Team Building Measures In The Home Office – Virtual Proximity Despite The Distance

For many companies, productive work means good teamwork. This is an essential means of effectively organizing projects in numerous processes and contributes significantly to their success. But within your own four walls, coordinating teams and work groups is often an enormous challenge. How is a team leader supposed to bring together a whole team of employees while everyone is working from home?

After all, there is no face-to-face contact when working remotely, and digital communication often does not come close to honest on-site communication.

But that shouldn’t be a cause for concern because, with the right community-promoting tools, effective digital team-building measures can also be taken when working from home to invest sustainably in a solid corporate culture.

What makes a good team?

The principles of remote team building are not too different from conventional practice. If the right working atmosphere is provided, teams can only really thrive. The most significant factors are trust and togetherness, which lay the foundations for employee engagement and subsequent performance and goal pursuit.

In times of social distancing, when many people suffer from social isolation, conveying a sense of togetherness is essential. The overarching goal is to increase the sense of togetherness among all team members.

It is also essential to note that a team consists of several individuals. Therefore, It is necessary to pick up each member on their stand and, in the next step, create an everyday basis for the entire remote team. The following work in the home office is already supported by it.

Also Read: A Home Office Can Be Set Up Quickly

Team Building Approaches

Integrate new team members

With the help of a “Welcome on Board” round, new members can find their way into the group, and all other team members are familiarized with the new constellation. For example, this can occur as a virtual get-together in a large video call with the entire group or as part of a virtual speed dating. In the latter case, two people introduce each other within a specified time frame (e.g., 10 minutes), and after the time has elapsed, they switch. The visual connection through video conferences enables valuable interactions, which can crystallize a possible constellation for the project work.

Stand Up, Check In, and Feedback

Starting the day with a digital exchange in a video call and communicating about upcoming tasks gives every employee a helpful overview. The stand-up is there to define and communicate mutual updates, goals, and expectations. This allows the team to coordinate with each other within an open context.

In addition, regular subject-related check-ins should be carried out to query the development of projects and their sub-tasks. In these meetings, the progress of the work to date can be passed on to the entire team so that everyone is on the same page. These meetings strive for a solution- and result-oriented exchange. The clearly defined common goal should remain in focus.

In particular, each team member’s feedback in this context is very constructive for future work. In this way, they can react to criticism and comments in the future and optimize their work in the long term.

Especially in this case, positive feedback should not be ignored. Praise and appreciation for excellent work encourage and motivate the team for further collective work.

Virtual coffee break

In particular, “spontaneous” natural communication is absent in the home office. Meeting by chance at the coffee machine or water dispenser is impossible online… Or is it? Since these processes do not arise automatically, it makes sense to offer conscious platforms for unofficial exchange that differ from work. This can be organized with the (video) chat rooms available, which employees can join if necessary and chat casually, just like in the office.

Exceptional tools that deviate from video conferences and still allow for random encounters are, for example, virtual canteens. You can move around the rooms with your avatar and meet work colleagues by chance. If necessary, you can approach each other and start the interaction. It’s almost like real life, including the cute animations!

Shared Experience

” Nothing advances us better on our way than a break .”

Events outside the work context are commonplace in companies. In an informal context, interpersonal relationships among colleagues can be strengthened, with a lasting effect on collective work because happy employees are more productive. But despite the restriction to digital cooperation, team events do not have to be omitted! As the opening quote describes, a relaxing break can drive a team forward in the long term. This can be as simple as a relaxed after-work beer or simultaneous cooking with a live taste test. Even eating together promotes bonding.

But many games that weld together are also possible in the virtual world. These should not be underestimated as remote team-building measures because they create structure and promote cooperation. The choice of a game master and a moderator also defines clear roles. The home office suitable team building games include the following:

All measures at a glance

PowerPoint Karaoke

With a lot of creativity, an employee improvises a lecture based on a given, context-free presentation, and one that is as convincing as possible at that! The opposing group then evaluates it. Not only the ability to present is practiced, but also evaluated constructively and in a non-binding, relaxed atmosphere!

Charade

Pen, paper, and pantomime skills are all you need to bring with you to play the classic guessing game in a video conference comfortably. Because making a fool of yourself in front of the camera now and then also makes a team grow together!

Remote escape room

The favored team activity is now also available virtually! Particularly tricky challenges strengthen the problem-solving ability and creative thinking of a team. Swarm intelligence is required here, and at the same time, it promotes the ability of each employee to work in a team.

Conclusion

Especially since remote work in the home office is becoming a “new normal,” using various digital team-building tools is essential to refreshing teamwork. However, the extent to which team building is necessary depends on the prevailing team and corporate culture. Therefore, a query of needs before implementing new rituals is the be-all and end-all. It should not be forgotten: every team-building measure is valid if the team wants to implement it and sees added value in it.

Also Read: Work Productively – In The Office And Home Office