Fostering a productive, reliable team culture is crucial to the success of any business. If your team members don’t feel connected to one another, it’s difficult to successfully collaborate and innovate. Employees who feel closely engaged with their colleagues are generally more productive and report higher job satisfaction. If your team works remotely, there are unique challenges in terms of team unity, but it’s still possible to create a lasting company culture. Check out these virtual team-building activities for remote teams.
Reflection Exercise
An easy way to bring your team closer together is through regular periods of reflection. Instead of asking a typical surface-level icebreaker question, play a game that encourages your coworkers to dig a little deeper. The “Rose, Thorn, and Bud” exercise is a simple yet effective way to structure a reflective team-building activity.
Each person takes a turn sharing a recent highlight/positive experience (a “rose”), something challenging or overwhelming (a “thorn”), and something they’re looking forward to (a “bud”). Since team members can pull from both professional and personal experiences, this type of group exercise allows people to openly share a variety of anecdotes.
Breakfast Club
A virtual breakfast club is an easy way for people to get to know one another in a low-pressure setting. At the start of the workday, team members can join a video call to enjoy their favorite breakfast items and engage in fun conversations with one another. A breakfast club is a fun, unexpected way to start the day off on the right foot.
During the gathering, don’t forget to ask everyone what they’re eating for breakfast or their all-time favorite breakfast foods. You may be surprised by some answers! Do your best to limit the number of people in each group to ensure everyone can freely speak. Consider dividing the team into groups of 10 or fewer to maintain a friendly, low-pressure environment.
Stream a Television Show
Do you have several team members who enjoy the same television show? A fun virtual team-building activity for remote teams is watching an episode of your favorite show together. On-demand streaming platforms make it incredibly easy to watch anything at the same time.
Designate an hour in the middle of the day for your team to eat lunch and watch the show. Since many streaming services offer a “group watch” function, you can use the chat feature to talk with one another throughout the episode. Setting aside time to participate in a non-work-related activity will help bring your team members closer and feel more connected over shared interests.
One of the most important ways to build a high-performance team culture is through regular team-building exercises. When you invest in the well-being of your colleagues both inside and outside the workplace, they’ll feel more inspired to achieve the goals of your organization.
