Remote work is a reality. Recent polls show that 74% of employees now consider working remotely as the next normal. Coupled with events like the COVID-19 pandemic, this has driven many teams to work from home or with distributed teams.
A remote staff represents an incredible opportunity for companies to expand their talent pool and build more diverse teams. But it also means that they will lose the personality of interactions in the workspace that are important for cohesion and team building.
As the new world of work has less to do with the ‘where’, companies must focus on the ‘how’ and the ‘why’. Virtual team building activities are a great way to stimulate interaction and create bonds within your remote team. But when planned poorly, they can represent a disruption in team dynamics. That is why we prepared this guide to help you with planning your virtual team building experience.
Panning
To have a successful team building activity is necessary to plan every detail and to communicate this plan to the participants. They need to know what to expect and what is expected of them. The better informed and prepared the participants are more likely it is that they will enjoy and benefit from the team building event.
For example, traditional team bonding activities are typically hosted outside the workplace and may require light clothes. If someone shows up wearing a suit, this person will not feel comfortable during the team activity. That same is valid for virtual events. The more guidance attendees receive, the better will be their experience on the day of the team building activity.
Preparation at the HR department
As mentioned before, the better informed your team is, the better will be the results of the team building experience. As a manager, there are several actions that you can do to make sure your team will enjoy the virtual team activity.
Get your team excited about it with internal marketing
Your staff must understand why you are organizing this event. To be engaged, your team must care about it. So make sure you communicate why you think this program is necessary, what issues it is addressing. Or make it a fun reward for the team’s hard work.
As in the mooveTEAM app, we have a leaderboard. Maybe you can announce some prizes for the teams who reach the top. That will add a competitive element that will make them excited about the activity.
Reminders
Send reminders of the event to your team. Send emails about the activity for 1 week, three days, and one day before the event, always creating the expectation for a fun and unusual experience. Also, make sure to inform them of the instructions required for participation.
After the event
When possible, you should include a debrief session at the final of the team building activity to solidify the key takeaways and get collective feedback. Post-program surveys are also a good form of inquiring your team about their experience.
Participant Accountability
To be successful, virtual team building activities also need preparation by the part of the participants. They need to make sure they have the resources required to connect and interact with other participants.
Preparation
As mentioned before, participants should receive communication with instructions on how to prepare for the team activity before the actual start time. Ask them to follow the preparatory instructions and make sure they have all set for the moment of the game.
For mooveTEAM activities for example:
Participants must have an Android device with the versión 5.0 of the operating system or later, or an iOS device with iOS 12.0 or later.
The device must be fully charged. And for outdoor activities, they must have GPS and 4g connection activated, and about 200MB of free disk space available.
Punctuality
With mooveTEAM, you can organize synchronous and asynchronous team activities. In the case of synchronous activities in which participants must play at the same time, it is important to be punctual. Nobody wants to be on a video call waiting for someone to join the activity. These delays disrupt the team activity and the whole point of a team building event.
Asking for help
Technical issues may be a burden during virtual team events as participants are responsible for setting their equipment to join the game. With the mooveTEAM app, participants can ask for help contacting the staff through the chat, solving potential problems without interrupting other teams.
Engagement
Interaction and engagement are fundamental to the success of your team building activity. Participants must be encouraged to engage in the game, taking pictures, making videos, and actively playing a part in all aspects of the game.
Internet speed
A poor or unreliable internet connection is the main issue impeding participants to enjoy a virtual team building activity. It is very frustrating, and there is often little to none that can be done to mitigate these problems once they occur.
mooveTEAM works perfectly with a standard 4g connection, and once the game is download into the user’s device, it won’t consume much bandwidth. If your activity requires video chat using a computer and some video conference software. We recommend a minimum internet speed of 10mbps upload and 5mpbs download for a comfortable experience.
We also recommend that the computer is connected to the network by wire so you can be sure the connection will be stable.
Conclusion
Times are changing, and maintaining a cohesive and engaged remote team is critical to the success of any company. Conducting remote team building activities is a simple and effective way to make your team interact in a relaxed and friendly way as if they were all in the same office. The camaraderie and laughter generated in these activities will be the glue that will keep them together during any adversity.
Organizing a virtual team building event is simpler than you think. Just choose the tool and the correct approach to start reaping the results.
Do you want to know more about our remote team building options? Contact us, and a representative will present you with a demo.
