Hybrid Working Team Building Activities
As we continue to adapt to the new working world, organisations are adapting a hybrid approach to working. Essentially, this means that some employees are finding themselves returning to the workplace while others may not.
This means that when it comes to bringing employees together for meetings, team building or just a social get together, organisations may also have to consider the hybrid approach here too! Organisations will need to consider activities that mean employees can join in whether in the office or out, or indeed from their homes.
Luckily, the pandemic has meant that there are now various options online for supporting team engagement and bringing people together, without, well, bringing people together!
The benefits of these hybrid engagement activities is that they can:
- Connect different team members from across the business
- Boost morale and motivation
- Allow all employees to participate, wherever they are
- Increase productivity & engagement
Hybrid Working Team Building Activities
There are some fantastic businesses out there who have developed brilliant, engaging team building opportunities using the new technological advances that we have seen over the past 18 months. Engagement, however, doesn’t always have to come from a full-on team building event or full day online conference. It can be as simple as a quick morning coffee on Zoom!
Check out some of the best ideas we have come across that could help keep your teams engaged and motivated.
Low Cost & Quick Hybrid Working Team Building Ideas
Networking Coffee Morning
This is a straightforward idea that is easy to organise and could be a very beneficial activity, particularly for newer team members or junior employees. Set up a weekly coffee morning where employees are invited to attend an online call and ‘meet’ different employees from the organisation.
This allows staff to branch out and meet a variety of people of different levels that they wouldn’t usually get the chance to. Inviting senior managers helps keep team members engaged and aligned. It also gives them the opportunity to network and seek out opportunities.
Virtual Water Cooler
Another quick and easy one to plan. This online catch up gives employees the chance to catch up and chat about something other than work! It could be a topic provided ahead, something to do with current events or just a hot topic like ‘what’s everyone binge watching on Netflix at the moment?’.
Just setting this time aside for people to catch up and chat with their peers is a great way to fill the gap of chatting with your colleagues as you make a coffee or grab some water.
Online Games Competition with Prizes
Hosting ongoing online games such as a trivia quiz or bingo are great ways to lighten people’s mood and bring a bit of fun. Providing simple prizes such as gift vouchers can really go a long way in making people feel motivated and engaged.
Team Building Projects
Create fun but valuable projects where team members need to get their assigned group project done. These projects could be work related such as
- Coming up with own business plans to generate new business
- Creating cost saving ideas across the business
- Develop new innovative tech ideas that would work in the businesses.
To do this, have everyone join a video conference or video chat for three to four hours, order food, and work together collaboratively. Since your team isn’t meeting in-person for lunch, pay for employees to order via vouchers or apps.
In Person Meetings & Non-Work Time
If your office has remote employees that may be clustered in a particular region, set up meetings for your team to get together on work and non-work-related discussions. Many cities have shared office space centres where cubicles, meeting rooms, and offices can be rented for the day or coffee shops are another option. Send members of your team to one of these locations and encourage the exchange of ideas and support.
“Remote Cribs” – Day In the Life Of / House Tour
Many remote employees take a great deal of pride in their home office setups! If this is the case with your team, host an ‘MTV Cribs’ like programme for showing off remote workspaces.
Just like workers in the office like to decorate and personalise their offices or desks, remote workers often create their own haven in their home offices. Pick one remote employee at a time to present a video or Zoom showing their workspace and their typical day. Encourage employees to highlight how they keep their productivity levels up!
Hybrid Working Team Building Ideas for Larger Teams
If you are looking for a larger, team building activity, there are also some fantastic options out there that work brilliantly with remote employees as well as when face to face. Below are just a few of our favourite ones that we have come across.
Lights. Camera. Action
Delivered on a platform such as Zoom, teams are split off into breakout rooms. Each team is given a theme and must employ forethought, planning and expert execution to make it relevant. Participants step out of their comfort zone and take on acting, scriptwriting, and filming roles. Groups then divide into their team breakout rooms to begin brainstorming a storyline.
Discussing different techniques or innovations, they develop a strategy to make their movie stand out with an unforgettable soundtrack. Once the plan is agreed, each person is responsible for producing their part – capturing the scenes on their phones or tablets and uploading them to the server. This activity is perfect for remote engagement and collaboration.
Team Painting
The Team Painting experience starts with receiving a premium art box with everything your teams need inside. Facilitated through Zoom, (or another platform of choice) a host will guide you and your team through the process and keep everyone energized! You’ll receive a zoom link with instructions that will allow all participants to connect remotely.
All participants download the app (iOS or Android) which has options that cater to everyone, from newbies to pros. Choose from an extensive gallery of professional art or incorporate a theme that can be planned ahead of time. A completed canvas consists of 12 mini canvases that link together to create a 9″ x 9″ piece that comes with an optional frame.
The fun doesn’t end with just the painting. Participants can share feedback and pictures of their personalized pieces on a virtual whiteboard. Canvases can also be taken back to your office and snapped together to create an inspiration wall or company mural. Team Painting ensures painting success, no matter what the skill level.
This is a fun activity perfect for inspiring and motivating remote teams, boosting company morale by having a bit of fun!
In It to Win it
Inspired by the TV game show, Virtual In It To Win is full of excitement and nail-biting moments as teams battle it out in various 60-second challenges. Before the day of the event, participants will be provided with a simple list of household items to have on-hand ready for the In It to Win It virtual team building event.
A facilitator will then virtually guide your remote workers through each challenge before teams break away in virtual break out rooms to practice and assign roles. Participants then have practice time not only to try the events but brainstorm ways to be more successful.
With 60 seconds on the clock, the pressure builds, and team pride is on the line! Teams participate in timed training to practice challenges. An MC/facilitator will comment on all the challenges along the way, building the excitement through humour and music. Everyone will then come back together in one big virtual room, cheering and vying to become In It To Win It! Champions.
This event can be done remotely with employees only needing access to the internet, a camera and a microphone. This activity is fun and gives teams some friendly competition!
Team DNA
Knowing our individual and collective Team DNA helps people and teams understand their strengths and weaknesses, make better decisions, avoid unnecessary friction, and increase productivity.
With Remote Team DNA, you and your team will discover the nine unique behavioural clusters that all of us possess when working within a remote team. Working remotely can cause changes in communication and contribution and learning your Team DNA can help resolve that.
Understanding the Nine Team Roles:
- The nine team roles
- Tried and tested
- Behaviour, not personality
- Work-based
- The importance of feedback from others
- Strengths and allowable weaknesses
After an understanding of the nine team roles is reached, individuals will discuss which team role they feel they fit into. When complete, participants receive a team report and use reflective observation to identify what occurred during the exercise. They are then invited to parallel these observations to real-life circumstances. In doing so, participants can make permanent, effective changes in their behaviour.
This team building activity is great for improving team management and coordination skills and enhancing tolerance of other operating styles.
There really are so many interactive and engaging options available for creating unique team building experiences virtually so that during this time of transition, your employees can get together and communicate, share ideas and have fun!
If you’d like more insights on what makes your employees tick, the hug platform can help. Find out how by requesting your demo today.
