You may be thinking to yourself, our team is remote – is virtual team building effective – if we are not in person? It absolutely can be. Read our 4 tips below on how virtual team building events can be effective to bring your team together and re-energize them in their day jobs.
Get to know your team ( Common Interests )
I have worked on many small and big teams and I thrive getting to know my team members, even though I am partial introvert. Whether your team members talk about it or not – they want to get to know one another.
As you are thinking about a virtual team event, talk to the team and get ideas. As the planner, it is also important to consider different types of events that will also get them outside of their comfort zone.
A paint class could be an immediate crowd pleaser, if you have a competitive group or a range of creatives. A majority of team events I have worked with it is a ‘dare to fail’ and explorative class that engages team members to use a different part of their brain. There are a lot of benefits – with the right guidance – on leveraging a creative activity for a team. Whether you decide to paint or create a new dish the evidence is clear. You can absolutely do this in a virtual environment if you have a good partner and teacher leading the class.
It is important the instructor or teacher is focused on the team and their needs. I typically get to know the participants as they are joining the call. I pepper in ice breakers to get a sense for things they enjoy and organically bring them together in conversation through out the class. As the conversation deepens, the team continues to paint unconsciously.
They are engaged, thinking creatively – all while in this virtual experience. It is possible with the right guidance for any group. ( Trust me ) Here are easy painting ideas if you need help coming up with a few.
What are your goals for the event?
This is an important one. Ask yourself – why are you holding this team building event? Has the team been working really hard? There may be new team members you want to welcome. Perhaps your celebrating a big project the group has completed. There are plenty of reasons. You can celebrate this virtually with the help of a good vendor.
Knowing up front WHY the event is being held – we be sure to talk about that in the virtual event. By talking about it, welcoming someone new, verbally and seeing your team to THANK THEM for all their hard work – is special and different. One underlying benefit of a virtual paint and sip class is to celebrate who they are outside of the work setting. No matter they work in the office or from their home – bringing them together in this fun virtual environment is something a good partner can help you CELEBRATE and engage your team with such activity.
Again, the right partner is key. If your vendor isn’t focused on your team’s experience, the team could check out and it isn’t an effective virtual team event.
Engagement & Ice Breakers
Okay for a vendor to get to know your team and make it effective team building experience, we need to get to know your team. We have handful of ice breakers we use, based on your group. The reason ice breakers are important because, we can better engage and stimulate a group when we know more about them. The most important part is we can instate conversation, based on common interests and more.
Here are a few fun icebreakers for team events we like to use:
- Getting to know the team = “Before we get started, tell me a little bit about your team today and what you all do.”
- Holiday related – Halloween is right around the corner. Is anyone dressing up or have any fun things planned?
- Creatives – “Are there any creatives out there? Some of you may not paint, but any photographers, amazing cooks or builders?”
- Cooking and Food – “As we head into the holidays, what is one of your favorite meals you look forward to?”
- Special Guests that may pop in to today’s team event – This is kids, partners, cats and dogs. Each have their own opinion and curiosities. It is always fun to bring this up, if a cat or a child doesn’t interrupt first.
- Advice – DON’T BRING UP WORK. Most people don’t, but a gentle reminder.
Growth by doing & taking action
I am incredibly passionate about empowering others to get outside of their comfort zone. This is more important than even, as we sit in our virtual environments. Effective team building virtually is giving employees a space to take action and grow by doing. To be challenged and sometimes a paint class is a great way to do that.
Participants come into a team event knowing they are going to talk to their employees and muggle their way through an activity, but what if it was more. What if an activity was designed to do more for them as individuals and the team entirely. A creative activity like painting allows team members to use the other size of their brain and think different. This exercise of painting give them an opportunity to tap into creativity in new ways, trouble shooting ( how do I paint a hat ) and boost their confidence ( wow that looks like a tree, yes! ).
A good effective team building event will not only ‘entertain’, but it will give your team an opportunity to grow by doing and bring those skills and experience back to the work place. It may result in more of an open minded, troubleshooting different, being more adapt to problem solving and increasing their confidence on new projects.
With the right partner and intent behind a team building fun event – a lot of incredible things can come from it. It doesn’t have to be boring and a ‘oh we have to do this’. We make it fun, educational and a win-win for the team member and company.
Steps for Success
Above, I have provided you a bit of insight on what I have learned and how you could use the advice planning your next team building event. The most important thing is to be open minded to how any event, with the right leadership and meet and exceed your expectations.
We offer a range of creative activities that may be a good fit for your team. If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact us.
Meet the Author
Meagan is the founder of Paint and Sip VT. Her experience varies from digital marketing, coaching, training, service-focus background, web development, art and more. Outside of teaching team building paint classes, she loves to bake, spend time outdoors mountain biking and enjoying time with her son and husband in Vermont.