Creating a remote workforce opens up a new world of potential for any business. With no restraints on location, you are free to bring together the most remarkable individuals available and have them collaborate on a team!
However, a fully remote team does present one big challenge: a lack of synergy. You can have the most brilliant minds working for you, but they’ll fall short of their potential if they can’t find a good team flow.
When your employees work long-distance, your remote team management must prioritize team building to create synergy and group morale. When they do, you’ll see positive upticks in motivation, productivity, creativity, and communication.
But these team-building exercises aren’t just about the job. For teammates to work together correctly, they need to feel a social connection. And that starts with getting to know each other outside of work. Try these 6 virtual team-building exercises with your remote workforce and see what a difference they make!
- Guess Who. This game makes an excellent ice-breaker for one of your first team activities. Have each person send you several random facts about themselves, which you will put into a document at random. Then, send everyone in your group a printable page with each team member’s name on it and some space to write. Read out the facts during your next team call, and have everyone guess who it’s about. After reading all the facts, you can reveal the answers and help each teammate learn more about each other.
- Virtual Escape Room. If your team struggles with actual teamwork, an escape room is a fantastic way to teach collaboration under pressure. Your remote workers will feel much closer as they solve a series of puzzles together from the comfort of their own homes—and have fun while doing so!
- Weekly Praise. One of the best ways to motivate individual team members is to praise them for a job well done. Once a week, set aside several minutes for each worker to share something they appreciate about another team member. The positivity will be contagious, and you’ll see team morale skyrocket!
- Happy Hour. It’s easier to create a friendly rapport outside of work hours. Survey your team and find a time once a month where everyone can hop on video chat for an after-hours get-together. This should be a work-free zone, so no “shop talk”! Encourage everyone to relax, bring their favorite beverage, and just enjoy each other’s company.
- Step Challenge. For a fun teamwork challenge, give your remote team an extracurricular goal to work towards. A step challenge is a fantastic way to 1) keep your team healthy and 2) motivate them to accomplish something together that’s not work-related. Have everyone download a step tracker app and record their weekly progress. Also, be sure to designate an enjoyable reward if the group meets their monthly or weekly goal! As your team celebrates little non-work victories, they’ll be more motivated to finish their work goals as well.
- QuizBreaker Challenges. Effortlessly set up team bonding each week with QuizBreaker. This program automatically sends out a series of ice-breaker-style quizzes each week, based on your schedule. Each team member answers the questions on their own time, and then QuizBreaker sends out the results with leaderboards, trophies, badges, and more! It’s a fun, ongoing way for your workers to get to know each other better, which leads to better teamwork!
Virtual team building doesn’t have to be complicated—but it definitely should be fun! The better your remote workforce gets along, the better they’ll work for you. One thing to be careful of is scheduling too much team-building outside of work. These sessions are technically work functions, so be respectful of your employees’ time, and do most of their team building during work hours in 10-minute to 2-hour sessions, depending on the exercise. We’ve included a variety of games and activities to help you create a good balance.
If you’re looking to build or expand a remote team, don’t forget to give RemoteReps a call. We have highly trained virtual employees ready to help your customer service, sales, and bookkeeping teams meet their goals! Reach out to us at +1 (855)-311-REPS for more information on remote worker options!