Why virtual team building?
A lot has changed over the last fifteen years or so in the way we work and interact. While cubicles are still very much a part of corporate culture, the name on the cubicle may not belong to one employee. Between the explosive growth of the internet and the ensuing globalization of the work force, far fewer teams occupy the same physical space than even in the recent past.
According to US Census Data as of January 2016,
- 20-25% of the workforce works virtually with some level of regularity
- Approximately 50% of US workers have the potential to work virtually
- Between 80 and 90% of US works have expressed interest in working virtually on some basis
The benefits to large corporations are numerous.
The census statistics don’t even include the millions of business owners who work from home. Many of these entrepreneurs have teams working from across the globe. They can keep overhead low and gain a competitive edge over larger organizations.
So how does this affect teamwork and any attempts at team building? How do you build a team when you aren’t in the same physical location?
Face to face still matters
The first and most obvious answer, of course, is to schedule a face to face, live meeting or event experience. Make the most of your time together and include team building elements within your agenda. It’s effective and great for connecting your group. That’s what corporations with multiple locations do on a regular basis. Easy peasy, right?
But let’s deal with reality
In theory we can all get together, sure. But what about the virtual teams made up of freelancers and outsourced personnel? It’s less likely you’d pay for travel, accommodations, food and other expenses for multiple days for multiple team members. Especially those who aren’t full time employees and are potentially paid at a globally competitive rate. The very savings that gives these organizations a competitive advantage can’t be spent on creating the logistics needed for a team building event, right?
But this is a very realistic and common scenario for teams in today’s global economy.
So what is virtual team building?
In these circumstances, team building events must adopt the virtual culture. Jump on your video conferencing solution and start with the basics such as ice breakers.
- Does everyone on the team know how to pronounce each other’s name?
- Does everyone on the team even know who all is on the same team?
- Share favorite foods and regular past times.
- If appropriate, share pictures of families and friends.
From there, you can move to some basic fun activities such as:
- An online digital scavenger hunt
- Funny online games or trivia games
- Competitions about the organizational brand
When you’re ready to go a bit deeper and spend the time, try out an online personality profile and review your profiles together. Discuss how this impacts the work you do and the way you communicate with one another.
Just because you don’t share the same geography, don’t neglect building your virtual team.
To discuss strategies and customize your virtual team building program, call 855-TEAM BLD or contact your representative today.