As remote work becomes more prevalent, virtual team-building has become essential for creating a sense of camaraderie and collaboration within teams, even when miles apart. Virtual team-building activities foster connection, boost morale, and enhance communication, making it easier for team members to work together seamlessly. Here’s a list of engaging virtual activities that can bring your team closer:
1. Virtual Trivia Game
Description: Trivia games are a fun way to stimulate the mind and encourage friendly competition. Teams can compete across various categories like history, pop culture, or company-specific trivia.
Tools Needed: Kahoot, QuizBreaker, or Google Forms
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Tips: Choose questions that cater to diverse interests, and offer small prizes for added motivation.
2. Online Escape Room
Description: Virtual escape rooms challenge teams to solve puzzles and find clues to “escape” a virtual setting. This is a great activity to build problem-solving skills and teamwork.
Tools Needed: Websites like The Escape Game or Mystery Escape Room offer virtual experiences.
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Tips: Look for escape rooms that offer varying difficulty levels to accommodate different skill sets within the team.
3. Show and Tell
Description: Show and tell isn’t just for kids! Team members can share something meaningful to them, like a favorite book, a hobby, or even a pet.
Tools Needed: Video conferencing software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams
Duration: 15-20 minutes per person or 1 hour for the whole team
Tips: Encourage creativity and openness, and use this activity as a way to build understanding and empathy within the team.
4. Virtual Coffee Breaks
Description: Schedule a casual, virtual coffee break to allow team members to catch up informally. Unlike formal meetings, this break is purely social.
Tools Needed: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet
Duration: 15-30 minutes
Tips: Encourage everyone to bring their favorite drink, and consider fun ice-breaker questions to get the conversation flowing.
5. Two Truths and a Lie
Description: In this classic icebreaker, each team member shares two true facts and one false fact about themselves. Others must guess which one is the lie.
Tools Needed: Video conferencing and possibly a shared document for tracking guesses
Duration: 20-30 minutes
Tips: This game works well for newer teams, as it helps team members learn about each other in a lighthearted way.
6. Virtual Pictionary
Description: In a virtual twist on the classic game, players draw a prompt while others try to guess what it is.
Tools Needed: Whiteboard feature in Zoom, Skribbl, or Drawize
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Tips: Pick prompts that are relatable to everyone on the team, and let everyone’s creativity shine!
7. Remote Office Scavenger Hunt
Description: A scavenger hunt can be adapted for virtual teams by asking participants to find items around their homes that meet specific criteria (e.g., something blue, something you received as a gift).
Tools Needed: Video call platform and a list of items to find
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Tips: Set a timer for each round, and consider including items that are unique to certain cultures or regions for added fun.
8. Virtual Book or Movie Club
Description: Choose a book or movie for the team to enjoy and discuss together. It’s a great way to bond over shared interests and discuss different perspectives.
Tools Needed: Slack channel or video call platform for discussions
Duration: 1 hour per session
Tips: Select a range of genres over time to keep everyone engaged, and encourage team members to suggest options.
9. Online Cooking Class or Happy Hour
Description: Virtual cooking or mixology classes bring people together through food. Whether following a professional chef or mixing drinks, this activity can be a treat.
Tools Needed: Zoom, ingredient list, or a hired chef to lead
Duration: 1-2 hours
Tips: Send the ingredient list ahead of time, and choose recipes that are easy and fun to make.
10. Personality Test and Discussion
Description: Have each team member take a personality test, like Myers-Briggs or Enneagram, and discuss the results. This activity promotes self-awareness and team understanding.
Tools Needed: Free online tests and a shared document to summarize results
Duration: 1 hour
Tips: Allow team members to share only what they’re comfortable with, and use the test results to spark conversations on working styles.
11. Virtual Charades/Pictionary
Description: Select a moderator and split everyone into two teams. One team goes first. The moderator sends a word or phrase to the team member who will be acting (usually via private message in the chat). Teams alternate, with each team scoring a point for every clue guessed correctly, and 60 seconds to guess as many answers as possible. The team with the most points at the end of all rounds wins the game.
Tools Needed: video Conferencing platform, a list of words or phrases for each round. These can be common phrases, movies, books, songs, or even work-related terms for added fun. Paper and a pen for Pictionary.
Duration: 20-30 minutes depending on number of rounds.
Tips:
- Keep Words Simple: Choose words or phrases that are easy to act out, especially if players are new to charades.
- Use Hand Signals: Use traditional charades signals, like pointing to indicate “sounds like” or holding up fingers for “number of words.”
- Encourage Creativity: Part of the fun is seeing how creatively someone acts or draws out a word.
- Stay Positive and Supportive: This game is meant to be light-hearted, so keep it fun and supportive, especially if someone is struggling to convey their word.
- Making Virtual Team-Building Effective
The best virtual team-building activities are those that consider the team’s dynamics, interests, and comfort levels. Rotate activities to keep things fresh, schedule sessions at times that work for everyone, and aim to make virtual team-building a fun part of your work culture.
