Team-building is a term used for different types of activities that can improve social relations and define roles between teams. The main purpose of this event is to establish a strong team by developing bonds and connections. As a result, effectively creating these relationships is beneficial to the success of the organization.
Since remote teams have fewer opportunities to socialize with one another, they face obstacles in meeting new team members. And with virtual team-building exercises, the workforce can enhance communication, develop trust, and boost creativity. Thus, business owners must find ways to encourage active collaboration in the online workplace.
In this article, you’ll learn five effective activities that will help you succeed in conducting a virtual team-building event:
- Coordinate Logistics
Planning a virtual team-building activity demands less logistics than an in-person event. However, this remote event would still require a logistical setup that includes choosing the right video conferencing platform. Moreover, you must ensure that your employees have efficient hardware so they can actively participate in the various activities.
Coordinating logistics with the support of a partner would help you conduct a successful corporate virtual happy hour. Doing so enables you to engage your employees and bring your teams together with magical shared experiences. In turn, you’ll help your workforce cross the divide between departments and establish a collaborative culture.
- Identify The Goal Of The Event
The most important part of planning your next virtual team-building event is identifying its purpose. As you start to manage your thoughts, you should determine a specific objective that will allow you to organize the activities. With that, you must compose a list of things you’d want to achieve by the end of the session.
For instance, you may want to include icebreaker questions if the virtual event is part of an onboarding process. During the session, ask each participant to tell relevant details about themselves or reveal their workspaces. Although virtual orientations can become tricky, they can make a difference by making them personal.
If you want to introduce new team members, you may want to gather them inside a smaller chat room. Doing so encourages every individual to confidently speak up about themselves, which is a surefire way to develop team connection. Thus, you must designate a fun facilitator to get everybody talking during their turns.
If your main objective is to enhance communication among your existing employees, you must provide problem-solving activities. Once they start tackling obstacles in a non-work-related environment, they’re likely to develop a stronger bond. As you witness them working together, you’ll get a better sense of who might be fit for a leadership role.
- Determine The Needs Of The Attendees
As you prepare activities for the virtual team-building event, you must consider the needs of the participants. If the main audience is new employees, you should add information about your organization, including its history, milestones, and vision. This strategy is a fun way to establish the organizational culture and impart a sense of pride, which may boost employee retention.
If your participants are organizational leaders and seasoned employees, you must delegate a neutral facilitator. And the expertise of this person will help you in facilitating open conversations that will ensure active collaboration within your organization. As a result, the team will have higher chances to thrive since they’re practicing healthier communication in a fun way.
- Allocate A Budget
A virtual team-building event highlights a unique budgeting opportunity for your organization. Since you won’t have to pay for a huge venue and catering, you may use funds in innovative ways. Thus, you should plan something fun and memorable so they would always associate their connection with their teammates with the event.
Also, the money spent on food or location may be spent on outsourcing a professional service provider. For a fraction of a normal company event budget, you must enable reputable providers to take care of the hosting and its details. The more innovative you are with your budget, the more the virtual session will stand out to your participants.
- Estimate The Time Of Each Activity
A successful virtual team-building event requires a well-thought-out plan. And with that, you should estimate the time every activity must take and try your best to stick to the estimates. Also, you need to prepare an extra activity in case an item on the agenda fails for some reason.
After estimating the time of each activity, you must share it with your colleagues for them to know what to expect. Doing so allows your employees to prepare to become active participants. For instance, if you want them to speak about their favorite vacation, you must let them know before the event.
Another thing you must consider is the timezone of your workforce. Since distributed teams might have an international footprint, you must ensure all your employees take part in the event. And this strategy enables you to have your online activity at an inconvenient time, which prevents you from excluding a member of your team.
Key Takeaway
As an entrepreneur, you must improve the collaboration and communication between your teams. With that, you must consider following these five ideas so you may ensure the success of your next virtual team-building events. As a result, you’ll develop a strong relationship within your workforce and remove the division between departments.
