The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way businesses operate, leading to the rise of virtual and hybrid teams. As a result, team building activities have had to adapt to this new norm, with virtual team building activities gaining popularity, especially during lockdown.
Countries such as Singapore, the United States, and Australia are leading the way in investing in virtual team building activities for adults, which include a wide variety of fun virtual team building ideas and team building games. With the options for remote team building activities increasing rapidly, companies can now engage their employees even from afar.
Virtual team building games, online office games, virtual team trivia, and virtual happy hours are just some of the many fun team building activities during lockdown that companies can take advantage of to enhance their company culture. From fun virtual team meeting ideas to team building activities during lockdown, remote team building activities have become an essential part of modern-day business operations.
To explore more about building a cohesive team and implementing effective remote team building strategies, visit our website: Building a Cohesive Team. We offer insights, tips, and resources to help you navigate the challenges and maximize the potential of your virtual team.
Virtual team building activities
Top 3 countries in the world investing in virtual team building
1. Virtual Murder Mystery
Want to get your remote workers involved in a team building activity that will keep them on their toes and get your team bonding in a fun way? Swap your next virtual meeting with this virtual game based on the classic whodunnit.
Whether you separate your remote team members into groups and challenge their problem solving skills as a team, or take on the roles of different characters in the story, fun virtual games like this murder mystery will encourage team members to communicate and engage with one another and boost employee morale.
- Developing acting, role playing and improvisation skills can increase empathy among your remote employees – even when they’re not in the same office
- Increase problem solving and creative thinking among your remote team
- Develop communication skills between team members
- More than anything – have so much fun playing a game to boost team morale!
In the modern age of true crime documentaries, this would be a sure-fire hit with your remote team and can offer a unique team building activity in place of another video call to discuss business.
Making use of virtual/augmented reality 3D locations and live interactions with actors, this online game could be the perfect fun game for your remote team.
2. The Lockdown Gameshow Online
Second on our list of virtual team building activities to get your team members engaged and having fun is a series of online games.
Host your very own game show via video call based on one of a number of famous TV shows, such as Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Family Feud. Give your teams a break from their remote work with some competitive virtual meeting fun.
Give your remote team the full game show experience with virtually recreated game show sets – and make the next team meeting a virtual event to remember.
- The selection of games and game shows is flexible
- Customize content based on your business
- Jeopardy, Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune and more
- Virtual trivia can bring out the competitive side of your remote team
- Offer prizes to your team members for the winner
Providing your virtual team with some healthy competition and making your virtual meetings fun can really help your workers – increase team cohesion, improve communication and benefit from more productive remote teams.
3. The Amazing Race Online
Your team members don’t have to leave their virtual office to travel the world – they can do so in this virtual game. Each team member in the Amazing Race is put into individual ‘breakout rooms’ where they can discuss and delegate tasks and be connected in real time via video call.
Virtual teams are led to famous landmarks in various countries and cities in virtual scenes. Teams are challenged with several tasks and fact-finding missions to complete in order to move onto the next destination in the activity.
- Participants will have to collaborate with other team members in order to progress through these virtual team building challenges
- Only the quickest and most effective virtual team will reach and complete each destination
- Learn new and interesting things about real world destinations
- Increase cross-cultural awareness among your remote team
Team building online has never been more exciting! Offering a team building game such as this can really help your team engage with your organization and other team members to increase their productivity and boost their feeling while at work.
4. Virtual Escape Rooms
Before Covid 19 hit, escape rooms were an excellent way to get your team members together for some team building – and that doesn’t have to change just because your daily communication is done via video conference!
Your virtual team can still work together against the clock to try and break out of a themed escape room of your choice. Small groups are ‘locked’ into breakout rooms and supplied with various challenges and puzzles in order to escape. This virtual team building event encourages your remote teams to work together and identify the strengths of each team member in order to win.
- Test virtual teams’ communication skills and leadership – tasks must be delegated and discussed in order to complete them successfully
- Virtual escape rooms can be themed – such as escape the pyramid or Indiana Jones
- Improve creativity and problem solving skills among your remote team
Using video conference technology and a web app, this fun virtual team building game will have your team members bonding, improve team morale and give them something back for working so hard!
5. Improv Online
Want to put your remote team members on the spot? Consider offering a little improvisation challenge to your team as an online team building activity.
Improv Online is an excellent, fun way to get your remote employees out of their comfort zone in the best way and get your team members’ creativity flowing. Everyone has the capacity to think on their feet, but not everyone has the opportunity to – so give them it with this virtual team building game!
- Heighten non-verbal communication (even on a video call!)
- Increase the complexity of the improv tasks that will be certain to provide so much fun
- People who take part in improv experience heightened trust, proactive listening and living in the moment
Have your entire team in stitches as they take it in turns to act out improvised scenes for everyone else – sure to be a hit at your next virtual team meeting.
6. Virtual Happy Hours
What would the office be without happy hour? Many organisations would provide such an event for their team members in the office on a weekly or monthly basis – and once again, that doesn’t have to stop just because you have remote workers.
Virtual happy hours can be an excellent team bonding tool and a great way to say thanks to your team members for being part of a successful team. Getting everyone on a virtual call and sharing a drink can be a great way to celebrate success, get to know their coworkers and have a bit of welcome relief from employees’ remote work.
- Offering virtual team events can be a great way to engage employees in virtual team meetings
- Remote team building doesn’t have to just be online games and puzzles – consider including a food and drink combo to get everyone involved!
- Remote teams can feel isolated and distant from other workers and having a virtual social event could be a great remedy
You could even consider combining your happy hour with some virtual team games or virtual pub trivia to get your team members involved in a fun way. Your remote team will be grateful for the fun and sometimes the best virtual team building is simply replicating what they would have been doing in the office, online.
Why is virtual team building important?
Virtual team building activities for remote teams can provide your remote employees with a range of benefits and solutions.
While remote employees have a great deal of benefits, such as saving money on commuting, being better for the environment and having more flexible working hours, providing virtual team building through online games or a team building activity can really help team members’ productivity and well-being.
Offering virtual team building exercises can have the following benefits:
- Remind your remote workers they are not isolated or alone and have an entire team right there with them
- Can aid team members with their remote work by instilling trust and togetherness in the work being achieved
- Re-energize team members through a virtual scavenger hunt or online game, ensuring their excitement and drive doesn’t slip
- Increase team morale and encourage communication throughout your organization
Whatever your reasons for engaging in virtual team building events, we’re here to keep your remote teams connected, engaged and happy for every virtual conference call you have.
Virtual team building activities with Making Teams
Making Teams are proud to be one of Southeast Asia’s leading team building providers, offering a wide range of live and virtual team building activities for any organization.
Regardless of your budget, your company size or any specific needs you might have, Making Teams can tailor our team building events to suit you. Using our virtual team building tools we can provide your virtual teams with all kinds of fun, thought-provoking and exciting exercises to keep team members fully engaged with their work.
