Ten Things To Consider When Planning Your Virtual Team Building Event

By Author: Planning Your Virtual Team Building Event
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So you’re planning a team-building event, and you want to do it virtually? Wonderful! Luckily over the last few years, it has become easier to help facilitate fun, inclusive, and memorable events through online platforms. Navigating the virtual landscape, however, can be daunting. Whether working with a third-party who specializes in team building events or doing it yourself, here are ten things to consider:

1.) Plan Early
A last-minute Zoom meeting to catch up with your colleagues is easy to throw on the calendar, but building a fun and connective event takes time and research. Give yourself at least a week, ideally, two to prepare.

2.) Know Thy Team
Are your team members new to each other? A simple get-to-know-you event might be the best route. Is your team familiar with each other and just looking to blow off steam? Then likely a group game where everyone is on teams or working towards a common goal might be better.

Or perhaps you are looking to network with other companies or introduce clients to your company? Then a half day conference that blends video conferencing and ice breaker ...
... games might be the way to go.

Have an international team? Then the virtual event space is the perfect place to gather, but keep in mind the time of the event may be tricky. In this case, consider two events to help accommodate different time zones. And if designing your own game, be sure your clues and prompts are culturally agnostic (i.e. no Kim Kardashian references).

3.) Practice Run Through
Now that you know and the outcomes you’re hoping to accomplish. narrow down a list of activities to help you achieve these goals draw up a rough timeline,

And go through a dry run of your event with at least four team members. If you’re planning on your own, note the moments you find exciting, confusing, or not as interesting, . Remember, excitement is contagious, and if you the organizers are not excited for your event, that feeling will translate among your peers. Clear, simple instructions, of course, are absolutely essential for a great team building event.

4.) Collect RSVPs
Asking for an RSVP in advance will increase attendance and allow you to better plan your event. RSVPs also will make your event feel like “more of a thing” which, in turn, will increase excitement and participation.

When collecting RSVPs provide a general schedule to your colleagues and highlight a few details about what to expect. But leave a little mystery about the event - don’t give away every fun detail or overload them with information. And, of course, think of RSVPs as a soft investment, where numbers will fluctuate rather than an iron clad figure. Unless your event is mandatory, expect your attendance to fluctuate between 5 and 8%.

5.) Know Your Event Flow
Virtual events eliminate travel planning and a lot of coordination, but build in time to allow for last minute audio and connection issues. If you have attendees waiting, let them know this was part of the plan and you are right on schedule

Structure your games and activities to allow your hosts some flexibility about when to conclude each segment. You always want to end exactly on time - while it may be tempting to go over if people are having a good time, attendance at future events will drop if you don’t end when you say you are going to end.

An event shouldn’t last longer than 90 minutes, nor shorter than a half hour. This helps retain attendees, but, more importantly, retain attention. If you are doing a half day virtual conference, build in time for bathroom breaks and for people to check their email.

6.) Consider A Mix of Activities
Keeping your event moving is key to keeping your audience engaged so build in a good mix of games and activities. You will likely plan more activities than you can actually get to, but this is better than improvising last minute changes. In general, you’ll most likely want a combination of physical challenges and mental challenges. For example, at RemoteBridge, we have virtual scavenger hunts to allow people to run around and explore our island, Wizard Battle, a team drawing game, and Last Avatar Standing, a connective, get-to-know you game. And all events end with a virtual dance party on the beach under fireworks.

Virtual scavenger hunts can be a great way to get folks up and moving. Even if it’s just a digital avatar searching through a virtual environment - any change of atmosphere is a welcomed reprieve to a stationary setting. If you have already, also consider a virtual escape room in which teams work together towards a common goal.

The most important part about picking the right activities for your group is that they are fun and connective and don’t feel like a quiz or a complicated work project.

7.) Don’t Do Trivia
Trivia games can be enjoyable but most teams have done a lot of these already and, even if they haven’t, the experience will be quite familiar. And those who are less keen on trivia will like they are taking a grade school test or being formally reviewed.Best to stay away from drilling employees about who knows more on your team.

If you do host a trivia game, make it personal to your colleagues. Everyone will be more excited to answer “Who danced on the table to Queen’s Don’t Stop Believing at the holiday party in 201?” rather than “Which product had the best Q3 reviews?” The more fun you have planning, the more fun your team will have playing.

8.) Find the Right Platform
Running a virtual team building event in a video conference platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams can make your event feel like any other work meeting. In other words, you can wear a funny hat in Zoom but you are still in another Zoom call. Over the course of the pandemic, so called “Zoom Fatigue” has set in - note how many of your colleagues keep their cameras turned off these days.

People are often tired of being on camera or worrying about a kid running through the background or what their messy room signals to colleagues. To keep team members engaged, consider a fun, hosted, avatar-based experience from RemoteBridge. If you are going to run an event via more traditional video conference, consider companies like Hopin, TeamBonding, Kapow, or Elevent.

Resource - https://www.remotebridge.com/plan-a-virtual-team-building-event

Make HR fun with virtual recruiting, onboarding, and team building. RemoteBridge connects people with immersive 3D. Our patent-pending technology, developed by a diverse group of talented engineers, is entirely browser based so no goggles or downloads are required. The result: New and existing team members now are just a link away from connecting to your organization’s mission, culture, and values - and each other - in an entirely new way. Let the fun ensue in 2022!