If you have watched the TV series “The Office”, you probably remember Michael Scott’s cringy attempts to organize various team-building activities and prove to his employees that he’s cool.
Unfortunately, our professional experience has taught us that there are a lot of those cringy attempts in the real world as well.
Therefore, to dial down the cringe factor and make virtual team building enjoyable for everyone, we have created an article in which we will:
- Give some examples of virtual team-building activities you can try out with your coworkers,
- Discover how to easily organize team-building activities, and
- Explain the importance of virtual team building.
So, let’s get started!
- Virtual team building activities improve the atmosphere and team cohesion between the members of remote teams.
- Virtual team buildings require careful planning — you should allocate a budget, discuss what activity would be the best, and choose the right time for scheduling the event.
- As a result of successful virtual team building, professionals will feel more connected to their colleagues and collaboration between team members will improve.
- By organizing regular virtual team buildings you increase job satisfaction in your company.
- Once in a while try to organize real-life team buildings although virtual team buildings are a good alternative.
Table of Contents
Virtual team-building events you can try out
The list of virtual team-building ideas is practically never-ending.
Still, we have gathered some of them, and we’re sure you’ll find something you like among them.
Without further ado, let’s start with our virtual team-building activities.
#1: Critical thinking virtual icebreaker
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 2 minutes per person
- Objective: Improving problem-solving skills
- Participants: 5–10
Instructions:
Begin the online meeting by posing this riddle: “Every month a woman writes two words on 50 sheets of paper. Why does she do this?”
Give everyone some time to think this through and listen to their answers.
Discuss them and try to find the one that would best describe the logic of this woman’s acts.
This activity is perfect for those who like solving lateral thinking puzzles, which are great for improving creativity.
So, if your team likes these kinds of challenges, dive in. And remember, there is no concrete answer, the winner is the one with the most logical answer.
#2: “Big talk” virtual icebreaker
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: About 10 minutes
- Objective: Improving communication skills
- Participants: 5–10
Instructions:
Before your weekly meeting, send out current news stories about global events and issues to your coworkers.
Give them time to read it, so that you can briefly discuss these problems at the beginning of your meeting.
Allow your colleagues to share their thoughts on the story. After everyone has shared their views, have a brief open discussion about these affairs.
If you’re interested in everyday politics and global issues, this is the icebreaker for your team.
However, since politics can be a sensitive topic, check with your HR specialists whether this activity can be practiced in your workplace.
Free collaboration tool for remote teams
Easily communicate with your remote team in Pumble, no matter where you are working from.
#3: “Name that emoji song title” virtual icebreaker
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 3 minutes per person’s turn
- Objective: Improving creative thinking skills
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Open a new channel on your business communication app, or use the #random team channel.
Determine who goes first and set a timer on your phone.
The first colleague looks at their last played song and gives a hint about the title of the song to their coworkers using emojis only.
The other players take turns guessing the name of the song until the timer runs out (e.g. 3 minutes).
After that, if no one had guessed, the first colleague reveals the title of the song.
In case you and your team like music and emojis, this might be the perfect game for you.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
If you’re not sure whether the use of emojis in business communication is even allowed, don’t worry, we have an article that will help you decide whether you should use emojis in professional communication:
#4: Something in common
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 3 minutes per person’s turn
- Objective: Strengthening employee relations
- Participants: 3–5
Instructions:
This activity encourages your coworkers to learn more about one another. It is the quickest way for them to bond over shared interests.
To play this game, you need to divide people into smaller groups and have each group identify 3 things they have in common.
This fun and a bit more personal game may help your coworkers discover a shared love for Aki Kaurismaki’s movies or even a shared disdain for marshmallows.
One thing is sure — colleagues will certainly find something over which they can bond.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Learning more about your colleagues improves not only interpersonal relationships in your team but also enhances team collaboration.
To learn more about some other ways of fostering teamwork and collaboration, check out the following article:
#5: Personality tests
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Unlimited
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Choose a personality test for your coworkers and send it to them.
A plethora of personality tests are at your disposal — from the famous Myers-Briggs test to the charming A Walk in the Woods test.
Wait for everyone to do the test and send you the results.
All that’s left for you is to schedule a call where you can talk about your personality types and analyze how they add to your team’s dynamics.
Although commonly used in recruiting jobs and onboarding, personality tests are an excellent way to get to know your team members better.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Knowing your coworkers’ personality types might be useful when you have to assign team roles to them.
