5 Online Team Building Activities for Small Groups
The working environment is changing. Companies worldwide are moving away from the traditional office space and into a world of remote teams and virtual meetings. The cost-effective nature and versatility of the virtual environment have driven these changes. With an abundance of effective technologies now in circulation, this trend shows no sign of stopping.
As a result, directors and team leaders are having to adapt when it comes to managing their staff and team building. Remote team members, in many ways, require more consistent and focused team building to ensure they remain motivated and on track and do not fall foul of the pitfalls of isolation.
Here we take a look at why virtual team building is so important, as well as some fun and engaging online team building activities your virtual team will love, with particular focus on smaller remote teams.
Why Virtual Team Building is Important
Even if your team members are no longer working in the same physical environment, the level of team building mustn’t diminish. Evidence suggests that small group team building activities are actually more beneficial to a company than in-person engagement, with an increase in employee performance rate noted.
A company must therefore embrace and commit to delivering engaging virtual team building activities, and, if done effectively, the following benefits can follow:
- An increase in versatility – remote team members are having to adjust to an entirely new way of working, with an increased focus on self-discipline and motivation. Regular virtual team meetings and 1-to-1 catch-ups are necessary to ensure your remote team is up to speed with this new working method.
- A more diverse workforce – free from the limitations of a brick and mortar building, virtual team building tools can open up the company to a broader pool of talented team members. Virtual team building activities are essential to ensuring that a diverse remote team is celebrated and all on the same page when it comes to the company culture.
- Collaboration and teamwork – without a solid commitment to virtual team building, a remote team member may feel isolated without a sense of direction. Focused and purposeful virtual team-building activities will help build a sense of camaraderie within remote teams, leading to increased production.
- A more relaxed working atmosphere – assuming that a sense of trust and accountability has been built through virtual team building, remote workers can exhibit positive productivity and job satisfaction levels. This could be down to a lack of stress from commuting, a comfortable working environment, and the potential for flexible hours.
Virtual Team Building Activities For a Smaller Workforce
Getting an entire office to commit and enthuse over team-building events and activities can be tricky at the best of times, especially if your company employs a large workforce. This issue can be exacerbated further when trying to coordinate virtual team building activities if different times zones and connectivity issues have to be accounted for.
Thankfully, much of the organization and legwork has already been taken care of with the following team building ideas for small groups. Larger remote teams can still enjoy each of the online team games and activities listed, but there may be the opportunity for each team member in a smaller virtual team to become more involved than they otherwise would.
1. Photo Face-Off
We start with a competitive virtual team-building exercise that will ignite your team members’ sense of creativity.
In this Photo Face-Off, teams of up to ten will be given a series of photo prompts in the form of items and scenarios. Each team member will then go away to snap their contributions. Delegation is a crucial skill needed for this activity, with each remote team needing to coordinate what each team member is expected to bring to the table.
Once each team has gathered its submissions, a panel of judges will decide on the winners based on creativity and aesthetics.
The great thing about this virtual team-building activity is how accessible it is. All that is required is a smartphone! It stimulates a sense of creativity and communication and will also result in each team member having a tangible product that they can retain once the event has finished.
2. Minute To Win It
Another remote team-building game designed to be accessible with easily acquired resources, Minute to Win It will see team members go up against each other in a series of fun virtual games. Games vary between physical and mental challenges, so each team member should find a game that will suit them.
Although many of the games are intended for individual competition, there will be several virtual team games where all team members will be encouraged to participate to improve communication skills, creative thinking.
The simplistic nature of these fun team building activities makes this particular virtual team-building activity a suitable choice for a warm-up before a more complex event. It caters to both reserved and more confident team members and is an excellent tool to encourage friendly competition throughout your entire team.
3. Virtual Treasure Hunt
Here is an activity that genuinely embraces the team aspect of virtual team building! This Virtual Treasure Hunt will lead your remote teams on a journey around the world and utilizes a series of engaging puzzles and tasks that will require your virtual team members to work together to solve.
Communication, delegation, and time management are vital skills that your virtual teams will need to demonstrate throughout this virtual team-building experience. The variety of puzzles and tasks are again designed to ensure that each team member will feel comfortable in offering contributions.
There are numerous opportunities for discussion throughout, and it will also offer a chance for a team leader to note any strengths and weaknesses of their team members.
4. The Lockdown Gameshow
No doubt there are times when you’ve been watching a contestant struggle on question three of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and thought you could do better.
Now is your chance!
Virtual team trivia is an excellent way of bringing your remote team members together, and with the Lockdown Gameshow, it has never been easier to experience several popular game shows from the comfort of a home office.
The familiarity and simplicity of these game shows will provide comfort to more reserved team members, with the variety of game shows on offer catering to all strengths and personalities. A sense of friendly competition is never a bad thing, and with a smaller team, each team member will receive ample opportunity to take part and test their knowledge.
5. Virtual Talent Show
We end with a virtual team-building activity that will demonstrate and celebrate the unique talents of your remote team members. Taking place online and utilizing the full capability of video conferencing software, a talent show provides an excellent opportunity for each team member to show off their skills and personality.
A sense of competition and an eventual winner can be incorporated, but the beauty of this activity is that it is not needed. Once each member has performed, time can be set aside for the entire team to reflect and share stories of how they discovered their talents, allowing this activity to double up as an excellent virtual team bonding exercise.
It also lends itself very well to smaller virtual teams. Each team member will require time to perform, and with too many people, there is a danger that the event could drag on. Fewer team members will give everyone a chance to shine.
Virtual Team Building with Making Teams
With more and more companies moving to a virtual working environment, the need for virtual team-building resources has never been more telling. Here at Making Teams, we offer first-class, tailor-made virtual team-building activities for teams of all sizes. With over fifteen years of experience, our team of expert facilitators is waiting to arrange your perfect team building icebreakers for small groups
Drop us a message today!
