This post was last updated on August 9th, 2023
Have you ever wondered why remote workers feel uncomfortable working with fellow teammates after some time of staying away from each other? Well, physical distance is why. In the long run, the physical distance turns into an emotional distance, leading to the isolation of your remote workers from each other.
Therefore, virtual team building activities are a technological way offering a safe and comfortable way for team building, eliminating your workers’ risk of isolation. They consist of multiple carefully designed games, strategies, and activities that will make your team’s interaction possible through virtual platforms.
Thus, to make your virtual employees happier by making them feel like they’re part of an active community, here’re creative virtual team-building activities worth considering in 2023. Let’s go!
Are you looking for creative team-building activities for your remote teams? Here are 11 creative team bonding activities for 2023.
1. Team Bingo
Team Bingo is an engaging and fun activity that serves as an excellent icebreaker for team building. It’s a game that can be played both online and offline, making it a versatile choice for remote and in-person teams alike.
The game involves distributing bingo cards to players, who then interact with each other to cross off the statements on their cards that match their teammates’ characteristics or experiences.
This interactive and competitive game fosters camaraderie among employees and helps create an inclusive work environment.
Various resources are available online to assist in organizing a successful Team Bingo session, including free game boards, rules, pro tips, and comprehensive step-by-step guides. Furthermore, some platforms provide special edition Bingo based on team members, adding a personalized touch to the game.
2. Tiny Virtual Campfire for Virtual Teams
Tiny campfire is the most popular virtual campfire for your remote teams. A little campfire experience entails historical haunted stories, ghost stories, little healthy team competitions, and a s’more making. This game is wildly smart, fun and you won’t need mosquito repellants.
The virtual team-building tools you need are tealight candles for every team member and other ingredients you agreed. Your team will create memories, employee engagement, positive energy, and good vibes here.
3. A Virtual Coffee vs. Tea Tasting
This virtual event offers an exotic tea and coffee experience with actual beverages. Every employee receives a mix of four coffees, infusions, and specialty teas for this tasting event by mail. You’ll receive your envelope marked as “don’t open.” Thus, you aren’t supposed to peep for the sake of preserving the event’s surprise.
Your team accesses your virtual meeting on the tasting day. The friendly barista shares fun virtual team-building games and lead the tasting ceremony. Therefore, expect a global-minded educational virtual meeting fun.
4. Virtual Home Tours
In a virtual home tour, your team members have to open their homes to each other. It’s a hilarious kind of a way to know your remote team members’ personalities.
Each member takes a short film showing their favorite things in their homes. Also, they can show specific areas the team agrees to display. This tour cultivates team bonding whereby team members get to know each other personally.
The game can be unsuitable for bigger teams. But it suites small teams more though any group looking to start the process could still engage in it. You could approach it differently, like having a member show off their home before you have your virtual meeting.
5. Enjoy an Online Pub Trivia
With in-person teams, you can easily meet colleagues for a drink. This way, employees had better chances of boding more over their cup. But the challenge is with the virtual teams with global team members. However, as interesting as it sounds, it’s possible to replicate this experience virtually and at home through pub trivia.
First, you’ll organize the trivia night by inviting your virtual team members. You can ask them to come with their favorite drink. Then you’ll divide your team into subgroups, then reads out questions. If a group gives the correct answer, it wins. You can have endless, endless quiz questions. What’s more? You could thematize your trivia by asking work-related questions.
6. Book Club vs. Movie Night
Some team members are into books during virtual happy hours. Others prefer Netflix to novels. Therefore, you could have a book club and movie night. In your book club, consider the small books that are easy to read and discuss. If the team loves reading, you can host a quarterly or monthly book club whereby your team members vote on a book and discuss it in your virtual meetings.
On the other hand, your team could be more into movies. Thus, grab some popcorn, choose your flick and enjoy as a team. Ask them about the movie they want to have a motivated and engaged team.
7. Large Groups Virtual Engagement and Workout
If you have a large virtual group, consider various team-building activities with a scalable virtual platform like Petri. You could schedule various team-building challenges, happy hour activities, and online games here. Those activities include tea tasting, escape-style, murder mysteries, and pub trivia.
An engaging host helps to lead each of these virtual team-building events. Thus all your team members will participate. Petri is outstanding because you don’t have to schedule your events. Their events are already scheduled, and thus time-zines are not a worry anymore.
When your team sweats together, most probably it will stay together. You can get a workout coach to help you online. Workout, like dancing, is vital for your employee’s health and helps bond your team during virtual hours.
Thus, get your endorphins flowing and your blood pumping as a team. Starter workouts are a good option. You could advance as your team’s tolerance level rises. Thus, good options are low-impact workouts like barre, pilates, and yoga. HIIT and Bootcamp require some degree of tolerance.
8. A Virtual Typing Speed Competition
Usually, a typing race helps to increase typing speed. Therefore, if you engage your team with typing races, you get a good chance to build your typing speed. This online team-building activity is easy to start as you only need to access the test using platforms like typingtest.com.
In a typing speed competition, you’ll show your results to the entire team by posting them on the company’s message board or by mail. They, in turn, post their results, and the game continues. You can have larger competitions with larger organizations by having typing relays whereby you form groups and add their scores after the game to determine the winning team.
What’s more? During the competition, ensure that everyone takes similar tests. Also, you can give your teammates typing tips like keeping fingers closer to their keys.
9. Virtual Dance Party
Your team sits over eight hours each day in remote working. Therefore, shaking off emotional and physical tension is vital for your team members. Some members may get shy. This team-building game could come in handy for those who aren’t afraid of showing off at a dance party.
Therefore, you can make it an activity before starting your video call or meeting. It will go a long way in loosening the team-up. Also, you can make a virtual dance party a remote team-building event for those with fancy moves and the other team members.
Some interesting options for your remote employees include uptown funk by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson, Get Lucky by Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk, etc. Feel free to choose your favorites, as the list is endless.
10. Make Online Team Meetings Fun
You can consider aesthetically appealing work platforms like video conferencing or Trello board for online meetings. On these sites, your team members can always pull off a fun game to boost the team morale.
First, you’ll copy the Trello template, and then you’ll invite your team to join the board. Each member can buy a gift that you can ship easily. Then instead of showing the gift outrightly, the buyer, a team member, gives you the chance to guess what gift they have for you. The hint is on a card in the Trello board, to which they add a picture and a title as a hint for your gift.
The game entails taking turns clicking on Trello cards to reveal the gift. You claim your gift by turning over the cards. Also, you can steal someone else’s already claimed gift. Finally, you’ll mail your gift to the person who ended up with it.
11. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Hosting a virtual scavenger hunt can be an engaging, fun way to remotely connect with your colleagues and friends. Whether you’re having a small celebration or looking for a unique activity to integrate into your next corporate event, scavenger hunts are a great option. They involve no complicated logistics and provide ample opportunity for creativity, collaboration, and competition. With scavenger hunts, there are plenty of options for puzzles and tasks tailored to the age range and interests of participants, so its sure to generate plenty of laughs. Get creative in the scavenger challenge snippets you set up – from posing funny questions or finding certain items around the house- and let the games begin!
In conclusion, the best virtual team-building ideas for recognizing remote team members don’t have to be expensive and big. You could get creative by having you suggest what they would want. That way, your team members feel motivated and engaged.
Remote team-building activities for your remote teams help your virtual company develop a company culture that creates a conducive expansion environment.
