With the majority of people working from home this past year, many of us have learned just how isolating it can feel to work on projects alone. By introducing fun, group-based activities to your employees during virtual meetings, you can stimulate communication and create a sense of team camaraderie, even while everyone is physically separated.
1. Virtual Coffee Meet-Up
Arrange an online session with coffee in hand to have a general chat. But there's one rule: no work-related issues. It will certainly be a change from your usual meetings, but it will allow people to maintain and strengthen friendships.
2. Original Story
A creative game you might try is to make up a story together. Begin with a short sentence, then give each employee the opportunity to say a few words out loud within a time limit. The idea is for each person to say whatever pops into their mind first... which could result in a very funny story! This allows everyone to tap into their creative side, promoting problem-solving and the ability to think on their feet.
3. Caption This
Here's another concept worth trying to encourage employee engagement. Print various images, then ask meeting participants to think up a caption for the image, write it down, and, when everyone's done, hold up their answer. This will stimulate visual and writing skills, an excellent way to boost ideas and creativity.
4. Personalized Item
Almost everyone has a topic or hobby they feel passionate about. Ask everyone to bring an item to the virtual meeting and allow each individual time to share why this object is important to them and how it reflects their personality. Doing so allows those who may not be skilled at answering on the spot to feel more relaxed among their peers when talking in a group scenario.
5. True or False
In this activity, each member makes a statement about themselves and everyone else must decide whether that statement is fact or fiction. This will enable employees to engage more deeply—and likely have some laughs—while learning more about one another.
6. Artistic Skills
For this creative exercise, ask everyone to design a piece of art using objects they have at home within a specific time frame. The more creative the better! This will encourage their creative and proactive skills, which are very important in a work environment, as well as foster healthy competition within the group.
7. Get Your Colleagues Running For Items
An activity that can be fun and encourage exercise is a scavenger hunt. Create a list of everyday items, along with a few random ones, which your employees must then gather as quickly as possible. Perhaps you can reward the winning employee with a gift card or voucher. Physical exercise helps boost productivity for work-related tasks later on in the day.