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:

1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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!

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To have a truly successful event, you must be inclusive and take all personality types into consideration. What exercises or activities are there that will make introverts feel safe but not bore the extroverts? What activities will interest analytical minds without frustrating the intuitive types on your team? Keep reading to find out.

Why are Team Building Games Important for Workplace Dynamics?

Team building helps build trust, improve communication, boosts motivation, and encourages collaboration. When your team can work together on something outside of work, they can build connections in a different way. Team building exercises can help reduce conflict and create camaraderie. Plus, these games can boost your team’s morale.

How to Plan a Successful Team Building Event

Before planning the event, consider how these elements can help make your team building event attractive for those involved. Here are five things you should include no matter what team building activity or game you plan.

Great Food: One huge incentive for employees is to feed them a good meal. People know the value of good food and appreciate saving money on even just one meal. Make sure you know any dietary restrictions for your team before ordering.

Good Conversation: Help your employees get to know one another better. Create conversation starters with memorable activities or just offer conversation prompts throughout the event. Introverts will thank you for giving them something deeper to discuss than basic small talk.

Problem Solving: It’s important to note that happiness and learning are closely tied together. The traditional company picnic just isn’t going to cut it. You need to include interesting games, fun music, and great conversations if you want your team-building event to be effective.

Skill Building: Centering your event around a skill-based activity may be a fun way to get your team involved. Skill-building events help employees feel like they are spending their time in a valuable way and not just playing a random game to waste some time.

Encouragement: Make sure your team sees this event as a reward and not an attempt to make them a better team. Your team is more likely to get excited about your event if they feel like it’s a nod to all the hard work they are putting in. Advertise the team-building exercise as a break from the grind and take time to acknowledge their successes during the event.

Best Team Building Activities for All Personality Types

You probably have a lot of different personalities making up your work family. So, let’s consider what events will engage and interest your entire team.

Team Trivia

Host a fun game of trivia for your team. Along with questions about pop culture, music, history, or other topics, mix in questions about your company policies or industry standards. Trivia can be a fun way to help your team remember key concepts and it’s an easy virtual team building game if you have remote employees.

New Hire Questions

Do more than just a new hire introduction. Ask new hires to give quick answers to a series of random, rapid-fire prompts like, “best season?” and “favorite food for breakfast?” Or give them a handful of in-depth questions, like:

• What are you listening to lately?
• What was your first screen name?
• If you could be a ______ (food/animal/superhero/etc.), which one would you be?
• What place is next on your travel wish list?

After the new hire answers the chosen questions, have every member of the team answer one of the questions as well. Getting everyone involved helps the new hire learn more about the team.

Escape Room

Try the puzzle and problem-solving challenge of an escape room with your workplace crew. If you have a large team, you could break into groups by personality type, departments, or a random way of splitting up into groups.

Raffle Drawing

You can host an entire event around a few key prizes. Get your team hyped by announcing the prize ahead of time and whatever qualifier will put them in the drawing. For the big reveal, offer food, music, and icebreaker questions for everyone. The great thing about this event is that it’s easy to do during the work day during lunch and doesn’t require taking the team to a different location.

This or That

While active personality types will enjoy moving, introverts like to know more about their coworkers. Make the group move to one side of the room if they like “this” and the other side if they prefer “that.” Choose questions about life outside of work, office tasks, personal goals, and more. This can also work as a virtual team-building game with participants taking a poll to express their positions.

Ridiculous Competition

Competition can be fun for many on your crew, but it is more inclusive when it’s over something utterly ridiculous. Consider hosting “office Olympics” or a gingerbread decorating contest. Put people on teams and add ridiculous rules (like gingerbread house creators can only get one piece of candy from the main table at a time). Offer unconventional prizes, like most team spirit or most creative attempts.

Celebrate Victories

A great way to get your entire team involved is to celebrate. Workplace victories could include a number of milestones, like client retention, sales records, projects completed, team productivity, and more. You can even surprise your team by setting a secret goal and hosting a celebration when they hit it.

Want to really get your employees really excited about team-building events? Let the time count towards the workday! Allow your members to track team building time so the exercise feels like a true break and not just one more thing to add to their schedules.

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