If your workplace has moved to a remote setting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be on the search for ways to encourage strong team communication and relationship building. Team building has long been an important component of supporting company culture and boosting morale, but many employees and managers agree that this is more challenging when working from home. If you’d like inspiration for fostering camaraderie among your team members, check out the relationship building tips for remote teams we share here.
Trivia Contests
There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to motivate employees to work together as a team. Virtual trivia contests are an excellent way to spark conversations and improve communication among coworkers while having some fun along the way. Platforms like Water Cooler Trivia make it easy to generate weekly trivia quizzes so remote employees can look forward to consistent team bonding and socialization.
Photo Sharing
Looking for creative ways to welcome new members to the team? Break the ice by hosting a photo sharing session via video chat. Unlike a problem-solving challenge or competition, this exercise simply serves to help employees connect and learn more about each other. To execute this team building idea, prompt employees to choose a photo that’s unrelated to work to share with the group. Ask each team member to explain what’s going on in the photo and why they chose it. Although this exercise is simple, you may be surprised to discover the conversation and responses that stem from this activity.
Create Personal User Manuals
Working together efficiently as a team requires each employee to be courteous of others’ preferences. This is difficult or impossible if team members don’t have an understanding of each other’s work style. To encourage team cohesion, ask employees to write up a personal “user manual.” You can download a template for Keynote or PowerPoint here and walk your team through the idea behind the exercise. For example, do your co-workers prefer communicating by email or instant message? What time of day do they have the most energy to perform their best work? By writing up and storing these personal user manuals, your team may have a better chance at boosting communication and gaining deeper insight into how each individual functions best.
Learning Circles
Remote work can be isolating and monotonous if you don’t shake up the routine. To help employees grow and get to know one another better, set aside time for participating in learning circles. For this activity, allow employees to choose a topic of interest related to their industry that they’d like to learn more about. Group individuals into teams with similar interests and have them research the topic, then perform a short presentation on what they’ve learned.
Working remotely may become a mainstay in our culture even after the conclusion of the pandemic. Although this type of environment poses challenges to building camaraderie within the team, it’s possible to create strong relationships between remote employees. The team building tips for remote teams mentioned here may be a great start to help your employees bond and discover more about each other. Team building is just the first step in creating a workplace that functions at a top level. Quality office supplies are also a must, regardless of where your employees work. If you’d like to invest in the supplies that your team needs, please contact us today to learn more about our selection of products and services for your remote or in-person offices.
