10 Virtual Team Building Activities to Improve Morale and Communication

Did you know that less than twenty-five percent of corporate employees have received training on how to effectively work in virtual teams?

Even though more and more workplaces are going virtual, many employees are uncomfortable with working remotely. This is why it's so important for companies to organize virtual team building activities. By doing this, your employees will become more motivated and will work more effectively. 

If you want to find out about some of the top virtual team building activities, keep reading and we'll tell you about the important details. 

1. Online Office Games

This is one of the most well-known team building activities for virtual workforces. 

Online office games are great for those who want to motivate their employees and give them the chance to develop meaningful relationships with each other. 

It's easy to play these games. The first thing you need to do is break your employees into teams of three to five people. You can then choose amongst yourselves what kinds of office games you'd like to play. 

One of the most popular is called "can you hear me now?". This involves describing words in geometric terminology and then having your co-workers sketch what they hear. It's an ideal game if you want to encourage clear communication among members of your team. 

Make sure to set aside at least an hour to play "online office games." If you want to motivate your employees, consider offering a great prize to the winners. 

2. Water Cooler Trivia

Water cooler trivia is a great game to play if you want to encourage your team to improve their collaborative abilities. This trivia game involves making use of Slack channels, online chat platforms, and Microsoft Teams channels. 

All you need to do is program one of these channels to automatically send trivia questions to your team members on a regular basis. Some employers choose to organize virtual team building events that last for several days. During each of these days, they'll send trivia questions to their employees through their workplace communication channels. 

It's also possible to send "Water Cooler Trivia" questions to employees on a weekly basis. Consider creating trivia questions that relate to your workplace. For example, if you've recently offered in-depth training to your employees, you can take the opportunity to quiz your workers on important topics that you've covered in your training. 

If you play this game on a weekly basis, it's a good idea to declare weekly winners. You can gift your employees workplace swag or gift certificates to popular restaurants. 

3. Tea Time or Happy Hours

Even though there are many benefits to working remotely, it's easy for people to miss the experience of getting together in a physical workspace. Those who work as teams in office environments tend to develop deeper interpersonal relationships. 

For example, it's common for co-workers who work in the same office to go out for coffee during their breaks. At the end of the workday, many teams also go out to nearby pubs to grab drinks together. 

There is no reason to miss out on these important social events just because you work virtually. All you need to do is organize a team meetup by using virtual meeting apps such as Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts. 

To get started, consider scheduling several weekly "tea times" with your team. These gatherings don't need to last more than fifteen or twenty minutes.

It's not necessary to create a detailed agenda during these calls. All you need to do is set aside a time that works for your team and invite them to attend. 

If people enjoy virtual tea times, consider organizing a monthly virtual happy hour to take place at the end of your workday. For these events, it's a good idea to set aside at least an hour. 

4. Organize a Recipe Swap

If you're looking for a virtual team building activity that's popular with those who have families, consider organizing a recipe swap. To get started, invite each person on your team to share one of their most loved recipes. 

After everybody has sent their recipe to you, encourage your co-workers to try cooking one of the recipes every week.

There are several ways you can do this. Your entire team can agree on one recipe every week to cook with their families at home. Or you can ask your co-workers to choose a recipe from the list that is most interesting to them. 

Regardless of how you organize the recipe swap, make sure to check in with your team on a regular basis so that people can chat about what their favorite recipes are.

5. Have a Movie Night

Do you have lots of co-workers who love to watch movies? Even though it's not possible for virtual teams to go to the movies together, you can make a plan to watch the same movie or television show on the same day. 

Make a decision about what you will watch and when you will watch it. On the following day, organize a short virtual gathering so that you can share your thoughts and impressions about what you watched the night before. 

During this gathering, you can discuss things such as what themes you noticed, what characters you liked and didn't like, and what the key takeaways were. 

6. Create an Online Fitness Group

This is one of the best virtual team building activities for those who value personal health. Just because you can't go to the gym with your co-workers doesn't mean that you can't cheer one another on when you reach your workout goals.

All you need to do to get started is choose a social fitness app that is able to keep track of your physical activity, such as Strava. Let your co-workers know what app you'll be using and invite them to start setting and tracking their fitness goals. 

At the end of each month, you can get together as a team on an online meeting tool such as Zoom. Go over your previous month's fitness wins and challenges. At the end of the meeting, make sure that each of you sets a new fitness goal for the month ahead. 

7. Hold a Virtual Lunch Meeting

Since it's so easy to organize virtual lunch meetings, this is one of the most popular quick team building activities for virtual teams. If you're able, give each employee a budget for lunch which will be paid for by your company. 

Tell your co-workers to get whatever they want for lunch and to meet online at a certain time. During your lunch meeting, you can discuss important work-related information. This is a great way to connect with your team in a meaningful way. 

8. Organize Virtual Coworking Hours

Even though virtual teams are not able to be together in the same physical space, they can still use a virtual meeting app such as Zoom to stay in communication about what they're working on and what they might need help with. 

The best way to do this is by creating virtual coworking hours. If collaboration is important for your employees, consider organizing daily virtual coworking hours in the mornings and in the afternoons. 

9. Create a Book Club

One of the benefits of having a virtual book club is that it encourages your employees to learn new things. If you choose to create a virtual book club, it's a good idea to select books that are related to your job. For example, if you work for a travel company, you should select books that relate to the travel industry. 

10. Play Virtual Bingo

It's important that your employees know when and where it's time to play games. One of the best ways to do this is by organizing virtual bingo games. Consider setting aside a few moments every week so that your team can get together online to play the game. 

The best way to make sure that your employees are excited to play the game is by offering prizes to the winners.



Organize Virtual Team Building Activities to Boost Employee Morale

If you've been trying to find the best virtual team building activities, keep in mind that the simplest activities are often the most effective ones. Consider organizing a daily virtual tea time if you want to help your employees get together in a carefree way to talk about what's on their minds. If you want your virtual workforce to be more productive, it's a good idea to organize virtual coworking hours. 

If you want to learn more about virtual team building activities, we're here to help. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions you have.