As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, your firm has probably transitioned to the virtual world. In this time, it is important that team building does not get left behind. To help, we have come up with some fun activities that can be done virtually with your team:
Trivia
What you will need:
- Quizmaster
- Question List
- Video Conferencing
- Paper and Marker
Virtual trivia will take a bit of prep work to come up with a list of questions, but it is a fun way to spend the evening. The question master will read off the question and set a timer for around 45 seconds. The contestants will write down their answer and at the end of the time hold It up to the camera.
Those with the correct answers can leave their answer up for the score keeper to track who earned points for that question. It is a good idea to split the questions into rounds with quick intermissions to update on scores or refill any beverages.
Bingo
What you will need:
- MC
- Unique Bingo Boards for all participants
- A website that generates the numbers
There are plenty of websites that generate both bingo cards and bingo numbers. These boards can be printed out, copied down on a piece of paper, or even recreated in Excel and the rest of the game played like normal. There are a variety of patterns that can determine the winner. The most common is the first to fill a full row, full column or diagonal. Some other patterns that you can use are filling in all 4 corners, an uppercase or lower case ‘T’. If you are looking for a ling game, the winner can even be the person who fills their whole board first.
Scattergories
What you will need:
- Pen and Paper
- Scattergories game
OR
- Categories list
- Random Letter Generator (excluding Q, U, V, X, Y, and Z)
Scattergories has been around since the late 80’s and surprisingly will translate well to a virtual gathering. The rules of the game are simple. To start each round a letter will be given along with a category. Once the category is stated participants have 3 minutes to write down as many answers as they can think of. After time is up, each person goes around and reads their answers. Points are awarded for each unique answer.
Just make sure that you are ready to debate whether or not “Posh” counts as a spice/herb.
Happy hour
One of the most popular teambuilding events is attending a happy hour. However, with restaurants and bars being closed this is no longer an option. Luckily, this can be done from the comfort of your own couch. Just grab your favorite wine or beer or stir up your favorite cocktail and enjoy with your team.
Dinner club
After work, everyone heads to the kitchen to whip up their favorite meal and reports back in an hour or so to share it with their co-workers. Over the course of eating everyone can talk about what they made, their favorite recipes and some of their tips and tricks from the kitchen. Don’t forget to pair your meal with your favorite brew!
Virtual Talent Show
A talent show is a great way to learn more about how your co-workers spend their time outside of the office and if you have a secret talent this is the time to show it off. Set a time limit for each performance and let creativity take over. If you would like to name a winner, it is possible to do this using Google Forms where a survey can be created to rate the performances on a scale of 1-10. The person with the highest average is your winner!
Team building and camaraderie is an important part of running a successful office. It is important that this is not forgotten as work transitions to the virtual world. Hopefully these activities can help provide some entertainment in a difficult time. For some more tips on working from home check out our recent posts on how to maintain a work life balance and use our case management software eLuminate more effectively while working from home.