To learn more about the importance of team roles in the collaborative process, check out the following article:
#6: Tiny campfire: 100% virtual campfire
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 90 minutes
- Objective: Strengthening employee relations
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Before trying this type of virtual team building, register at some of the websites that offer virtual campfire kits.
Afterwards, they send all the players a tiny campfire kit or share a list of things you need so that you can provide them yourself.
The kit consists of:
- A tiny candle,
- Matches,
- Marshmallows,
- Chocolate, and
- Cookies.
All you have to do is light a candle, make some s’mores, and enjoy a virtual campfire with your colleagues.
This virtual campfire includes:
- Singing songs,
- Telling jokes,
- Ghost stories, and
- Other small team-building activities (such as icebreaker games).
Overall, it provides plenty of opportunities for team bonding.
#7: 5 Finger showdown
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 10 minutes
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: Suitable for larger groups
Instructions:
Schedule a conference call and ask everyone to hold up one hand with 5 fingers extended.
The host should list specific life experiences — visited a beach this year, speaks more than 2 languages, adopted a dog, made pizza from scratch, etc.
Participants that have the mentioned life experience put one finger down.
The winner is the player that puts all fingers down first.
This dynamic activity is perfect for learning something more personal about your teammates.
#8: Pancakes vs waffles
- Type: Real-time virtual team building activity
- Time: Around 60 minutes
- Objective: Improving creative thinking skills
- Participants: 2+
Instructions:
The game starts with a simple question “Pancakes or waffles?”
It may sound innocent, but actually, you have to decide whether you want to keep pancakes or waffles. The contender you didn’t choose becomes eliminated from this world for good.
If you, for example, choose waffles, they are going to another round. So, the next question might be “Waffles or ice cream?”
The point is not to repeat the eliminated words. One who mentions the eliminated word is eliminated too.
This game gets ever more complicated and interesting and can go on as long as you like it.
Although the rules of this game are simple, the game itself isn’t easy — you have to renounce one of the two comparable objects for good.
It’s a real thinker — but in a fun way.
#9: Virtual pub trivia
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Around 60 minutes
- Objective: Improving teamwork
- Participants: 10+
Instructions:
Invite your coworkers to a call and suggest they prepare their favorite drink (beer, wine, or even coffee if they must).
Organize them into smaller teams and read out questions.
Your colleagues have to answer the questions as a team. With every correct answer, they win a point.
It’s up to you whether you’ll have themed trivia, such as popular TV shows or science facts.
So, although you probably can’t go to the pub with your coworkers that often, the pub can come to you. Furthermore, trivia can accompany it.
Also, you and your coworkers can provide awards for the best competitors.
The main thing is that you get to have a drink with your coworkers, get a little competitive, and enjoy your night in.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Professionals like to get praised when they do something well, whether we talk about their work or simple pub quizzes.
Hence, don’t hesitate to say a few good words to them when they deserve it. To learn how and when to do it, check out the following article:
#10: Virtual escape rooms
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Around 60 minutes
- Objective: Improving teamwork
- Participants: 3–5
Instructions:
There are several websites you can use to play this game.
So, before playing, you and your coworkers should find the one that suits you best and register there.
The main point of this game is to go through different rooms and solve puzzles with your team. Actually, you’re solving a mysterious murder and have to escape in time.
So, if you think escape rooms can’t migrate to the virtual realm, this is proof that they can!
Gather your team and enjoy!
#11: Virtual Happy Hours
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: As long as you like it (depending on the participants’ drinking capacities)
- Objective: Strengthening employee relations
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Do you really need instructions for this one?
Ok then, here are some pieces of advice that would make your virtual happy hour even better:
- Gather your coworkers on a video call,
- Set up an interesting video call background (maybe some pub or a restaurant),
- Get your favorite beverage,
- Chat about various things, and
- Most importantly — enjoy!
If you want to make this more structured and fun, you can always pick a theme.
For example, one week a theme can be Margaritaville, and the next one French vineyards, etc.
An extra tip:
Dress accordingly, depending on the theme.
If you’re drinking French wine, don’t forget to wear your brand-new beret.
On the other hand, if you prefer scotch or beer, you might want to look like a proper Peaky Blinder. It is up to you, but you’ll certainly have more fun!
Cheers! I mean, salud!
Free collaboration tool for remote teams
Easily communicate with your remote team in Pumble, no matter where you are working from.
