team culture, increased productivity, and a sense of shared purpose among remote teams.
Closing Thoughts
Online team building games offer organizations a powerful means to enhance collaboration, communication, and morale among remote teams. By fostering a sense of belonging, emotional connection, and unity, this online experience creates lasting memories and strengthens relationships within the team. Through engaging in virtual team building activities, organizations can cultivate a positive team culture, boost motivation, and unleash the creative potential of their workforce. Embrace the opportunities that virtual team building activities present to create a connected and engaged team that thrives in the digital landscape. Together, let’s build strong, united, and successful teams in the virtual realm.
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