Management Guide During A Pandemic: Team Building Toolkit for your Remote Teams
Part 3: How to keep your staff engaged during a time of physical distancing.
For so many of us, working from home has become the new norm. There are definitely pros: no more long commutes, the freedom to wear jogging pants during meetings, and more flexibility to juggle household chores. However, remote work can often feel lonely, especially for those who are accustomed to regularly seeing their colleagues in the office. And in these unprecedented times, working from home can also be coupled with fear, anxiety, and for many, the stress of simultaneously having to care for children who are now also at home.
This toolkit was created for managers to provide team building activities for their virtual/remote teams with the intention of improving collaboration, promoting friendship, and helping staff feel a sense of community during this isolating time.
Here are some ideas you can start incorporating today!
1. BINGO
Create some fun and a healthy dose of competition during your next virtual call. Provide virtual work from home BINGO cards to your team and have them mark off the boxes. The first one to call out BINGO wins a prize!
Click here for a complimentary Work From Home BINGO card to try today!
2. Virtual Show & Tell
For this activity, have your team select one item from their home that they would like to show the rest of the group. Ask them to provide an explanation behind its significance and why it is important to them.
Here are some ideas:
Family photos
Favourite piece of art
DIY project you completed
Souvenir from trip
3. Theme Days
Select a theme and incorporate it into your virtual meetings. Does your company offer swag? Have everyone wear a company branded shirt for T-Shirt Tuesdays! Want to show solidarity for a cause? Wear a green shirt for Earth Day.
If you have a weekly team meeting, this is a quick and easy way to bring everyone together.
Here are some other fun theme ideas you can try:
On Wednesdays we wear Pink
Toronto Sports Teams
Hat Day
4. Recipe Share
It comes as no surprise that many of us are spending more time in the kitchen during this isolated state. Sharing recipes and even pictures of the final creation is a great way to inspire your colleagues who might be looking for new meal ideas. An easy way is to create a slack channel that is dedicated to recipes so staff can post what they have tried.
5. Stretch It Out
It's common that when working from home, we tend to take fewer breaks from sitting at our desks. Create opportunities for staff to take stretch breaks mid-meeting by following the same video tutorials. There are a variety of videos you can select from YouTube.
Here are a few that we like:
6. Virtual Happy Hour
Create a virtual happy hour for your team to socialize. Happy hours tend to take place between 3 - 4 pm and can be a great way to end a busy week. Ask staff to bring their beverage of choice whether that be coffee, tea, or beer. Then get together over video conference and chat to end off another successful week!
7. Keeping Kids Busy
Many of us are faced with the added challenge of working from home while caring for children who have been impacted by the closure of school and daycare. It's not uncommon to see children running in the background of video conferences, or hear babies crying in the background during calls. For all the parents who are trying to manage both their work and family lives simultaneously, being able to connect and share tips, ideas and resources with colleagues is a great way to support one another. Create an area through a shared drive or chat that allows staff to add ideas and links to activities for children.
Here are a few that we like:
Sensory Activities for Toddlers
Indoor Nature Activities for Kids
Physical Activities for Kids 2-4
8. Celebrations
Is someone’s birthday approaching? Do you have an employee celebrating their 5 year service anniversary?
Have no fear - the party can certainly go on! Have an e-card sent to an employee, arrange for the team to donate to their beloved cause, or have their favourite cake delivered to their home. There are so many options to make someone feel great and appreciated on their special day even if you can't all physically be together to celebrate.
9. Virtual Fitness Challenge
The stay at home restrictions many of us are under mean we have to look for creative ways to focus on our physical health. A fun way to encourage staff to stay fit is to create a monthly virtual fitness challenge. Pick a monthly challenge and post the rules. The challenges are based on the honour system. When completed, staff will receive a raffle ticket which is entered into a draw at the end of each month for a prize.
Here are some challenge ideas:
Track the number of healthy meals you have each week. One points is awarded for each day (i.e. 3 healthy meals per week = 3 points). Tally total points by the end of the month and see who has the highest points.
Complete a fitness app over the course of a month. We like the Nike Fitness App which offers a variety of fitness modules, and the Down Dog App which is a offering free yoga until May.
10. Mental Health
Dealing with changes to your environment and getting accustomed to a new way of life can pose challenges to your mental health. It's important during times of uncertainty to provide support to your team and create avenues to connect.
Remind staff of the benefits you offer such as EAP and how to access services virtually. Another idea is to create a channel of resources for staff focused on mental health. These can include links to meditation apps like Headspace, books on positive well-being, and links to crisis help-lines. As a manager, it would also be valuable for you to dedicate a few hours a week to be available to your team. The purpose is to connect about things apart from work to help ease social isolation. Your team can sign into the chat if they wish, but it is not mandatory. It does, however, send a message to your staff that you are available for support if needed. Don't be afraid to address the elephant in the room. We are all dealing with the same pandemic and it might offer your team some relief to discuss some coping mechanisms.
We like this graph which provides perspective on what we are able to control when we feel things are out of control:
Who Do I Want to Be During Covid-19?
It is important to keep in mind that as a leader, team building activities are only valuable if you are intentional about the process. Ensure you set aside time and make it a priority to keep your staff engaged and connected.
We hope you discover some creative and valuable ideas in this toolkit that you can begin using with your team!
Need help engaging staff during a global pandemic? Get in touch via hello@mondaymorning.ca
About us: At Monday Morning, we are a team of HR consultants in the Toronto area supporting businesses with their HR needs. With over 15 years of experience, we provide expert HR advice, build people and culture programs for some of the best workplaces, and develop customized solutions to meet your needs. We take the worry out of HR so you can focus on your business