#12: Virtual scavenger hunt
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 45 to 60 minutes
- Objective: Improving teamwork
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
First, you should issue a list of different items participants should gather around their house.
You can do that via video call in Pumble, a business communication app.
The first person who collects all the items from the list wins.
All you need for this game is time, a bit of imagination, and inspiration.
Easy-peasy and loads of fun!
#13: Virtual bingo
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: A week or a month
- Objective: Have fun
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Send the remote work bingo templates to your coworkers.
Choose a game timeline — this could be a week or a month.
Players should track their performance and mark an X for each completed box.
The first one that completes the row is the winner. Good luck!
Although there are no financial benefits involved, this is still a fun way to bond with coworkers over situations you’re all familiar with.
#14: Water cooler channels in your business communication app
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Strengthening employee relations
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
There are no specific instructions for this activity.
The main goal is to organize a video call with your colleagues where you will discuss various channels you are about to discover in your team communication app.
For example, Pumble gives you opportunities to make your own channels or browse through the existing ones (and choose the ones you like). Imagine how many different channels you might stumble upon — from politics related to the ones about pets.
However, the aim is to explore channels for your leisure, not related to work.
Generally, the most common leisure channels are:
- #pets,
- #random,
- #music,
- #movies, etc.
So, business communication apps don’t have to be exclusively about business.
All you have to do is find channels that interest you and enjoy bonding with similar-minded people.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
To learn more about using channels in team communication apps, check out the following article:
#15: The birth map game
- Type: Real-time or asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: 15-30 minutes
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: 5+
Instructions:
This game is ideal for remote teams that consist of professionals from all over the world.
The first thing you should do — create a collaborative map and share it with your teammates.
Everyone should place a pin on the city or town they were born in.
Then, share your favorite stories (fun facts or weird legends) about your birthplaces in a virtual meeting.
This fun game allows you and your coworkers to find out more about one another’s personal histories and other peoples’ cultures.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Working in a diverse team is a huge privilege because we can meet so many different people and their cultures.
However, to make everyone in a diverse team feel respected and valued, we have to learn a few things about workplace communications:
#16: Slipper dilemma
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 10 minutes
- Objective: Have fun
- Participants: 5–10
Instructions:
During your weekly or monthly virtual meeting, someone in your team should shout “Slippers!” randomly.
At that moment, all the participants should move the camera to their feet and show to their coworkers whether they are barefoot or wearing slippers.
Feel free to devise your original awarding system. For instance, all the participants wearing slippers can get awarded 1 point.
Or, if only one person is in their socks or barefoot, they get 3 points, and the rest get none.
Since we’re all familiar with the famous work-from-home fashion — the tops and bottoms might differ drastically (no judgment here) — why not turn this impromptu dress code into a game and have some fun with it?
#17: Remote team cooking challenge
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Monthly
- Objective: Improving skill sets
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Do you like Jamie Oliver?
Have you ever dreamed of using Gordon Ramsey’s famous quotes for fun?
If at least one answer is positive, then this would be a great game for you!
Organize your team, decide on ingredients for the month, and set the timeline. Let your team vote on an ingredient of the month.
They will have a month to cook a dish with the chosen ingredient. There are no limitations. The dishes can be raw, cooked, boiled, baked, etc.
After the team members have completed their task, they should take a photo of the dish and share it with the rest of the team.
All that’s left is voting for the best dish. Bon appetit!
This is a great game to show off your skills, have fun, and compete with your coworkers. So, prepare your pots and pans, and cook away!
#18: Theme photo contest
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: One week or month
- Objective: Improving skill sets
- Participants: 10+
Instructions:
First, decide on the theme of the contest for the week or month.
It can be anything — from red objects to nature or cityscapes.
Each participant sends the photo that best suits the theme and at the end of the week/month, you vote for the best pic.
This game is perfect for all the creative spirits in your team. Moreover, you can always send the best pictures to some photo competitions and see how it will go.
So, take your camera or your phone and awaken your inner artist!
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
There is a saying that the picture is worth a thousand words. To check if that is true and how important images and symbols are in contemporary communication, check out the following article:
#19: MTV Cribs: remote team edition
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: 3 minutes per person’s turn
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Participants should make a short video showing off:
- Their home,
- A favorite reading nook,
- Their home office, or
- A piece of furniture.
All team members get to enjoy watching the videos.
This is a great way for team members to get to know one another more personally and a great alternative to paying visits to your colleagues in real life.
