THE ULTIMATE LIST OF TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES

Working together in the same place presents serendipitous moments, where sharing an elevator can turn into grabbing a coffee together. Seeing each other on a daily basis builds trust and increases camaraderie. But when we’re remote, we have to work extra hard to feel we’re part of a team and think outside the box for team building activities.

Even though we can digitally connect with people all over the world at the click of a button, we have to find new ways of emotionally connecting as well. So how do we create closeness even though we’re far apart? How do we reach through the screens?

The Ultimate List of Virtual Team Building Activities

Maintaining team cohesion requires both creativity and adaptability. We’ve curated a list of virtual team building activities designed to weave the social fabric that binds teams together, even when miles apart.

Regular Social Interaction

Daily Social Habits

• Webcam interactions and virtual water cooler chats (books, cooking, pets, humblebrags, song of the day)
• Social time during meetings (icebreakers, warm-ups, or check-ins)
• Learning each other’s language
• Fitness challenges and games

Virtual Offices and Engagement

• Virtual office tour – Ask team members to share photos or videos of their home office setup and discuss their favorite workspace hacks.
• Using virtual offices, telepresence, or virtual reality setups to connect
• Connection and energy activities during meetings
• Regular celebrations – High-Five Fridays, Get-to-Know-You Wednesdays

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Scheduled Activities and Games

Scheduled Socials

• Virtual meals and drinks with delivered food
• Host dance parties (virtual or e-live!)
• Present your hobby, talent
• Watch movies together – Google Chrome has created an extension called Netflix Party, which allows you to simultaneously stream Netflix with anyone (plus equipped with a chat window and a play/pause button)
• Create a holiday calendar for holiday parties

Online Gaming

• Quiz nights, treasure hunts (check out Dr. Clue)
• Puzzle solving (jigsawpuzzles.io, rebuses.org)
• Video games and board games (Tabletopia, charades, Pictionary with a random word generator, Taboo, Monopoly, Risk, Chess)
• Drawing personal maps
• Team Keyboard Racing

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Asynchronous Activities

• Personal introductions – Have each person create a user manual to introduce themselves to the team.
• Just say thanks – Showing appreciation can boost morale. But more importantly, not showing appreciation can decrease morale. A simple thank you can go a long way. But if you want to take things a step further, check out our list of gift ideas.
• Health tips – Ask teammates to share tips for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
• Create a holiday calendar – Different cultures celebrate with a variety of rituals. Get to know your workmates by knowing how they celebrate.
• Host a recipe exchange – A fun way to share your favorite cuisine.
• Make a “team timeline” or “highlight reel” of successes – Creating a timeline or video of highlights is a great way to record your team’s achievements. Don’t forget to look back every once in a while to see how far you’ve come.
• Async dance party, anyone? The Zapier team picked a popular song off Spotify, asked everyone in the company who was online to pull up Apple’s Photo Booth app and take a five-second video of themselves dancing, then upload it to Giphy and create a GIF of it. Then, they created a montage and posted it in the company-wide Slack channel.
• Compile a playlist together – Create music playlists and share your favorite songs.
• Donate to a cause together – A great way to build camaraderie is in service to others. Find a common cause and have everyone participate through service or a donation.
• Show and tell – Share meaningful objects and explain why they are essential.
• Fitness challenges – Create your own or get inspired by using one of The Conqueror’s virtual fitness challenges to get your teammates out of their chairs and moving more.
• Collaborative drawing – Take turns adding to a drawing on a shared virtual whiteboard.
• DIY Challenge – Assign a DIY challenge like creating a piece of art from recycled materials or building a birdhouse, and have team members share their creations.

 

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Special Occasions and Celebrations

Celebrating Milestones

• Create a holiday calendar for holiday parties
• Sending cards (birthdays, anniversaries, and other life events)  and gift deliveries

Recipe and Culinary Events

• Recipe exchanges and shared cooking events
• Team background decorating
• Team cause donations

In-Person Experiences

• Regular in-person work sessions
• Office exchange programs