Team Building Activities for Virtual Employees

With many working from home at least part time, more new hires are meeting people through Zoom meetings instead of in-person meetings around the conference room. To have a productive workplace, teams need to work together seamlessly to get tasks and projects done on time.

Team morale and connection is still important if not more so today. But how do you bond through team building activities for virtual employees?

What are the Best Team Building Activities for Virtual Employees?

The best group activities for remote employees are short, interactive, and engaging. When planning for virtual team building activities whether you are a human resources manager or a team leader, focus on:

  • Adding fun to the work. The break rooms and water cooler conversations of physical offices aren’t as accessible virtually. Social activities like short video chats with no work talk allowed to unwind or virtual cocktail hours can ease the “all work, no play” atmosphere that can cloud work-from-home life.
  • Keeping professional development and learning at the forefront. It feels harder to network and create career opportunities in a virtual office. Offering optional learning and educational events that encourage interaction can help employees branch out through education.
  • Staying connected. The whole point of team building activities is exactly that — building a team. Keeping employees connected through professional projects and personal interests. Don’t spend the whole time talking about deadlines and upcoming projects. Dedicate time to work-free conversations to develop interpersonal relationships.
  • Recognizing stellar work. A recent survey asked employees, “What is the most important thing that your manager or company currently does that would cause you to produce great work?” A whopping 37% responded that more personal recognition of their achievements would encourage them to produce top-quality work more often. Recognizing great employees at work leads to better results.
  • Encouraging real feedback. When employees feel heard, they know their thoughts are valued and that they will have a place to go if needed to discuss problems at work. Asking for feedback helps meet that goal while improving the business, too.

Why Is Virtual Team Building Important?

Remote workplaces are some of the most popular jobs on the market today. It allows businesses to recruit the top talent regardless of geographical location while reducing expenses and increasing productivity.

Virtual team building can be as powerful for remote teams as on-site teamwork exercises. Recent studies show that almost all — about 90% — of virtual employees say they don’t have enough time to build relationships in video meetings. Similarly, about 85% said there is “an absence of collegiality” across virtual-only teams.

When workers spend most or all of their time working remotely, they can feel unsupported, lonely, or even isolated from the team. Team building activities for virtual employees can help them rekindle their passions and purpose through online group activities and curated work-from-home employee care packages.

Five Virtual Team Building Ideas

Here are some of the best team building activities for virtual employees to connect and learn more about each other professionally and personally.

  1. Create a virtual break room. Salaried employees are expected to be around during regular work hours. However, breaks are proven to increase productivity and are encouraged in physical work settings. Creating a Teams or Slack channel that is just for downtime chat can help connect employees with similar interests across the screen.
  2. Play the 50 States Challenge. This sounds simple, but it really is a unique brainteaser that comes with great bragging rights. The game is simple: Name all 50 U.S. states in 30 minutes. No cheating!
  3. Encourage friendly competitions. From fantasy football leagues to online gaming groups, having challenges among coworkers can lead to tighter bonds. Fitness challenges are also popular tools to rally an entire team and improve mental health at the same time!
  4. Add Friday activities. By the end of the week, people are tired and counting the hours to the weekend. Host monthly end-of-the-week virtual gatherings like cocktail hours or trivia nights to build relationships on company time without wrecking the work week schedule.
  5. Host remote classes and workshops. Have experts on the team? Set up time to have them show off and teach a basic skill to the group.
Contact Us Today

With innovative technology, a knowledgeable staff, and personalized attention, TANDIUM Corporation is the cost-effective answer for total business support. Today’s business owners have found the solution with TANDIUM, a complete human resources service organization, offering PEO, ASO, HR consulting, and payroll services. Contact us today to learn how we can personalize our services for your business.