Team building is hard to do with so many people working remotely. You have to dig in and do some creative thinking. Here are some tips for creating a close-knit group of coworkers. They may not all fit your business to a T, but you can adapt them to your situation and bring your employees close together with a little creative thinking.
Create Fun Distractions
This may sound counterintuitive, but creating fun distractions is important, and it’s one of our top tips for creating a close-knit group of coworkers. Start the day with a fun question or another kind of team-building activity that has nothing to do with work, then broadcast it to everyone and see what happens.
Post some guidelines about the answers, of course, but you may be surprised by how creative some of your employees’ answers are. This, in turn, can help create a feeling of closeness.
Run Enlightened Meetings
Most companies have meetings to handle departmental issues, but that can be challenging right now. So why not create an online company “town hall” meeting where everyone receives company news, updates on future plans, and more?
Give your employees the chance to ask questions and get straight honest answers. There’s a good chance this kind of meeting will become a staple. It’s definitely worth a shot!
Create Challenges and Contests
This idea is an extension of giving your employees interesting tasks to do. If you have employees working remotely, how about asking them to send their most creative pictures of their work environment?
Maybe a recipe swap contest might be in order, and contests related to holidays, like Valentine’s Day and Halloween, can be another way to draw remote workers into the family concept. There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, either, with an online game where teams can compete against each other to be the first to correctly answer trivia questions or solve puzzles. Give the winners their choice of company swag to mark their victory.
Consider the Fitness Challenge
One of the biggest issues that come with remote work is the challenge of staying fit, especially with many gyms closed and cities imposing COVID-19 restrictions.
Having employees create workout videos is a great way to deal with this issue and draw people closer in the process, and the side benefit is that employees become more productive as they get healthier.
It’s been a tough few years, but companies that recognize the value of a positive, supportive culture have worked hard to maintain good team spirit with these and similar strategies. Good luck encouraging closer ties among coworkers at your business!
