Today we present you our five favorite strategies for virtual team building. They boost motivation, lift the mood and they help to strengthen the team spirit – especially now that so many are back to working from home exclusively.
Personal interaction is missing
Whether it's a brief laughter in the hallway, shared lunches or the traditional small talk at the coffee machine – personal interaction with colleagues is missing. It loosens up our daily working life and significantly contributes to how employees identify with their company.
Many companies have already introduced digital coffee breaks in spring 2020. The idea is nice, but it's simply not the same as a spontaneous personal chat. Also, some sort of "digital fatigue" emerged as we click from one digital conference to the next; the coffee break on Zoom is just another to-do on that list. So, what to do to wake up your employees?
Dare something different!
These are our top 5 ideas to save colleagues at home from their perceived isolation and to maintain team spirit:
1) Get fit together through online sports sessions
Why not book a personal trainer to get you all sweating together, be it with yoga, CrossFit or step aerobics? This will strengthen the bond in a team, plus it's good for the individual well-being.
Many trainers/gyms have adjusted their portfolio and offer remote training. Maybe you even have a sporty colleague who can lead the session. For our Coopers team I can think of someone :)
2) Virtual games
In a previous blog post about Gamification, we already pointed out that game elements are great motivation boosters. For the current situation, there are various ways to incorporate them. Here are some ideas:
- Bingo for the next team conference (customizable)
- Typing competition – who types the fastest?
- Jackbox Games – full-fledged online games
- "Who owns what" – pairing photos of e.g. the workplace, the kitchen, the favorite book etc. to the respective colleague; it can also be played in larger groups before an online meeting to lighten the mood
- QuizBreaker is also a good way to break the ice at the beginning; can be used at various meetings
3) Playing "Cribs"
Still remember MTV Cribs? Celebrities led camera crews from the music channel MTV through their estates, giving an exciting insight into their private lives. Some companies are now replaying it and employees give a home tour either live or in recorded videos. This way, everyone can decide for themselves how much he or she wants to reveal. Cross your heart, who isn't curious to see what other people's homes look like?
4) Lunch Lottery
Lunch Lottery pairs random colleagues for a joint lunch – currently it has to be done online, each in his or her own kitchen. But still, this is a great way to interact with colleagues with whom you normally have very few touch points. Everyone is involved, from the CEO to the apprentice. And: Of course, this also works for a z'Vieri.
5) Small talk channel on Slack
Slack is a platform on which companies can create diverse communication channels – or simply an absolutely informal channel for employees. There, they can spontaneously "run into each other," chat about all the world and his wife, share pictures of their cats or recipes et cetera. Slack thus offers a good middle ground between the work email account and private messengers.
The beauty of these ideas: Many of them can be transferred to real, to personal life once the pandemic is over.
Bottom line: teamwork makes the dream work
Of course, you can't do it right for everyone, and there can be skeptics in the team who might roll their eyes at first – either in the corporate or the home office. But that shouldn't stop you. That's why we encourage you to simply dare to implement one of the ideas or to take it as an incentive to create other digital team activities. Some may be a better fit, some may not be as good. Find out what works for you to strengthen your team. After all, it's a sustained sense of unity and a strong team spirit that will get us through times of crisis. If you succeed, there is even the potential to emerge stronger from such hard times – with the absolutely best team ever!
What do you do to feel connected to colleagues and/or employees? Share your experiences with us via email or on our social media profiles. We're happy the hear it.
Your Coopers Team
PS: Check out the astonishing success of an idea at a senior citizens home. What an inspiration!
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