The pandemic has been incredibly challenging for everyone. Many companies and businesses had to close down. Tons of employees were furloughed. And for those employees left with a job. Four out of 10 of them are less motivated to work. At a time like this, what your employees need is something that will boost their morale. And there’s no better way to boost employee morale than through team building.
What is team building? And why is it so important?
Team building serves one purpose. To get your employees to learn how to work better as a team. It is not just about grouping a certain set of employees. They must form a bond with each other that allows them to reach their goals more efficiently. What your employees learn in team building will reflect how well they do together at work. These activities can be as casual or as formal as you want them to be. As long as the activity allows them to:
- Learn how to trust each other
- Communicate better
- Solve problems together
- Be creative and think outside the box
- Get new skills
Then your team building activity should be effective. But you’re probably thinking, “how is it possible to do team building during the pandemic?” Most people think team building activities should be done outdoors. That is the most fun way to do it, and you still can. But you can also conduct team building activities remotely. That’s why we’ll be discussing the different ways you can do team building during the pandemic. Both remotely and outdoors, while following proper COVID-19 protocols.
How to do a physical team building
The first thing you need to do is ensure is that none of your employees are infected by the virus. Or have come in contact with anyone infected by the virus. One way to ensure that your employees are not infected is by conducting a swab test on every one of them.
Next, pick an outdoor location. The more ventilated the better. A campsite with few people is a good location. Camping is considered low to moderate risk. So remember to wear your masks at all times. Even if all you test negative, you still need to wear a mask and sanitize often. If you’re camping overnight, make sure that every employee has a separate tent.
Keep in mind that camping can get cold especially at night and early mornings. You’ll want a modern outdoor fire pit near you to keep you warm. Lastly, don’t forget to keep your distance. Here are fun team building activities you can do while social distancing:
- Egg Toss: The rules of the game are simple. Each employee must be paired up. All they need to do is toss a raw egg from one player to another without breaking it. However, the distance between the two players gets bigger and bigger. Hence, making it more difficult to catch the egg without breaking it. It’s a great game to test your employee’s control and build trust with one another.
- Giant Volleyball: This game requires a giant inflatable ball, a net, and two poles. It is essentially volleyball played with one humongous inflatable ball. Employees will be separated into two teams. If the opposite team is unable to catch and pass the ball back, the other team gets a point.
- Ultimate Frisbee: Ultimate Frisbee is a game of Frisbee that combines elements from soccer, football, and basketball.
How to do remote team building
For remote team building, all you’ll need is Zoom and some free time. Here are some fun virtual team building activities you can try with your employees:
- Happy Hour: Have an open discussion with your team over drinks. It doesn’t have to be alcoholic of course. They can choose whichever drink they prefer. Take this as an opportunity to see how they’ve been feeling during the pandemic. And if you notice a majority of them feeling down, try to find a way to get a few laughs. Even if it means telling corny jokes.
- Among Us: If you haven’t heard about this new online game. You should try it out with your team. Among Us is an online game that is set in a spaceship. The goal is for everyone to finish their tasks on the spaceship. But there is an impostor among the crew. The impostor can be one of your employees or two. The impostor’s goal is to sabotage and kill the crew members before they get to finish their tasks. The goal of the crew members is to find the impostor and vote them out before everyone dies.
- Lateral Thinking Questions: These are questions that are meant to help people think outside of the box. It is a great way to improve your team’s problem-solving skills and a great way to get to know them more.
Team building is incredibly important now that we’re in a pandemic. We need to learn how to work together with our teams, especially since we’re working remotely. Aside from learning how to work together. Team building activities can also create better bonds and great company culture.
