by Caryl Teh

We want our team bonds to stay strong, even if we have to work from home. But like we said in part 1, arranging team-building activities can be difficult when everyone’s schedule is different. That’s why we’ve prepared a variety of options for you to choose from based on what works better for your team:

• Real-time (done together simultaneously) vs. asynchronous (each person participate at whatever time works best for them)
• Practical (serves the dual purpose of building social bonds and improving the way you work in a more tangible way) vs. just for fun (not work-related)
• One-hit wonder (one-off, and maybe again when new team members join) vs. on the regular (ie. daily or weekly)

6. Take your team’s pulse with “Health Monitor”

Type: real-time, fun but practical, on the regular
Time: 30-60 minutes
Tools required: video conferencing, or Google Docs

Health Monitor is an avenue for you to examine HOW you’re working together, instead of what you’re working on. Do you have the right balance of skills on the team? Are you making decisions effectively? Do you understand the dependencies around your work?

Why is this important? When your team isn’t sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, it feels easier to sweep issues under the rug rather than address them head-on. But little problems have a way of growing larger while you’re not looking, and eventually, you’ve got a crisis on your hands. Health Monitor prevents this by prompting teams to self-assess and troubleshoot solutions on a regular basis and keep their weaknesses from becoming full-blown liabilities.

7. You can’t have Nerf wars, but you can still have .gif battles

Type: asynchronous, just for fun, on the regular
Time: 15-30 min
Tools required: video conferencing, group chat

If you’ve enjoyed a good Nerf battle with your colleagues and friends, you’ll love .gif battles. The game consists of four rounds, each with its own theme. You’ll use Giphy.com or Google Images to find a .gif that fits with the theme for that round and submit your gif to the group chat. Once everyone has sent in their .gifs, the team votes on the round’s best submission. At the end, the person who wins the most rounds will be crowned the Ultimate .Gif Battle Champion of All Time™. Just think of the glory! Don’t be afraid to add a tiebreaker round if needed.

8. Uncover your superpowers

Type: real-time, fun but practical, one-hit wonder
Time: 30 min individual prep, 60 min as a team
Tools required: video conferencing

If you’re ready to go beyond surface-level connections with your team, this is the activity for you. Each person will prepare for the session by taking an online strength finder assessment such as Clifton Strengths. During the group session, everyone hops on a video call and takes turns sharing their results – top three strengths, lowest-ranked strength, and something in their results that surprised them. Then discuss as a group how that person’s top strengths contribute to the team already, and how we could make even better use of them.

This is an intensely personal activity. You’re going to feel a bit vulnerable and exposed, so it works best if there’s already a sense of psychological safety amongst teammates. But because you’re discussing each other’s strengths, the conversation tends to be very positive and affirming. Chances are, everyone will walk away with a deeper sense of belonging and an understanding of the unique value they bring to the team.

9. “How you doin’?”

Type: real-time, fun but practical, on the regular
Time: 5 min
Tools required: video conferencing, group chat

This is a five-minute ritual to implement at the beginning of weekly team meetings. Have a group chat that’s dedicated to keeping track of how each person is feeling that week. Maybe they’re struggling with something in their personal life and are a bit low-energy. Maybe they finally ran that 10k over the weekend and are PUMPED for the week ahead. It’s an easy way for teammates to let each other know when they might need some extra support or patience, or when they’ve got good vibes to spare. (A Trello board is a helpful tool for this if your team is up for learning how to use it.)

10. Share some good tunes

Type: asynchronous, just for fun, on the regular
Time: varies
Tools required: Spotify or Google Play, group chat

Raise your hand if you and your remote teammates talk about music! Of course you have, everyone loves talking about their jam! Using Spotify, create collaborative playlists that anyone on the team can listen to and help curate. Try creating an upbeat, “get $#!t done” playlist, a soothing “de-stress” playlist, or any other theme that suits your team.

When your team isn’t an office desk away, spending time together does seem take more intentionality. But it’s not impossible, and it’s very much worth the effort. So if you missed part 1, be sure to catch up HERE, and start taking small steps to make your team feel closer and more connected to each other. Happy team-building!

Source:
Atlassian