Since the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work has become the norm for a great number of companies across industries. Although, in many ways, it comes with a number of benefits for both employers and employees, it also has several drawbacks. The main disadvantage of dispersed teams is a lack of direct contact between coworkers, which companies try to balance with virtual meetings. However, to build a good team you can also reach for additional solutions, such as online team building games. In today’s article, we will present some of the most popular activities that are perfect for remote teams from every part of the world. Read on.

Team building games – table of contents:

  1. Why are team building games important?
  2. Popular team building games
  3. Summary

Why are team building games important?

Remote work has been with us for more than 3 years, but still, many people can’t get used to the lack of daily contact with colleagues. To cope with this problem, companies often introduce daily or weekly meetings aimed at both discussing the action plan and “just meeting each other.”

Some go a step further and organize meetings for their employees based on online team building games – in this way, they try to take care of virtual team building. Why do they do this? Because they believe that this will improve employees’ well-being, and their commitment to work, as well as lower the risk of physical or mental illnesses (due to increased stress or feeling lonely). What’s more, online team building games can help:

  • build internal communication,
  • boost employees’ soft skills (collaboration, communication, creativity),
  • improve employee relations and the overall atmosphere in a team,
  • induct new hires successfully.

Popular team building games

What team building games work great not only in the field but also online? Here are the best examples, which do not require any preparation from employees – they just need to have access to a computer and connect with each other using a chosen video communicator. Therefore, conducting them often takes less effort than organizing a live meeting.

team building games

Trivia quizzes

Quizzes are one of the most popular forms of entertainment, which works well both in a private environment and at work, as almost everyone enjoys activities that test knowledge in a friendly atmosphere. In the case of quizzes, you can either use ready-made solutions or prepare your own questions. Kahoot, a very popular app, can help you with this. It checks the correctness of answers and the speed at which they are delivered, which introduces an element of friendly competition between employees. Other similar solutions include Mentimeter or AhaSlides.

Word games

Scrabble, a popular board game that relies on arranging words from letters, and requires strong language skills and creativity, can also prove great in an online format. All you need to do is to find a suitable platform (e.g. Wordfeud), set the rules, and share a link with participants. Everyone knows this game, so it’s safe to assume that every team member will be willing to play it, as they won’t be afraid of losing. What’s more, you can play both in teams and individually, which allows for a variety and adaptation to the team’s needs and preferences.

Riddles and puzzles

Developing logical thinking skills, boosting collaboration among team members, and providing entertainment that takes your mind off your daily routine – this is what online riddles and puzzles can offer. These types of games can have various topics and levels of difficulty, which makes them fully customizable to the employees’ needs and preferences. Like word games, they can be played both individually and in teams.

Summary

Internet communication will never replace a face-to-face meeting with another person, daily conversations, and shared meals in the office when not only work is discussed. However, workplaces need to adapt to the changes that have taken place in the labor market in recent years – especially those that are the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Managing dispersed teams and ensuring a good atmosphere between employees is one of the most important challenges facing leaders today. The activities listed above, which of course are not the only ones, can undoubtedly be helpful. Find the right online team building games for your employees and make sure they are part of daily activities, and you will definitely see positive results.

Read also: How to succeed in online team building?

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Author: Andy Nichols

A problem solver with 5 different degrees and endless reserves of motivation. This makes him a perfect Business Owner & Manager. When searching for employees and partners, openness and curiosity of the world are qualities he values the most.