Remote Team Building - pulling together

Team building is not only essential in the current pandemic situation, but it is also too often neglected. (Virtual) team building is of great importance for outstanding collaboration and goal achievement within any team. The good news is that there are many different ways to strengthen the team, even when everyone is working from the home office.

Team building events strengthen a group’s collaboration and motivation. As teams had to move into the home office from one day to the next, there is still a lot to catch up on when it comes to communicating properly within companies and succeeding together, even remotely. Employees who are not used to remote work are still uncertain and face major challenges, which is why cohesion and the definition of goals and strategies are all the more important.

Central problems in remote work: social contacts in everyday working life are missing and isolation increases in the home office. Furthermore, people are also restricted in their private contacts because of the measures taken to contain the pandemic.

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.

Michael Jordan

Bringing company culture into the home office

Team building measures strengthen a group in its collaboration and motivation. After teams had to switch to the home office almost overnight, there is still a huge need to improve how companies communicate properly and succeed together remotely. Employees who are inexperienced with remote work are still uncertain and face major challenges, which is why cohesion and the definition of goals and strategies are even more important.

Central problems caused by remote work: social contacts in everyday working life are missing and isolation increases in the home office. As a result, it becomes even harder to build a sense of belonging within the team or even a company culture.

In addition, because of the measures taken to contain the pandemic, people are also limited in their private contacts, which tends to worsen the overall mood.

Talent wins games. But intelligence and teamwork win championships.

Michael Jordan

Communication, communication, communication

In remote work, a visual connection via video chat is especially important, because facial expressions and gestures matter enormously in communication. Studies show that body language accounts for 55 percent of communication. One of our ways of staying in digital contact is a daily meeting in which we talk about how the previous day went and what is coming up today. Since we work fully remotely, these meetings are a fixed part of our routine and result in a team that works together with clearly defined goals.

One of the basic rules in almost all our online meetings is: camera on!

In our online event Remote Leadership - purpose is key in December 2020, we also talked with Prof. Dr. Kathrin Köster from Köster + Partner about how important communication is right now. Especially interesting was the contribution from one participant, who talked about how she and her colleagues hold regular team meetings in which everyone speaks openly about the current situation and also about private matters.

In addition to team building, we also discussed with Prof. Dr. Köster how important mutual motivation and constructive criticism are, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. This includes being open to criticism from others, critiquing yourself, and also actively asking for criticism from the other person.

For that reason, we recommend creating a feedback format that fits the team. At ElevateX, for example, we hold a regular retrospective. In it, we talk about which opportunities and risks await us in the coming weeks and what is currently going well or still needs improvement. You can use a variety of templates for this, as you can see from our last retro.

Remote team building: popular events

Popular activities for strengthening and motivating the team are events and activities that can be done together as a group. Without the coronavirus pandemic, these would include cooking classes, bowling, or hikes. Today, we have to switch to the virtual world. Examples of current collaboration include games such as drawing and guessing (Skribbl.io) or solving puzzles together in an online escape room. Interesting training measures are also possible, for example in personality development as a team.

• Drawing and guessing game, e.g. via Skribbl.io
• Among Us for up to 10 players
• “Show and Tell” - after a short preparation, each person gets one minute to present a personal object and its meaning
• Quiz à la “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in teams
• “I’m packing my suitcase”

Virtual coffee breaks can also help reduce the sense of distance and provide a welcome change to recharge, just as mentioned earlier. After work, it is certainly possible to talk about a well-earned after-work beer, because contact after work is also not possible right now and should therefore not be neglected too much. Finally, things like a dedicated communication channel for funny pictures or videos can be a nice change of pace and can truly work wonders for the working atmosphere.

From our point of view, it is important to consciously shift the focus away from work now and then. Much like in the office coffee break, where people usually do not talk about business either. This gives team members the chance to exchange ideas openly and learn about each other’s private lives, which leads to a closer social bond within the team.

Surprisingly, there are also events that would normally take place in person but are available in remote form. A wide range of online events can be found, for example, from the provider Eventflotte.

There are no limits when it comes to team building. What matters is not to bring the team together just once, but to do it regularly. It is also important to adapt the events to the team and, as a manager or even as a regular employee, to consider whether the team prefers a weekly coffee break or an after-work beer.

Conclusion: From small things to big results

Finally, it is important to pay attention to small things, just as in “normal” collaboration: a smile in the morning, greeting each other, saying thank you, and giving praise cost nothing, but they build people up individually and shape a team.

Michael Jordan is right: intelligence and teamwork are the keys to success, especially when classic factors such as personal contact in companies are not possible. In other words, the whole team pulls together, because everyone is in the same boat and each person’s individual goals align with those of the team.

How do you approach (remote) team building? Which formats have worked well or badly for you? How regularly do you run events like this? Feel free to send us a message - we are very interested in exchanging ideas.