Virtual Team Building Activities

What are Virtual Team Building Activities?

Games for remote teams are moral boosting events that can take place online and include participants from all over the country and worldwide.

Are There Different Remote Team Building Ideas?

Like normal team events, our remote team games are all different to cater to every group type. Businesses are dealing with many more variables nowadays, so no matter how big or small or where they are based, your team will have challenges and games to suit.

We have short, energising online activities that are perfect to motivate colleagues at the start of the day to full-on problem-solving events and even a virtual CSI activity run by ex-Scotland Yard Detectives. Whatever event you are trying to plan for, some ideas will suit you! Even for the end of the year, our virtual Christmas parties have been extremely popular.

Best 7 Virtual Team Building Activities in the UK

What are the Benefits of Team Building Activities for Virtual Teams?

Right now, the biggest benefits of using online activities are that they promote inclusivity, motivation, and positive mental health. For teams who are used to working closely in an office, virtual ideas are a great way to bring back that sense of belonging and membership.

As mentioned above, mental health is extremely important for yourself and your employees. By putting in a plan including daily chats, face-to-face using software like Microsoft Teams, and fun activities for remote staff, we can all help overall well-being.

Free Online Team Building Games Vs Paid Activities?

Online games have been gaining popularity for boosting company teamwork and communication. Today, you can easily find a variety of 25 to 50 free games and challenges on the internet, all designed to enhance employee engagement. These virtual activities are increasingly recognised for their value in creating a collaborative and engaging work atmosphere. Great news, Yes?

Well, not really.

Once you start reading the games, you'll soon realise that they aren't suitable for most businesses or won't achieve the desired outcomes you'd expect from a collaborative team event. The saying you get what you pay for is 100% true when combining technology, people and events.  Our virtual team building activities for work have been tried and tested before launching, ensuring engagement and motivation outcomes are achieved.

What do I need to be able to Participate in Virtual Team Challenges?

What devices will I need?

Virtual team games can be played using any smartphone or tablet.

Do I need a webcam?

Yes, for the best experience, you need a webcam.  Most smartphones, laptops and iPads come with webcams as standard.

Will I need access to the Internet or 4G?

Definitely.  You will need to be able to join a video conference with your remote worker colleagues so you can participate in the fun and interact with them.

What video conference software do I require to have a Funktion Events virtual team building event?

We recommend Zoom. It offers the best experience and most functionality for remote team building activities. See more information on Zoom here.  However, if your business uses alternative video conferencing software, we should still be fine to run the challenges.

Can remote workers take part in virtual team games anywhere in the world?

Of course. That is the real benefit of virtual online games: Anyone can enjoy interacting with their remote workers anywhere.  We believe remote team building activities will be around long because they are so accessible.

A Few “Must Know” Virtual Team Building Tips to Try With Your Remote Team

It isn’t a shock to anyone that team building online is completely different to being with your staff in the office. But if virtual team building is your only option, you will want to use these tips and make the most out of your situation when you have a remote team.

1. Make Sure You Include Everyone

When you are usually doing an event in the office, it is a lot easier for everyone to get involved, even the introverts of your office. This is due to the physical presence and pressure of being in a group setting. So when you are a virtual team having to organise a virtual team activity, it may become a lot easier to slip away from the group and not participate - especially when in big groups. A great way to ensure that everyone gets involved and is comfortable getting involved is choosing ideas that require smaller groups to work together and icebreaker questions which everyone has to answer.

2. Try and Follow the 2.5x Rule

The 2.5x rule is a new thing that many online businesses try to follow. If you think of it this way, your only online interaction with a team is your meetings or arranged virtual team events. When you were in the office, you would have various conversations with multiple people when making a brew or even when you went into the office in the morning. The 2.5x rule says that you should do 2.5x more online than face-to-face. So if you spend around 5 minutes of general chatting before a meeting, then do about 12.5 minutes of chatting before a meeting online!

3. Add Virtual Team Building to Every Meeting

Whenever you plan a meeting we recommend always including some sort of online team building element everyone has to participate in! This could be anything from a quick chat about what everyone got up to at the weekend or an icebreaker like a mini scavenger hunt! Some of the activities on this page will give you some great ideas.

4. Send Care Packages Out to Everyone

If everyone is working remotely and nobody has been in the office, you may want to send them a little pick me up. It can be something small like a box of snacks they can enjoy when they’re working, or branded items, anything that will boost them and make working from home a little less frustrating.

