Lots of us started working from home overnight back at the beginning of 2020. And, while we all enjoyed not having to commute to work, many of us may have felt isolated in our home offices.
Conference calls on Zoom or MS Teams helped bridge the gap for some, but others have still felt disconnected.
The key to building connection and team rapport is the effective use of video calls. When video conference calls are used effectively, even new employees can feel connected to teams they have never met in person.
But how do you use calls effectively?
One of the best uses of the call is team-building activities. And here, we look at some of our favorites.
Top Team Building Activities for Conference Calls
When using team-building activities, don’t use the same one repeatedly every week or every two weeks. Instead, change them up so that people use different parts of their brains, skills, and personalities. Plus, changing it up means that at some point, there will be an activity that everyone enjoys, and your team will learn new things about each other.
1. Murder Mystery
A virtual murder mystery party can be a fantastic way to build rapport. People will often dress up, sparking creativity. And your team has to work together to solve the mystery. So, when team drinks at the local pub or bar are off-limits due to individuals working remotely across the country, a murder mystery can be a brilliant icebreaker.
2. Show and Tell
Another great icebreaker is show and tell. It may give everyone flashbacks to preschool, but it can be a great way for your team to get to know each other. It is also a really quick and easy team activity. All your team members have to do is show everyone an item that is interesting to them. It opens up conversation and can be particularly effective if you have a theme for the items.
3. Quiz
Another old favorite that works well for video calls is a quiz. Again, you can have a theme or just have traditional rounds like ‘sport,’ ‘history,’ or ‘geography.’ You can either create teams or have people play individually. The goal is to get people talking and at least generate a few laughs or conversation starters around non-work topics.
4. Taskmaster
Taskmaster is a show on British TV that translates into a valuable team-building activity. The idea is to challenge team members to complete tasks at home using creative thinking and items around the house. Challenges can be as simple as ‘how many tea bags you can throw into a mug from 8 feet away’, ‘dress up like a rockstar’, and anything in between. The key is to ensure that people are having fun and laughing. The Taskmaster rates how well each person completed each challenge – so there is a competitive element too.
5. Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt around the home is another quick and easy way to create laughs. Simply send people off with a challenge to find (or create!) some weird and wonderful objects. The result is that your team members will learn what makes people tick and see more of a person’s character than what they may see in a generic team meeting.
6. Wine and Cheese Tasting
Finally, even if you cannot all be together, conducting a wine and cheese tasting over video can help build team rapport. You can either send each team member the same bottle of wine (or tasters) and cheese so that your entire team can compare notes (which also makes a nice gift for employees!). Or, you can ask each team member to talk about their favorite cheese and wine pairing. Such an idea obviously has several iterations – favorite pizza toppings, for example. It doesn’t matter what people are eating or drinking, as long as they open up and let their other team members get to know them better.
Team Building Via Video Call
It can be so easy to forget team building when working remotely, but it is actually even more crucial. It helps align people’s motivations and encourages teamwork and communication within the team, producing better results for the company as a whole. Try any of the above today to help strengthen team relationships and see your productivity flourish. Team building may even be a way to decrease the cost of hiring a freelancer by keeping your freelancers happy.
