Patrick Lencioni, famous for his book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, strongly believes that effective collaboration is imperative for any business to succeed. He highlights that while working together seamlessly is a rarity, it significantly improves a company’s competitive advantage. Nevertheless, achieving efficient teamwork is not always a straightforward undertaking, and so many businesses resort to team-building activities as a strategy to improve their collaborative processes.
Developing teams can be challenging in an era where employees are not necessarily confined to the same physical environment. Nevertheless, it is still feasible to create a sense of togetherness and solidarity even when the workforce is dispersed. This can be achieved by leveraging digital resources and promoting colleagues to establish and maintain regular communication with one another.
Establishing a productive corporate culture should be the top priority. It is crucial to foster a robust corporate culture to ensure that everyone in the organization shares the same vision. This can be done by promoting effective communication, implementing consistent policies and embracing shared values.
Once the company culture is in place, consider trying some of these team-building activities.
Icebreakers Games
In a conventional office environment, it is reasonably effortless for colleagues to get familiar with each other. However, in a remote work environment, team members may find it challenging to conduct face-to-face meetings and might not meet for an extended period.
To help participants of a teleconference or face-to-face meeting become acquainted with each other, an icebreaker activity should be included in the team building exercise. This will help ensure that everyone is at ease and able to collaborate effectively.
Possible ways to achieve this are:
- Asking each participant to share “Something interesting about themselves.”
- Injecting humor into serious topics (while ensuring that it is clean and appropriate for the workplace)
- Charades
- Implementing activities such as quizzes or surveys
There are no set rules for icebreaker activities. If you believe that it will assist your team in becoming more acquainted with one another, then it might be useful to incorporate it as the initial step in your team-building exercises.
Photo Competitions
In a conventional office setup, team members generally put in effort and resources to create a visually appealing workspace. If you have remote workers, you could consider giving them a parallel opportunity to showcase their workspace by organizing a photography competition.
Capture images of each individual’s home or work offices and conduct a competition to determine who has the finest decorations, the most inventive layout, and so on.
Engaging in this challenge will allow team members to virtually “tour” each other’s workstations, just as if they were present together. This can enhance team morale, motivating staff to enhance the appearance of their workspaces.
Meeting at a Coffee House
Team members who work in close vicinity to one another could arrange periodic meetups at a nearby coffee house. This can be an informal and comfortable approach to discuss upcoming projects and also to develop a better understanding of one another.
When individuals are spread out geographically, what are the implications? In such cases, it is feasible to hold a virtual conference, with participants situated in separate cafes rather than all in a single location, with each individual accessing the conference from their own computer.
Before commencing, it is advisable for every team member to introduce themselves and share some details about their preferred coffee house, such as its ambiance, location, etc. This serves as an excellent icebreaker and allows everyone to familiarize themselves with each other’s capabilities and shortcomings.
Online Treasure Hunts
A method to promote team-building within the workforce is to split the team into smaller groups and assign the same task to each group. This could involve something known to them, for instance, requesting each group to locate a park, fountain or signpost indicating the boundary of their locality. This could be an entertaining and interactive activity that brings the team together and inspires them to work in harmony.
Designate someone to lead your team and delegate the responsibilities to be fulfilled by the members.
The team leader will capture images of the objects and post them on a task board. The victorious team will be the one that successfully locates all of the objects in the shortest time.
Organize a Contest or Game
Productivity can be heightened, and morale can be elevated through worker competitions.
Linking competitions to employment is not mandatory; there are alternative methods to motivate individuals to prioritize their health, well-being, and learning. Competitions that emphasize these principles can be an excellent means of creating connections and cultivating collaboration among team members.
It is crucial to ensure that all individuals are thoroughly informed about the rules and the deadline for submitting their entries to the competition. Additionally, we should strive to make the contest as inclusive as possible, welcoming all members of the public.
Remember to announce the results, so that everyone can extend their felicitations to the winner.
Karaoke/Open Mic/Comedy Night event
Although it’s frequent for staff to socialise beyond the workplace, remote workers may not have similar opportunities until arrangements are established to accommodate them.
We highly recommend arranging a virtual meet-up where everyone can come together and have a good time. There are many online applications that enable users to participate in activities like singing karaoke, cracking jokes, and reciting poems. This could be a fantastic way to entertain yourselves and foster a positive environment.
Avoid getting too serious and allow people to drop in and out at their leisure. Your team might enjoy themselves so much that they’ll want to transform this into an annual tradition.
The Conclusion
As managers of distributed teams, it’s crucial to prioritize team development. If employees feel detached and unappreciated, it can negatively impact their performance and morale. Investing in team development activities can foster a sense of belonging and fellowship, enhancing motivation and productivity.
By implementing even a few of these measures, you can boost morale, increase productivity, and make everyone feel that their work is valuable.
