Remote team building ideas

Since the pandemic has started (and we now thankfully see a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines!), nearly the entire world has switched to working from home on a semi-permanent basis. Many companies, such as Amazon and Facebook, have even decided to remain flexible or fully remote even after the pandemic is over.

In a world with fast and growing globalization, we can expect to have a significant number of employees working remotely; whether that is from home, an AirBnB somewhere in Bali, or at a local coffee shop.

Figuring out how to keep your staff engaged while being physically apart is no easy task. Over my 4+ years working with international staff across different locations and time zones, I’ve gathered some tips and ideas for remote team building activities that can fit your budget:

Postcard swapping

When was the last time you received a hand-written letter? I'll bet it has been a little while. If you have employees from different parts of the world, you can throw an out-of-season 'secret santa' and do postcard swaps!

You'll only need to draw names randomly and get the team excited to participate in it. This is an inexpensive and thoughtful game that will give everyone a reason to look forward to checking inside their mailbox.

Meal kit boxes

This one will require some coordination as you need to know addresses, delivery instructions, and whether there are any allergies or food sensitivities. It is worth the effort though, as having a meal kit box delivered makes for a great surprise in the middle of anyone’s week.

Many working parents are juggling their meetings, kids and households all at the same time and a meal kit is a welcome relief in cooking duties. There are many popular meal kit services, such as HelloFresh, or you can also research some local options to support your community!

Paint and booze afternoon

Turn an awkward Zoom Happy Hour with too many people in the same call into an engaging team activity! There are lots of cheap painting kit set options on Amazon and booze can easily be delivered via Uber Eats.

You can have the team follow along a tutorial or (if you are lucky enough) have one talented employee show off their artistic talent by hosting the session and guiding people through the painting. Alternatively, there are also companies that handle everything from materials to hosting the session for you.

Trivia breakfast

If there is a common topic your coworkers love, like Star Wars or Friends, make it the focus of your Trivia! Enjoying breakfast and playing early in the day will feel like a nice break into the week.

You can easily organize a trivia round yourself (there are many templates online) and get a charismatic staff member to MC the session.You’ll need a video conferencing tool, like Zoom, to host the meeting; you can also use the break-out room function for each team to discuss their answers separately.

Encourage cool team names and come up with a small prize or bragging rights for the winners!

Have regular check-ins and turn your camera on

Alright, this is not as easy as it sounds. First and foremost, we have all felt Zoom fatigue at some point during the pandemic. It seems that we have more and more meetings now, so you'll want to choose carefully how often you conduct team meetings.

Second of all, encourage others to turn on their cameras by turning your own camera on. This is the easiest way to get your team to follow along! Try and share your video regularly (but not all the time) and perhaps even show off your furry friend :)

Casual chat opportunities

Every once in a while, offer casual chat opportunities like Random Coffee or Happy Hour. I encourage you to use randomizer tool to match people into pairs or small groups; and use Zoom's break out room function to facilitate the conversations.

While it is hard to keep your team engaged when working remotely, it's not impossible! There is no need to overthink or overspend in team building activities; your team will definitely appreciate your efforts in coming up with initiatives.