Virtual workforces are becoming increasingly common. They can be a cost-effective alternative to in-office departments, while flexible working makes these positions a desirable option for job seekers. However, even established remote operations can encounter issues when boosting it comes to team building.
Thankfully, there are many virtual corporate event ideas you can introduce to get your teams talking and thinking more collaboratively. Team-building activities can be used to get the ball rolling during a daily huddle or weekly review meeting, as well as break the ice if you’ve just welcomed new hires to your organization.
8 Corporate Virtual Event Ideas
Planning your next remote team building event? Even if you already have an agenda in place, it’s easy to make things more interesting with virtual team-building activities. Below are just a few ideas you can try at your next online get-together.
Virtual Team Building Game Night
Don’t have time during the day to bring your teams together? Think about testing the waters to see if your teams have an evening free. A game night will always go down well with online employees, especially if they’re pining for some social interaction.
While some games are out of the question here, you have plenty of options when it comes to assembling an enticing array of activities. Look for online versions of popular board games or put your teams through their paces with a virtual scavenger hunt. Are you looking to host an event during a popular holiday? If you’ve scheduled an event around Halloween or Christmastime, use the occasion as inspiration for a festive twist on classic team-building activities.
Online Music Event
Music can be a great tool for bringing people together. Need some ideas for a team-building event that everyone will enjoy? Why not encourage your employees to share hidden musical talents? However, not everyone will be able to play an instrument. Instead, consider an online karaoke event. You can even merge this one with a virtual happy hour.
Alternatively, keep things simple with a music-themed trivia session. While participants can play individually, it makes more sense to assign players into groups for the best team-building benefits. Assign teams at random for maximum ice-breaking potential. We also have articles on 49 icebreaking activities, as well as 10 team building music activities.
Two Truths, One Lie
This classic game works incredibly well virtually. What’s more, you don’t need to make any major preparations to get this one off the ground. Once everyone has assembled, ask participants to write two things that are true about them, along with one lie.
These should really be light-hearted titbits of trivia, so make life easier for your employees by giving them a few examples first. While you can dish out points and prizes to the most misleading players, this is really more about getting your employees to open up and share a few details about their lives.
Online Lunch and Learns
There are many advantages to the remote work model. However, a lack of professional development and relatively little opportunity for social interaction can be a problem. To overcome both shortfalls, think about hosting an online lunch and learn.
You won’t have time to host these too regularly, but it’s worth making space in the diary for an online lunch and learning at least once a month. Keep training content light and easy to digest, while leaving space at the end of your lunchtime meeting for a debrief and socializing.
Virtual Holiday Party
The office Christmas party is a staple of any happy workplace. Even though you’re doing business virtually, you can still host a seasonal get-together to allow your teams to let off steam after a year of hard work.
However, you don’t need to save the festivities for December. Thanksgiving, Halloween, and the Fourth of July are all great excuses for celebrating. You can stick to it being a purely social event, or bring in uplifting games like costume contests and themed quizzes.
Who’s Emoji Board is it Anyway?
Anybody who uses their smartphone to connect with friends and family will have turned to emojis at some point. However, not everyone uses the same emojis when personalizing text messages and social media posts.
Ask every participant to take a snapshot of the emojis they use the most. Then display each screenshot in turn, with everyone having to guess who the board belongs to. You’ll quickly find out who’s guilty of overdoing it with love hearts and hug emojis. There might even be a few people who are a little too enthusiastic about the eggplant emoji.
Virtual Team Trivia
Trivia games are always a good choice for virtual team-building sessions. What’s more, you can incorporate them into just about any type of meeting. You can start weekly meetings with a quick burst of corporate trivia, or introduce themed questions to festive parties.
Virtual Debating Sessions
The best way to get your teams talking is to give them a platform to share their thoughts. With an online debate club, you can ensure even the most shy and retiring members of your workforce have their moment in the sun.
If you want to keep things focused on work, encourage your virtual teams to share their insights about how to improve productivity or navigate around systems they use every day. Alternatively, opt for light-hearted social interaction with casual questions that are designed to break the ice, rather than inform.
Why is Team Building So Vital for Remote Teams?
Remote work can be a lonely existence for employees. Email exchanges and the occasional phone call can go some way in keeping team members connected, but they do very little to foster a culture of togetherness and help create an overall healthy remote work culture. If you operate a virtual business, online team-building activities like the ones in our employee engagement calendar will engage your employees, boost morale, and increase productivity.
The team bonding aspect is particularly important. Virtual team building breaks down barriers, making it more likely for remote employees to reach out for support or interaction during their everyday working lives. If your business has embraced a hybrid model, virtual team building is particularly useful for creating synergy between your remote employees and those workers based in a traditional office setting.
Are you looking to pinpoint employees with strong leadership abilities? When you introduce team-building activities to virtual corporate events, it’s easy to pick out candidates for managerial roles who excel at taking charge and engaging colleagues.
How Do You Create a Remote Team?
While recruiting for remote teams is easy enough, actually creating an effective online team is a more difficult task. Micromanaging individual workflows remotely is overbearing and can reduce productivity, rather than enhance it. Instead, use team activities to encourage communication and create a space where colleagues feel comfortable sharing knowledge.
A well-oiled remote operation needs to be staffed by employees with a strong team dynamic. Team-building activities and games bring the personal touch that many virtual businesses lack.
How Can You Bring the Fun Factor to Virtual Meetings?
Looking to spice up your next virtual meeting with a team-building activity or two? Work-focused activities are a good way to get big projects off the ground, but you still need to think about the fun factor. If you’re keen to create social connections and get remote teams talking, focus on more enjoyable games and activities that will break the ice.
An online happy hour or virtual scavenger hunt will encourage remote employees to lower their inhibitions and forge emotional connections with their colleagues. If you want your teams to rethink how they collaborate with each other, an online escape room or virtual murder mystery can also work nicely.
We have lots of ideas on how to have a fun virtual team building. Check out our 9 New Year team building activities, everything you need to host a great virtual holiday party, 8 virtual team building activities to engage employees, and 21 virtual happy hour ideas.
How Can You Incorporate Team Building Activities into Virtual Meetings?
Don’t have time in a busy schedule for a dedicated team-building session? Not to worry. You can integrate team-building experiences into any virtual meeting. If you’re hosting a weekly kick-off meeting on a Monday morning, start your agenda with a few icebreaker games to get everybody in the mood. Planning a longer progress review with an entire department? To ensure participants remain engaged, consider breaking up longer presentations and training material with quick-fire trivia rounds or question-and-answer sessions.
Overhaul Team Building with Gloww
Are your remote teams finding it hard to communicate? Perhaps you need some help creating a culture of openness and togetherness. Team-building activities are an easy way to break the ice and get everybody talking. However, you’ll need the right tools to make effective use of team-building games and other morale-boosting activities.
With a video conferencing platform like Gloww, all the tools you need are at your fingertips. You can bring together groups of any size for daily meetings or weekly get-togethers, with a host of interactive features available to make your events more engaging. Encourage your employees to think creatively with digital whiteboards or test their knowledge with themed trivia games.
You can get started with Gloww for free today. Do you want to discover more about Gloww’s advanced features? Check out pricing tiers to learn about our premium service. If you have any questions about Gloww and what it can do for your business, feel free to get in touch with the team today.
