by Caryl Teh

Working from home can be lonely. Losing the office environment has meant losing those built-in opportunities to form social bonds and build trust with colleagues. That can lead to disengagement, which, in turn, can lead to poor performance on the job. How can your team overcome these hurdles? 

Arranging team-building activities can be difficult when everyone’s schedule is different. So you can choose what’s right for your team by checking out these categories:

• Real-time (done together simultaneously) vs. asynchronous (each person participates 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)

1. Don’t overlook the classic: icebreaker questions

Type: real-time, just for fun, on the regular
Time: 5 minutes
Tools required: video conferencing

Before you roll your eyes and go “Duh … like I hadn’t already thought of that,” understand that some of our distributed teams (my own included) do an icebreaker at the start of our team meetings every week. Even though we’ve been working together for a couple of years and feel pretty connected already, there are always more interesting tid-bits to learn about each other. Here are some examples:

• Who was the last artist you searched for on your music streaming service of choice?
• What are your parents’ best qualities?
• Put these morning routine items in order: breakfast, coffee/tea, open up your laptop.
• What was something that always frightened you as a child?

2. Have an online lunch date

Type: real-time, just for fun, on the regular
Time: 60 minutes
Tools required: video conferencing

Once a month, link up via video conferencing over lunchtime. They can join from their favourite cafe, order delivery, or cook up a little something special at home (because let’s be honest, after a while, heating up leftovers gets old).

Only have 15-30 minutes to spare? No worries. Virtual coffee breaks during your afternoon slump and virtual happy hours after work are fun variations on this activity.

3. Socialise over group chat

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

Group chat is an effective way for distributed teams to stay updated about where the team is at on a collaborative project, but who says you have to keep it strictly business? Set up a group chat that’s just for the fun stuff, like a new restaurant discovery, your latest cooking endeavour (the successes are amazing, and the not-so-successes are often a good laugh), what your home office looks like, or helpful articles or interesting news updates.

4. Have a special online meeting for “present” time! (present as in being with each other, but we’re also talking actual presents ie. gifts)

Type: real-time, just for fun, one-hit wonder
Time: 60 minutes
Tools required: video conferencing, group chat

Whether your team prefers white elephant style or something more thoughtful, you can pull off a gift exchange even if you’re not all in the same place. Each team member buys a gift that can be shipped easily. Instead of announcing what the gift is, send the group chat a picture with a hint.

Over a conference call, you’ll take turns either picking a gift, or “stealing” what someone else has picked. Once everyone has had a turn, mail the gift you contributed to the person who ended up with it.

5. Expand your professional skill sets together with “Learning Circles”

Type: real-time, fun but practical, on the regular
Time: 30-60 minutes
Tools required: video conferencing, study or reference materials if needed

Learning Circles address two problems of distributed teams: (1) forgetting to expand your horizons, and (2) feeling isolated. Choose a topic related to your work that you want to learn more about – anything from communicating better to leadership styles to trends in recruiting practices – and find colleagues who share that interest. Each month, gather over a video conference to discuss a book, article or webinar, or have someone in the group give a short presentation.