You won’t even have to bring gifts, nor would they have to bother with appetizers and drinks. Pretty convenient, right?
#20: Guess the artist
- Type: Asynchronous or real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 30 minutes
- Objective: Improving skill sets
- Participants: 10–15
Instructions:
Ask your coworkers to draw themselves (or something that represents them most accurately) and upload the image to a shared folder.
After everyone has uploaded their pictures, it’s time to guess who drew what.
Whenever you guess correctly who the artist was, the artist — I mean, your colleague — has to explain the story behind the picture.
This game is another creative way to get to know your teammates better — especially the newbies. You need not be a Michelangelo — all it takes is some creativity and goodwill to describe yourself through a picture.
#21: Virtual movie club
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Monthly or weekly
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Gather a team of like-minded cinephiles. For example, you can create a #movie channel on Pumble and add people who like movies.
Afterwards, choose a movie for the month (or a week).
Then, watch the movie at your convenience, so that you could later discuss it with your colleagues.
You can even set a theme (female directors from Europe, or something similar).
Movie marathons are always a good idea. For instance, you can decide on a Wes Anderson movie month or movies about New York. The cinematic world is your oyster!
This is a great activity for all of you movie buffs.
We’re sure you’ll find a kindred movie spirit among your coworkers.
#22: “Who da baby”
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: 5–10
Instructions:
Ask your coworkers to send you their baby photos.
It would be best to use photos from around 2-3 years old because on them you can see distinct features.
Post the images in a shared document and let your coworkers guess who the baby might be. After that, all that’s left is to grade the scores and announce the winners.
This is an activity for all of you who find baby pics of your friends and acquaintances charming.
However, we recommend playing this with colleagues you trust, who are your friends.
#23: Virtual book club
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Monthly or weekly
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: 6–10
Instructions:
After gathering a team of bibliophiles, choose a book. Again, the same routine as for the virtual movie club — you can create a #books channel in Pumble, for example.
Once you decide where your fellow bibliophiles will be gathered, you can even set a theme, or make a book marathon (e.g. Aldous Huxley’s books, books that have the name of a city in their title, etc.)
Also, define the time you have for reading the book you’ve agreed upon.
All that’s left is for you to have a cup of tea with your colleagues over a video call and discuss the book. We’re sure you’ll be amazed at your coworkers’ insights.
Enjoy this team-building activity with fellow bookworms among your coworkers!
#24: Whose office is it anyway?
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: Unlimited
Instructions:
Ask your coworkers to take a picture of their home office and upload it to a shareable folder.
Participants should take a photo of the desk as it is, without tidying it up first because only then can you get a true representation of your coworkers.
After all your colleagues have uploaded the picture, it’s time for the guessing game. Whose desk is it?
Have fun!
This activity might be a good solution for finding out more about what your colleagues are like because our desks speak volumes about us.
#25: Employee virtual wellness session
- Type: Asynchronous virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Defining company culture
- Participants: Up to 10
Instructions:
Choose a wellness activity for your team. For example, it can be a meditation session for getting rid of stress and preventing burnout.
Find an expert who will explain the benefits of meditation in a short introduction.
After that, they should guide you and your coworkers through a meditation session.
This bonding activity can actually be a series of activities aimed at health and wellness.
One thing is certain — you have nothing but tension to lose.
#26: Virtual card games
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Have fun
- Participants: 3+
Instructions:
If you like playing cards and have a few colleagues willing to play them online, check out some of the websites for digital card games and choose the most suitable for you.
Before you choose one of the various card games, create a channel where you can arrange everything you need before playing — the number of players and games you will play.
Furthermore, whenever you want to wind down, you can always send a message in the channel to check if anyone is willing to play with you.
The catch is to turn on the video call during the game and see the reactions of your colleagues.
So, let the games begin!
#27: Video game night
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Have fun
- Participants: 2+
Instructions:
If you want to play some video games, that can easily be turned into one of the most interesting online team activities.
You just have to write an invitation in one of your dedicated team channels and someone will surely respond.
Once you agree on what game you want to play and when, turn on your cameras, start a video call, and let the competition begin!
#28: Virtual coworking day
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: 2+
Instructions:
If you work remotely often, you might miss your colleagues and feel kinda lonely when working.
But, it doesn’t have to be like that.
Arrange an audio or video call with your colleagues and start working together!
