As of 2022, around 26% of Americans work remotely. This should come as no real surprise; remote work has a wealth of benefits, including boosting productivity and allowing employees to have a better work-life balance.
But it also has its disadvantages, including a lack of team interaction.
To tackle this, an increasing number of companies are putting more focus on team-building activities.
If you have a remote team, be it local or global, take a look at these top team games to bring your staff together and encourage successful collaboration.
Monthly Team Quizzes
Quizzes are always a crowd-pleaser and super easy to take part in remotely or in-house, so if you have a blend of office and work-from-home staff, it’s a great choice!
Those who are in the workplace can get together to create teams, heading onto the video chat as one. Remote workers can join the group video chat, but each team can be given a private online “room” to discuss answers in.
If you have remote teams, it might be a good idea to give everyone a list of questions to go through in their groups and a time limit. When the time is up, each team heads into the main group chat to share their answers and see who wins.
Organize Virtual Workouts
Over half of Americans admit to not living a healthy lifestyle, with many wanting to change their ways and become fitter. But when you have an important job that takes up most of your day, it can be tricky to prioritize health. That’s where your business comes in.
As an employer, you can help staff to get more exercise and forge lasting connections with virtual or in-person workout sessions.
Once a week, put aside time for a non-compulsory team workout. Hire a professional trainer to host the session, guiding your team through exercise classes to help them get healthier and happier. Set up a group chat for everyone involved and encourage conversations about fitness goals and workout motivation.
Not only does this help your team get to know one another and collaborate better, but exercise is also a great way to boost engagement and productivity! With numerous workplace benefits, this activity is a no-brainer.
Challenge Staff to a Scavenger Hunt
Just because you have remote staff doesn’t mean that every activity has to take place in the digital world.
If your team works near the same city, for example, why not invite them to an in-person event? This is a great way to encourage your team to meet up and get to know each other, and also helps to build your company’s reputation as a positive employer.
A fun in-person activity that should get lots of RSVPs is a scavenger hunt. Encourage your team to work together to overcome challenges and solve clues, helping them get to know one another and become more comfortable solving problems as a group.
If you’re in New York, we highly recommend checking out The Secret City’s NYC Scavenger Hunt, which they describe as “Urban adventures bringing the secrets of New York City to life.” Sounds good to us!
Send Daily Lunch Snaps
Not every activity has to be overly complicated. Some of the simplest group activities can be the best, helping to generate better rapport between staff and build long-lasting connections. One such idea is sending daily pictures of lunches. It’s simple but effective!
Start a group chat and add whoever wants to join. Every working day (or most days), participants send a snap of their lunch to the group, and conversations will start to flow naturally.
Discussions over who has the best lunch, which flavor chips people prefer, and what they should make the next day are just some of the ways that this activity will get people talking! It’s a particularly good idea for new teams, helping break the ice quickly and get everyone over those first-chat nerves.
A Workplace Trivia Game
This is another game that can be done in person or remotely. You could plan it for the last hour on Friday, for example, allowing everyone to finish work early and turn their attention to some workplace trivia. Create a range of workplace-themed questions, such as:
- Who has a new puppy called Yorkie
- Who is the company’s biggest competitor
- Which employee has their birthday in May
- Who’s getting married in December
- How many employees does the company have
Not only is this a fun game that should lead to plenty of laughs, it also helps staff get to know each other and improve their team collaboration skills – a win-win!
Final Words
Team building for remote staff isn’t just about improving teamwork but also about helping staff get to know each other better. With better workplace relationships, you’ll see improvements in collaboration, problem-solving, and engagement.
Hopefully, these activities have given you the inspiration to start planning your own, bringing your team together no matter where they work.
This blog was contributed to Workplace Fairness on January 4, 2023. Published with permission.
About the Author: Gemma Williams is a contributor to Workplace Fairness.
