Remote work environment became prominent in the covid-19 era. However, such a work model is here to stay, therefore, companies must adapt to it. While providing many benefits for both employees and employers, remote work doesn’t come without challenges. One of the main obstacles is the difficulty to connect with colleagues and form deeper bonds that are essential for each teamwork.
Luckily, HR experts have come to the aid and started practicing virtual team building that allows employees to get in touch with colleagues from different locations. Whether your employees work from the office or have a remote and hybrid model of work, team-building exercises are vital. So, why is team building so beneficial?
1. Improves communication
One of the main objectives of each team building or get-together is improved communication. Being physically apart can strain professional relationships and harm teamwork. Due to that, organizing virtual activities like team meetings can be beneficial for the communication of the entire team.
In case you’re part of an international organization, do keep in mind cultural differences. Try to come up with internal company culture that will have clear outlines on how to communicate with one another. Conduct training and seminars to teach such skills and help remote employees be better at virtually connecting with one another!
2. Increases productivity
Productivity has been a top issue for companies across the world. Keeping employees active and productive during the work day is challenging and even more so in a remote environment. How can team building help you maintain and increase your team’s productivity?
Team activities help you outline the main goals and keep your employees in line. By determining the goals, your team will learn how to work together and achieve them as a team. On top of that, online activities like video games or puzzles help your team focus on the goal and apply productivity to real-life situations.
3. Boosts morale and positivity
Burnout and disengagement are real phenomena that affect a large percentage of the workforce. Such occurrences lead to quiet quitting, absenteeism, and job changes, which negatively influences the turnover rate which is a larger issue in remote companies. To prevent that from happening you need to create a positive atmosphere and boost morale by organizing team activities.
Fun team-building activities such as drawing the word, detectives, charades, and complimenting one another can truly help your team create a positive atmosphere, get to know each other better, and boost morale. Also, such positivity can inspire people in their daily tasks and help them overcome daily issues and struggles.
4. Sparks creativity
Team activities also spark creativity. No matter the industry you operate in, a dose of creativity is always welcome. While working remotely limits some of the main ways teams usually foster creativity, virtual team buildings, and meetings can teach your employees how to work smarter and not harder. What are some of the fantastic and imaginative ways you can spark creativity in your remote team?
Even though virtual games and exercises can seem unconventional, they are exactly the reason why they boost creativity. Online activities such as mind mapping, drawing, or associations can help you generate new ideas, gain a fresh outlook on the situation, and find a new angle of looking at things.
5. Builds trust
The first thing that comes to people’s minds when team building is mentioned is trust falls. For some reason, many employees see team activities as building trust, and they aren’t too far off! While in-person activities can help you step out of your comfort zone and learn to trust others around you, virtual activities may have an obstacle there. Even though it may seem challenging, it is not impossible!
One of the main ways of building trust in an online environment is experience sharing. Encourage employees to share some personal or interesting stories that happened to them. You can also indulge in the activity called two truths and a lie where each member guesses which statement is false. Building trust doesn’t have to be a burden and it can be beneficial and interesting in a virtual environment as well!
6. Provides a sense of community
Working remotely definitely provides employees with a range of benefits including flexibility. However, remote work can sometimes be even more exhausting as teams are not at the center of happening. This can lead to losing touch with the brand and company while making them feel like they aren’t contributing enough. Show them they are a vital piece of the puzzle by providing a sense of community. How do you do that?
Create a bigger picture and constantly remind them they matter. Small acts of kindness can take you the long way. Consider providing your employees with custom clothing with your brand’s colors and logo during online seminars. Such merch will remind them they matter no matter how near or far they are to the headquarters!
7. Prevents feelings of isolation
Whether you’re a people person or you prefer to work from the comfort of your quiet zone, remote employees sometimes tend to feel isolated. Working from 9 to 5 leaves you little to no time to hang out with your friends, which may lead to a shrinking social circle. And how will you meet new people if you’re sitting at home and working most of the time?
That’s when team building comes to aid and helps remote employees feel less isolated. To make your remote employees feel connected, implement weekly meetings where team leaders or managers will present news and changes across the company. Also, such meetings will bring people together and form tighter bonds with one another.
Final thoughts
As you can see, team-building activities provide numerous benefits for remote employees and their companies. Without team building for remote teams, your employees may feel estranged, which affects the overall teamwork and communication. Prevent that from happening by planning team activities for remote employees and engaging with them on many different levels. Try them out and see the perks for your team and company!