You don’t have to talk all the time, nor are there topics that you must talk about. On the contrary, just like in the actual office — talk when you want about what you want.
From time to time spark up a conversation about something interesting — from professional topics to a simple chit-chat about sports or weather.
This activity will deepen your relationship with colleagues and help you see who shares the same interests as you.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Talking with your colleagues regularly will help you feel better while working.
In the long term, that is crucial for protecting your mental health.
To learn what else contributes to better mental health and why it is important, check out the following article:
Free collaboration tool for remote teams
Easily communicate with your remote team in Pumble, no matter where you are working from.
#29: Virtual talent show
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: 60–120 minutes
- Objective: Have fun
- Participants: 5+
Instructions:
Propose your team to organize a virtual talent show and schedule a talent showcase on a date that fits everyone best. Give the participants enough time to prepare for their performance and let them shine!
You can always invite other colleagues to join as spectators and they can even vote for their favorite performers.
Also, you can turn this activity into an annual virtual talent show.
#30: Playlist creation
- Type: Asynchronous and real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: 3+
Instructions:
Professionals who work from home often listen to music while they work. Hence, why not turn it into a virtual team building by creating a shared playlist?
Namely, you can schedule a video meeting or organize a thread where each participant can send links to some of the songs they would like to be on the playlists.
This online team event is very useful for learning more about your teammates and their music preferences.
Since there is always some new music available, we recommend scheduling this activity every few months, so you can refresh the playlist.
Also, be open to learning more about new musical genres and don’t be surprised if you hear Swedish alternative black metal after Taylor Swift, it is all part of the game!
#31: Virtual tasting
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: 3+
Instructions:
If your teammates like trying new things all the time, you can organize a virtual food or drink tasting.
Post in your communication channels about a new wine or cheese, and see if any of your colleagues would like to try it with you.
Schedule a video call and see the live reactions of your coworkers while trying the anonymous Georgian wine or Belarussian cheese.
Of course, trying new things is always a great occasion for talking and sharing, so enjoy!
#32: Two truths and a lie
- Type: Real-time virtual team-building activity
- Time: Indefinite
- Objective: Getting to know your teammates
- Participants: 3+
Instructions:
For this activity, you only need to gather participants and schedule a video call.
Naturally, some drinks would spice things up since being innovative and open-minded for this game is important.
Each participant tells 3 sentences about themselves — two of which are true and one is false. The catch is to guess which one is false.
You don’t have to compete or keep track of the points in this game, the point is to have fun and learn new things about your colleagues.
How to organize virtual team-building activities?
There are some guidelines you should follow to organize virtual team-building activities that won’t make your coworkers cringe, roll their eyes, and make up excuses for not participating.
First of all, discuss with your team what kind of activities they would like.
Fortunately, most of the activities we mentioned above don’t require any funds at all, and they are completely based on professionals’ goodwill and imagination.
Hence, the next step — creating a budget for virtual team building — wouldn’t be a problem in most cases.
After completing these steps, you should determine your timeline.
Your coworkers need to know how long the activity is going to take, so they can decide whether they can make the time for it. Also, if you work with people from different countries and continents, watch out for the different time zones factor.
Hence, before organizing virtual team building, talk to participants about the best time for scheduling the event.
In case you cannot find the perfect time when everyone can participate, you don’t have to cancel the whole event, just pick some alternative asynchronous team-building activities and wait for the better times for real-time online team events.
Once you go through all of the aforementioned steps, all that’s left for you is to:
- Pick a communication tool, such as the aforementioned Pumble,
- Organize your team, and
- Enjoy.
However, keep in mind that virtual team building isn’t the same as team building in real-life physical space.
So, you might want to pay attention to different sets of challenges since they are easier to overlook when you and your coworkers are not physically present in the same space.
That’s why we’re providing you with a few crucial additional tips.
Tip #1: Incorporate virtual team building in every meeting
Start every meeting with a quick team-building activity to liven up a virtual team meeting.
Choose from a variety of virtual icebreakers to relax the atmosphere.
A good choice would be the aforementioned game of Pancakes vs. waffles, but you can pick any of the activities above.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
To learn more about fostering communication through team-building games in every work setting, check out the following article:
Tip #2: Don’t forget the introverts
Although most often the most reserved people in the office, introverts are the quiet powerhouse of your workplace.
However, in the remote work environment, introverts might find it even more difficult to share their thoughts or to be visible.
Keeping in mind that they are a valuable asset to your team, your job is to animate them in a virtual environment.
