Teams are vital for workplace success. Almost everyone who works, works on a team at some point in their career. Characteristics of a successful team include a sense of belonging, a climate of trust and openness, successful and participative leaders, valuing diversity, the ability to self-correct, creativity, and interdependence. These characteristics can be fostered through team building.
Team building looks very different right now due to COVID-19. People are working on teams with people they may have never met before. Many employees feel isolated due to staying home but team building can be a great way to bring more human interaction into life and work.
Here is a list of activities that are proven to be very effective in team building remotely:
- A house tour or peek into each other’s workspace: Employees are used to seeing each other’s desks, personalized with pictures and things that define them. Now employees are all working in different areas and at home. A team member can volunteer to take a video or host a video call showing off their work from home setup and favorite parts about their home. It is a good way to get to know team members better and understand where they are doing their work every day.
- Virtual book club: Encourage employees to read with a virtual book club. Find a book that is relevant to the work you’re doing and the company’s values. Each week assign a portion of reading for each session. This will give something common for employees to bond over and encourages socializing and critical thinking.
- A “random” Slack channel: Slack is an amazing mode of communication for workers. A random channel is a constant team building activity that creates conversation. People can share things like pictures of their animals or families, stories, quotes and movie recommendations.
- Themed Zoom meetings: Create a theme for your Zoom meetings to bring a little fun into everyday meetings. Ask employees to change their background to their favorite city, have everyone wear a hat, use their favorite coffee mug, or have people come prepared with questions to answer. This gives insight into peoples likes, personalities, and brings a little joy into the workday.
- Share your stay at home bucket list: A bucket list is a list of things that you would love to experience in your life. A bucket list dives deep into a person’s personality, passions and dreams. Create a stay at home bucket list to share the creative things you want to do while spending time inside. A stay at home bucket list shows what people have in common right now and are great conversation starters.
In addition to these ideas, check out OpenSesame’s wide variety of courses on team building and teamwork to create a successful team and help your workforce thrive.
With courses offered in multiple languages, and available on multiple devices we help companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired global workforces. For more information on how OpenSesame can save you time and money by curating the right courses for your organization, contact us at info@opensesame.com today.