Team building is essential in any team but may be even more crucial for teams that operate online. Not only does it help foster collaboration, but it also boosts team spirit among employees. However, the usual chit chat by the coffee machine, or the occasional foosball game after lunch just doesn’t exist in the online world. So how can online teams work on team building then you may ask. Well, the options are many, but as avid Teams users, we want to shed light on virtual games provided in the Teams environment. These games use the platform’s features like video, chat and white boards to actively engage colleagues and facilitate bonding. This will in in turn help foster collaboration and team spirit among employees.
1. Team building with Trivia
Trivia is a pretty standard go to option for team building activity and this is easily and readily available in Microsoft Teams through an app called Kahoot! Trivia. Simply add the Kahoot! App to a channel or group, log in, launch the game, and then simply share the pin for team members to join.
You can either select a pre-made trivia, or make it more personalized by writing your own. You can also set a time limit or set deadlines for questions to be completed. As targeted to online teams, you can also play it from any device.
2. Family feud
Family feud is a pretty standard go-to game at festive gatherings, but you can also play it with your colleagues in Teams. By using the Survey Monkey add-on you can send questions to colleagues, then record the top answers. Then split the team into groups and challenge them to guess the top answer to each question.
3. Praise your colleagues
Something we value highly at Dstny is making sure everyone is seen and heard in the team. And what better way to do this than through a game. In teams there’s an add-on called Praise which enables users to send online kudos to colleagues. To get started make sure all teammates have installed the add-on, select the praise icon in the chat, select a badge, and write a personal message to send with the tag. Then players will be able to tag each other with kudos and those praised must reciprocate by sending a compliment to another teammate or entire group.
4. Team building with Bingo
One of the most classic games around is probably Bingo and in Teams there is a version of online team building bingo. You need to first create and share a board with participants and then play during a single or several meetings. You can for example list different milestones in the board such as who has worked over 5+ years, who can code, and who can speak a second language. During the meeting or meetings, present the questions and teammates will mark a square with what applies to them.
5. Pictionary
One of my favourite games is Pictionary. You basically get assigned a word that you have to draw, and other players have to guess what it is that you’re drawing. In teams, you can play this by using a Pictionary generator to select words. Then ask one team member to draw it and the other teammates will have a set number of seconds to guess. Make sure to keep a tally of who guesses right and award the winner with points.
Conclusion
We hope these few tips will help you find fun ways to drive engagement in your virtual team. The games listed are not only entertaining but work great to engage colleagues and break up the monotonous day of isolation. If you’re looking for other games we also recommend browsing around for other fun apps you can use in Teams that suit your online team.