So now you know why virtual teambuilding events are important. Let’s talk about how we actually do it. And, more importantly, how to make it not suck. Nobody wants to be the manager that gets roasted on social media for cringey ice breakers.

Rule #1: Talk to your team

So how do you, the manager of a remote team, organize a good team building event? And most importantly, how do you make sure it doesn’t suck? Everyone on your team will have different interests, and one person’s idea of a good time could be another person’s worst nightmare. It’s also not as easy as asking “what does everyone want to do for a teambuilding activity?” The question is too broad and you’ll just get blank stares for the most part.

You need to talk about the aspects of activities that people like

• Do you want to do something cooperative or competitive?
  • Do you want something with teams or free for all?
• Do you want an activity where there’s lots of discussion or something fast paced?
• Do you want the activity to be the main focus or do you want downtime to talk with each other?
• Do you want to connect with your team/department, or connect across teams/departments within the company?
• Do you want to have some real world component?

How does my team like to do it?

On my team, we typically gravitate towards free online games. Sometimes they’re competitive, sometimes they’re cooperative. Sometimes we’ll do a jigsaw puzzle together online and just chat. We do one event per quarter, and always try to bring in 1 other team to join us.

But what about the teambuilding budget you might ask? We buy gift cards for food delivery so the team can treat themselves to whatever food or snacks they like.