Team Building Activities For Remote Teams: A Critical Part of Remote Working

Keeping your remote workforce cohesive as a team can pose challenges. In a virtual setting, vital aspects like effective communication, mutual support, shared objectives, and enjoyable interactions can sometimes diminish. It’s imperative to sustain these aspects in remote settings. Managers overseeing remote teams must continually innovate to engage and unite their off-site staff. This involves nurturing and nurturing strong team relationships, regardless of their physical location. But don’t worry, whether you’re a recently established remote team or a seasoned one in need of revitalization, there’s a wealth of team building activities for remote teams covered in this blog.

What does “remote team building” mean?

In the office, your team is right there with you. You spend around 8 hours together every day, most of the week. This close proximity naturally leads to the forming of a strong, cohesive unit. You become well-acquainted with each team member’s quirks and interests, both in and outside of work, as you engage in countless conversations while waiting for the kettle to boil and enjoy Friday night outings to the pub.

These close relationships make it easy for team members to collaborate and assist each other without hesitation when someone needs help, resulting in more innovative and effective outcomes.

However, the scenario changes when your team operates remotely.

With remote teams, team building, relationship development, and maintaining these connections are ongoing. The physical distance separating team members can quickly lead to feelings of isolation, causing remote employees to feel unsupported and disconnected from their colleagues.

Ultimately, this can negatively impact employee well-being and lead to higher staff turnover rates.

In essence, remote team building involves actively fostering connections among remote employees to emulate the cohesion found in physical teams. This effort is crucial for boosting morale, productivity, engagement, and overall performance. It can also help remote employees feel a sense of normalcy during holidays and social occasions such as Christmas, and Valentine’s Day, and even on less cheerful days like “Blue Monday.”

What is the significance of remote team building?

When an employee is part of a cohesive team, it establishes a valuable support network. Knowing that there are attentive and receptive colleagues around can make them feel more empowered and confident in sharing their ideas.

Remote work can sometimes lead to feelings of isolation and solitude, making it crucial to foster a sense of unity. This can significantly enhance morale and overall well-being, particularly during challenging times.

In-depth familiarity with one’s teammates and their individual strengths enables employees to collaborate more effectively, yielding exceptional results.

Effective team building plays a pivotal role in shaping a robust company culture. Establishing a strong company culture, especially in a remote work setting, can lead to improvements in both internal and external communication.

Explore 7 steps to guide to building organizational culture in remote teams

Here are some remote team building activities to consider trying:

Team members can build connections, regardless of their locations. There are various team-building options to explore, ranging from straightforward and impromptu games to meticulously organized programs. Take cues from the following list to create an enjoyable virtual team-building strategy that fosters engagement and connectivity among employees.

Create friendly challenges

A bit of healthy competition can be beneficial, and it can foster stronger team bonds. Introduce challenges for your teams, providing them with a collective objective to strive for. One excellent choice is to implement a fitness challenge. This adds an element of enjoyable competition and enhances well-being, creating a win-win scenario!

Implement ‘Show and Learn’ sessions

Each team member possesses a distinctive skill or talent that could prove valuable for the rest of the team. Allocate time for team members to take turns in an informal setting, sharing something new with their colleagues. This not only facilitates the exchange of skills and knowledge within the team but also fosters a genuine interest in one another’s expertise and an appreciation for their wisdom. These sessions greatly assist remote team members in familiarizing themselves with each other’s unique strengths, ultimately leading to improved collaboration and more robust project outcomes in the future.

Arrange virtual exercise sessions

It’s time to incorporate “exercise” into your team building routine. When individuals work from home, they often find themselves taking fewer steps or engaging in fewer workouts compared to their routine in an office setting. There are no gym commutes between the bedroom and the home office or kitchen, and no bike rides to work.

Maintaining personal fitness and staying active is crucial for individual team members. However, when done collectively, virtual workouts can also serve as an excellent team-building activity. It can be entirely cost-free, with participants selecting their preferred instructor on platforms like YouTube and dedicating an hour to working out together. This collaborative approach to exercise also helps individuals hold each other accountable, providing that extra motivation for those who may need it.

Implement ‘Daily Snapshots’

An uncomplicated method for fostering team cohesion is through the introduction of ‘daily snapshots.’ Each day, team members are encouraged to share a photo of something, whether it’s their lunch or a new sweater they’re particularly fond of.

Following these picture posts, teams can engage in discussions and initiate conversations. This straightforward approach enables daily non-work-related interactions, nurturing a sense of connection among team members through regular glimpses into their lives. It’s worth noting that not everyone in the team needs to share a picture daily, but ensuring at least one post keeps it a consistent talking point.

Over time, you might even look forward to your daily snapshot, as it becomes a part of your routine!

Establish a digital gathering space for informal interactions

One of the significant distinctions between remote and in-house teams is the informal conversations that naturally occur in the office. While these interactions may seem trivial, they play a crucial role in building a sense of team unity.

Fortunately, it’s possible to replicate this experience in a remote setting, and there are several approaches to facilitate it. One such method involves creating a virtual break room for team building. This virtual space allows team members to log in and socialize during lunch or tea breaks, mimicking the office chit-chat.

To ensure the success of these initiatives, team managers should actively promote and encourage the use of virtual break rooms, making them an integral part of the typical remote workday and fostering a sense of community among team members.

Commence conducting tours of remote work environments

Initiate virtual tours of team members’ remote workspaces as a way to foster better connections among coworkers.

Prior to weekly meetings, encourage team members to take turns offering a brief video tour of their homes or remote work setups. During these tours, they can highlight their favourite items, whether it’s an extensive Disney DVD collection or a cherished guitar, providing insights into their personalities.

These tours serve as an opportunity for team members to become more acquainted with one another, potentially discovering shared interests that can strengthen their bond. Additionally, they offer a light-hearted break during the workday, further enhancing team unity.

Conclusion

In summary, team building activities for remote teams are essential for cultivating unity, elevating team spirits, and amplifying productivity. In an ever-changing professional landscape, these activities serve as a valuable conduit for bringing together team members who might be separated by physical distances but share common objectives. Embracing and incorporating these approaches empowers remote teams to fortify their connections, facilitate efficient communication, and establish a more favourable and interactive work atmosphere. Ultimately, the triumph of remote teams often hinges on their capacity to forge robust relationships and collaborate seamlessly, underscoring the indispensable role of team building activities in their collective journey toward success.