A good icebreaker is a completely acceptable way to engage your shy employees. Don’t give up on the silent ones.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
A good manager has to take care that every single employee, including introverts, feels appreciated and valued.
To learn what else are the duties of a good manager, check out the following article:
Tip #3: Follow the 2.5 rule
Long story short, do as many as 2.5 times more virtual than real-life activities.
Also, make sure that in a virtual environment activities last 2.5 times longer than in real life — so, if an activity in real life lasts 5 minutes, you should spend at least 12 and a half minutes on it in a virtual setting.
On the other hand, if you organize one company team building offsite each quarter, you should plan two or three virtual ones for the same period.
Tip #4: Organize real-life meetings from time to time
Sure, virtual team-building activities are great — but every once in a while try to meet with your coworkers face-to-face.
At the end of the day, nothing beats real-life contact.
For instance, hiking tours in the mountains are a great way to get to know your colleagues in a healthy and relaxed environment.
Just make sure that you cover traveling costs for your colleagues coming from other cities or even countries.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Spending time outside with your colleagues, but without talking about your job, helps you achieve a better work-life balance.
To learn more about healthy work-life balance, check out the following article:
Why should you organize virtual team-building activities?
The benefits of virtual team-building activities are manifold.
If you’re unsure whether you should try them out, just look at some of the reasons why your answer to this question should be “Yes”.
Benefit #1: Team building improves your employees’ soft skills
The focus of team building is to strengthen the relationship and teamwork between coworkers and further develop their soft skills in the process.
Since research has shown that 85% of job success comes from having developed soft skills, companies must work on improving their employees’ soft skills.
This is precisely why companies should invest more of their resources into developing these kinds of skills — and what better way to do that than team-building activities?
Benefit #2: Team building improves communication and collaboration
Getting to know your colleagues in a relaxed environment eases the tension you feel when surrounded by people you are not close to. (We’re looking at you, introverts!)
That’s why coworkers need to gain insight into one another’s more personal side.
Team-building activities are a perfect tool to that end since they enable team members to see one another in a different light.
Even your introverted colleagues benefit from this kind of structured communication since these activities give them guidelines for communication.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
If your company fosters formal communication between employees, there are certain rules you need to follow.
To learn more about them, check out the following article:
Benefit #3: Team building boosts employee engagement and job satisfaction
Loss of motivation in the workplace is a serious problem for employees.
Usually, one of the main reasons for that is poor management.
Namely, the managers just have to stop demotivating their employees.
To maintain the enthusiasm their employees feel at the beginning of a new job, managers should respect their employees and work on their relationships with them.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, according to one statistics, companies lose around $500 billion a year because of employee disengagement.
Fortunately, there is an easy fix.
Since feeling valued at work is good for the employee well-being, the management can work on this aspect, to boost employee morale and job satisfaction.
Employees like to be a part of something more than a job.
They want something fun to look forward to — so, when management encourages employees to have fun, employees become more engaged.
And, when employees become more engaged, they become more motivated and more satisfied with their jobs.
Benefit #4: Team building improves productivity
When team members are closely knit, they usually collaborate better, which ultimately leads to company success.
If you motivate employees to work together through team-building activities, you are setting them up for better performance in any type of work environment as well.
Apart from that, team-building activities sometimes reveal hidden talents in your employees — such as leadership qualities — which can later be beneficial for your company.
Moreover, according to Communication in the workplace statistics (2023), effective communication facilitates trust, which has beneficial effects on productivity.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
To learn more about effective communication, check out the following article:
Benefit #5: Team building develops connection and respect among coworkers
Speaking of trust — team-building activities are designed to develop friendships and healthy professional relationships among coworkers.
Since they are the best possible icebreakers for new employees, team-building activities enable newcomers to find their place in the team without even trying to do so.
This way, new employees can develop relationships with their coworkers and bond with them, consequently making a workplace more enjoyable.
Pumble — a perfect video conferencing tool for virtual team buildings
Before you choose the best virtual activity for your team, it is crucial to have reliable team collaboration software at your disposal — otherwise, you won’t be able to carry out your virtual team buildings.
Pumble is an optimal solution since it offers various features that can enable more streamlined asynchronous and real-time communication between coworkers — via:
- Direct messages,
- Video calls,
- Audio calls, and
- Audio messages.
Also, thanks to unlimited message history, no one’s contributions in asynchronous team events will be neglected.
