Keeping your remote teams motivated, engaged, and cooperative can be challenging. This is particularly since most often; remote employees will be working in silos on their own tasks. How then do you create a sense of community especially given that studies have found there’s power to teamwork regardless of location?
In this blog, we’ll explore various solutions to improve team building for remote workers, with a special focus on the transformative potential of digital tools.
Craft a Team Building Action Plan
If you are to successfully improve team building for your remote team, you’ve got to start with crafting a team-building action plan.
Start by defining the specific goals for your remote team-building efforts. Here, you’ll need to consider what you want to achieve, whether it’s improved communication, better trust, increased morale, or enhanced problem-solving skills.
It’s best to mention that for this first step to be successful, you’ve got to inspect the current dynamics and challenges of your remote team. You might need to conduct surveys or in-person meetings to gather feedback from your team.
Having determined the objectives and understood current dynamics, you can now select appropriate activities.
Virtual Team Building Activities
There are team-building activities that you can weave in to bring a bit of fun into your remote employees’ day. These include:
- Scheduling Weekly Virtual Chats
Consider scheduling weekly virtual meetings for remote teams as these provide opportunities for team members to connect, communicate, and build stronger bonds, despite the physical distance.
To successfully implement this strategy, start by setting clear objectives for the virtual chats. This could be, for instance, team building, project updates, or simply social interactions. Starting with a clear objective means that you can successfully guide the content and structure of said meetings.
Further, when scheduling weekly virtual chats, you need to choose a suitable time and duration. Here, you ought to keep in mind the time zones and availability of the different team members. An insider tip would be to aim for a consistent day and time each week and keep the meetings reasonably short.
For these weekly virtual chats, make sure you select the right video conferencing tools that support interactive features like screen sharing, chat, and breakout rooms.
Once set up, start each meeting with a brief icebreaker or team-building activity. This should create a positive and interactive atmosphere. Go further and encourage open discussion by encouraging the members to share their thoughts, ask questions, and seek input from other members.
Regular weekly virtual chats are a powerful tool for remote teams to stay connected and build strong working relationships. Remember to start with clear objectives, and structure, and emphasize open communications.
- Create Separate Channels for Team Building
An insider tip is to create a separate channel or space for team building within your remote team’s communication platform or tool. In doing so, you ensure that team-building activities and discussions aren’t drowned out by work-related conversations. What’s more, these dedicated channels ensure that all team members are aware of team-building activities and events. The outcome is streamlined event planning.
Additional benefits to having a separate channel for team building include:
- Clear communication
- Greater sense of community
- Greater participation
- Positive team culture
- Inject the Right Games into Workdays
Introduce some levity into your workdays with a few games. These games can build camaraderie, strengthen communication, and boost team morale. Some of the games you could play with your remote team include:
- Virtual Trivia
- Online Escape Rooms
- Virtual Scavenger Hunt
- Pictionary or Charades
- 30-Second Pitch
- Virtual Poker Night
- Collaborative Online Games like Among Us, Minecraft, or Fortnight
Offer Peer-to-Peer Learning Opportunities
A great way to improve team building for your remote teams is to offer peer-to-peer learning opportunities. The latter has a host of benefits including:
- Knowledge sharing and skill development
- Enhanced problem-solving
- Improved collaboration
- Increased engagement
- Customized learning
To achieve peer-to-peer learning, start by identifying areas of peer learning. This could include skills related to the job, soft skills, tools, and software, or even personal development. Thereafter, create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their expertise. You should then consider creating a peer learning framework which could include regular peer-led training sessions, knowledge-sharing forums, or mentorship programs.
Budget for Occasional In-Person Meetings
To complement your virtual team-building efforts, consider making plans for occasional in-person meetings. Specifically, consider allocating some resources for in-person meetings as part of your team building for remote workers’ strategy. With face-to-face interactions, team members can build stronger personal relationships, foster trust, and camaraderie, and overall, enhanced cohesion.
Besides, these meetings create an opportunity for team bonding through shared experiences. When the teams engage in team-building exercises, share group meals, or go on a recreational outing, there’s a possibility that they can build lasting connections.
Consider including some training or development activities at these in-person meetings, such as hands-on workshops or team-building exercises. When conducted in person, these have been proven to be more impactful.
Additionally, consider celebrating milestones at these in-person meetings. The shared celebration of success boosts morale and reinforces a sense of accomplishment.
Finally, occasional in-person meetings bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds. This provides the opportunity for cultural exchange. Oftentimes, the outcome is a deeper understanding of each other’s perspective.
Time Tracker: Your Teamwork Accelerator for Remote Success!
In the remote work ecosystem, team building for remote workers is paramount to success. Time Tracker by eBillity offers a powerful solution that not only enhances team scheduling and notifications, but also significantly improves teamwork among remote teams. By simplifying the coordination of team meetings, project deadlines, and training sessions, Time Tracker ensures that the team operates seamlessly. The real-time notifications provided by Time Tracker keep team members informed and connected, encouraging effective communication and collaboration. Whether you’re coordinating virtual team-building activities, sharing project updates, or scheduling training sessions, Time Tracker is the linchpin in enhancing teamwork and building stronger connections within your remote team. Embrace this opportunity to streamline your remote team’s communication and collaboration by starting your 14-day free trial today!