Tag: team-building

2022 Trends in Remote Team Building

It’s been almost two years since many companies began adopting remote work policies. From the looks of it, many of those policies may be here to stay. Remote workers overwhelmingly report that they like working from home, and there is mounting evidence showing that remote work has a lot of benefits.

Despite the benefits of working remotely, some workers report that they feel lonelier, more isolated, or unsupported. Whether you’re working remotely or in a hybrid model, building and maintaining cohesion among teams is essential when working remotely.

The best way to build a remote team is to find opportunities for them to collaborate in ways that make them want to engage with each other and help them feel valued. Even if it’s not strictly work-related, finding the right opportunities for team-building is vital. Here are some ways team leaders are doing that in 2022.

Virtual Hangout Spaces

Although daily conversations around the watercooler may not be prevalent or even possible when most of your workforce is remote, companies are giving their employees virtual hangout spaces or places where they can informally engage with each other outside of work meetings. You can think of them as virtual break rooms—online spaces where your employees can catch up, decompress, and be themselves.

While you can create an informal space for employees using Zoom, you may want to consider more creative solutions, especially if you’re all starting to feel Zoom Fatigue. For example, Mozilla Hubs allows employees to share files, chat, and interact directly via virtual avatars. Gather Town is a similar platform that functions as a hybrid of Zoom and an 8-bit online video game.

Playing Games Remotely

Speaking of games, playing games together remotely has become a popular way for remote workers to socialize and work together in a fun, low-pressure environment. It’s a great way to build relationships and blow off steam after work by solving problems, learning about each other, and having fun together.

You have many options when it comes to choosing something that your team will genuinely enjoy. Some board games, like Werewolf, can be played remotely. There are also some party games that teams can play nothing but a smartphone and a computer with a webcam, like the popular Jackbox series. Of course, if you want to keep things simple, you can even play a few rounds of bingo over Zoom.

Virtual escape rooms, murder mystery nights, and similar activities also give remote teams the chance to do something fun together while working towards a common goal. While they may not be everybody’s thing, they’re a fun, memorable excuse for teams to learn about each other and be themselves.

Messaging Apps

Messaging apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord are a must for remote teams. They also provide opportunities for relationship-building.

Messaging apps often have features that let teams communicate in private channels that can be organized for specific purposes. Create a dedicated channel for celebrating each others’ successes, sharing good news or photos of pets, or talking about niche topics, and you will give your team a low-pressure space to have positive conversations that bring everyone closer together.

Some teams have even started having “gif battles” over Slack or other messaging apps, wherein two participants at a time try to find, for example, “the best gif of a zebra” while the rest of the participants vote on who “wins.” When it comes to building relationships between remote teams, sometimes it pays to get creative and maybe even silly sometimes with the tools your company already has at its disposal.

Design Clothes As A Team

Some companies have been giving their employees the chance to collaborate by designing team t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, hats, and other custom clothes with their company’s logo on them. Giving your team the freedom to be creative can be an excellent way to learn more about each other and have positive experiences working together doing something fun.

Letting your team design clothing they’ll actually want to wear shows that you value their input, making them feel respected. It makes the designs they produce feel more personal and more connected to the company’s identity. It’s also an excellent team-building exercise for a remote team. Plus, who doesn’t like free stuff?

Gift Exchanges

Everybody likes either giving or receiving gifts, or both. The holidays are an obvious opportunity to bring your team together for a gift exchange, but why not make it a regular thing?

Some companies have begun treating their employees to “Quarterly Christmas” or “Quarterly Care Package” events. Using tools like Trello or Slack, some remote teams exchange gifts or host virtual White Elephant events every quarter. Team members send each other small gifts, like coffee from their favorite local cafe or copies of their favorite books.

How to Encourage Office Comradery

Encouraging genuine team camaraderie is key to running a successful workplace. When your team collaborates and has an active friendship spirit, they can be more productive and achieve goals with ease. With camaraderie, everyone wins, the employees will be happy in the office, and more quality work will be done every day. These are some of the ways you can foster the spirit of trust and friendship at the office.

Celebrate Team Success

Celebrating and praising the worker’s efforts and their contribution to the team will go a long way. It makes others respect and appreciates their work. That will start more healthy relationships based on admiration around the workplace that will eventually lead to camaraderie. Some companies have engraved crystal awards they present to employees and teams that show cooperation and teamwork. You can adopt the same strategy and keep everyone working towards a common goal. Acknowledge even the small team wins to keep everyone motivated. The significant milestones should receive bigger awards and praises. You can have celebratory lunches or drinks for the small wins, anything to keep them going. When team members get comfortable with each other, they are more likely to learn and share ideas.

Define Roles, Responsibilities, and Hierarchy

To avoid clashes between your employees, clarify all the roles and responsibilities around the office. Any ambiguity with the hierarchy and roles will prevent the members from working together effectively. Defining responsibilities and roles are more than just finding the right person for the job. It’s also about making employee’s experiences pleasant and fostering teamwork. Your employees will work better together when there is a clear, structured hierarchy at the office. Most workplace wrangles and misunderstandings arise when people overreach responsibilities and duties. Defining roles will help you build camaraderie and also ensure work gets done faster and more efficiently.

Recognize and Encourage Individuality

As an employer, you should not expect everyone to be the same. People have different backgrounds, values, and beliefs, and they often carry them to the workplace. You have to find a way of encouraging these individual traits for the common good. Allow some room for individuality in every team so that everyone can peacefully co-exist. Try to keep away from the traditional ways of working. Take suggestions from your employees on what will make the office more favorable for them. You will realize everyone has something different that encourages creativity and productivity in them. Make changes so that everyone feels comfortable in the office for all the hours and days. It will make the employees feel seen, appreciated, and part of the team.

Embrace Team Activities

Social events are the ultimate camaraderie and team-building activities. Have office contests that will encourage friendly competition around the workplace. Ensure everyone participates, and all the efforts should be recognized. It helps people understand their team members better and not in a forced way. You should also consider recurring social meetings, even if it’s fifteen minutes every two days or every week. Sometimes when work gets overwhelming, people can lose touch. The social meetings give them a chance to reconnect. Workshops are also very encouraged as they bring people together and they are very informative. There are endless team activities; all you have to do is pick one or two of them that fits your team. It doesn’t have to revolve around work-related issues, sometimes getting together away from work can be fun and a relationship booster.

Don’t Micromanage

Allow your workers to have autonomy. One way to run a successful team without micromanaging is hiring wisely. Hire department heads or leaders that you are confident will deliver the best work. They will also lead by example by building camaraderie. Put faith in your employee’s abilities and skills; it shows them that you trust them, which builds confidence. Plus, when you constantly check on their progress, they will develop camaraderie with you and not the rest of the team. Allow them to work together and thrive on their own. You should know by now that people act differently around the boss. When you spend most of your time in the employee’s workplace, you discourage chit-chat and free interactions. So trust in your choice of team leaders and all the workers and let them work together without you supervising.

Conclusion

Try any of these five tips if you want to encourage the spirit of camaraderie in the office. You have to understand what it takes to foster work relationships. After all, trust is very hard to establish, so you need to create a conducive work environment before you encourage friendships and unity among the team members.

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