5. Find Opportunities for In-Person Meetings

Whether by going out for lunch for your meeting or just hiring a space where you can all meet and participate in meetings in person.

More Resources to Improve Your Virtual Team Building Event

You want to make sure you are getting the most out of your virtual team building event and the main aspect of planning all your resources is choosing which tools and software are most suited to your business.

Virtual Meeting Software

The software tools below are popular and perfect for video conferencing and telecommuting online.

Tools for Teamwork and Collaboration

Stay organised and keep track of everyone’s work whilst working remotely with the help of some of these handy tools.

Virtual Team Building FAQs

What is virtual team building?

Virtual team building is a way to enjoy bonding with your staff through games, challenges, exercises, and icebreakers online. As these are online, you will be using platforms like Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams! Virtual team building has become extremely popular and is as vital to an online team as in-person team events!

Why is virtual team building important?

Remote working has become extremely popular and a vital part of how businesses have continued through the recent years. But it can be lonely and unproductive, and you can feel disconnected from the rest of your colleagues. This is why including virtual team events in your work environment is so important. It will help in the long run by making all your staff feel valued, and positive and increase productivity within their day-to-day work.

What are the benefits of virtual team building?

We have found so many amazing benefits of virtual team building, which is why they are so popular, but below you will find the top 10:

What are virtual team building activities?

Virtual team building activities are challenges, exercises, and games that you participate in to give remote employees the chance to bond as a team. Examples would be virtual around the world and the virtual team quiz.

What are online team building games?

Online team building games are quick energisers and icebreakers that are specifically created to boost morale, employee engagement and the connection together as colleagues. These games can be as simple as getting everyone to tell the group what they did at the weekend or a planned event like the daily kick-off.

How do you make a virtual meeting fun?

A virtual meeting may not sound like the most fun thing you could be doing, but there are so many ways to make it fun. Before you start with the meeting, you want to incorporate some sort of icebreaker, like asking a question that everyone can answer. Usually, you want to ensure these activities are quick and easy – you don’t want them to be stressful or a challenge requiring skills. Also, make sure you cater for your group size, e.g. if you're in big groups, find an icebreaker that can be broken down so everyone can participate.

How do you build team morale remotely?

It can be hard to build your team whilst working remotely, but the most effective way to build team morale is by doing games and activities together. And there are so many great ones at the top of this page that would be perfect for building team morale remotely.

How do you engage a virtual team?

If you want to engage a virtual team you want to take the same approach as you would when you are in the office. But of course, instead of being face to face, they will be online. So, ask people questions, have phone calls with different employees, and add online team games to your week. Another great idea is having half an hour out of the working week where you have a Zoom call, and the one rule is to talk about anything but work! This will help build relationships and friendships between everyone. Which ultimately results in a more engaged team remotely.

How do you bond with a remote team?

You want to make sure your remote team works together as much as possible. The best way to do this is to ensure that work projects and deadlines must be completed by working together. Then, you will find your remote workers going out of their way to talk to one another more, leading to remote team bonding.

How do you make a team call fun?

One of the best ways to make a team call fun would be by adding an experience like the virtual escape rooms. This way, everyone is split up, and you will have the chance to converse with a smaller number of people. It also allows people to talk to those they may not have spoken to before. This lifts the spirits of everyone on the team call and makes the whole experience a lot more fun.

How do you make virtual meetings fun?

To make your virtual meetings beneficial to everyone, you will want to ensure they are fun! And there are some different ways you can do this. The first is by adding some quick icebreakers at the beginning of the meeting. You could do anything from a game of guessing the work stat or ask each member of the meeting some quick-fire questions. Another great way to make virtual meetings fun is by adding a virtual activity at the start of the session. If you are looking for plans for the end of the year, why not incorporate some virtual work Christmas party ideas to treat your staff too?

What is the purpose of a virtual team?

The purpose of a virtual team is to work together to complete goals, tasks, and projects in a virtual setting instead of in person in the office.

What is a virtual activity?

A virtual activity is an activity that you can do online, usually involving a remote team! Most of the time, a virtual activity will benefit your workforce in some way, whether that be boosting team morale or improving how everyone works together. Usually, virtual activities are a popular way to treat your office and give them something rewarding and beneficial to get involved in.

How do you create a team remotely?

A remote team needs to work together and benefit the business. A good way to create a team remotely would be through virtual activities and games like the ones listed at the top of the page. Getting everyone working together in these virtual experiences allows them to build meaningful relationships they will use in their daily work lives.

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