The Beauty of A Virtual Development Team

Small, medium, and large business owners have consciously or unconsciously realized the importance of virtual team building. The pandemic has changed the way we work. During the pandemic, left with no other choice, the global workforce had to initially get used to virtual team building, and employees had to work with the team, yet remotely. Post the pandemic, a section of employees have started working from their respective offices, a set of people are working from their home office.

What is a remote team?

So far and yet so near they are, and so near and yet so far they are! This is one of the best ways to describe a remote team. As its name suggests, a remote team works outside the traditional office setup. Yet, the respective members perform the roles and responsibilities that a team in office would do. If geographical boundaries separate the team, the various forms of technology bind the team. 

What is the concept of remote team development?

Like an employer builds a physical team in the office who will work in an office, a remote team is developed, and the team works virtually. Furthermore, the remote team is managed, monitored, and supervised remotely. While a strategy is developed for the remote team to function, team managers also design and implement a strategy to monitor the team’s activities.

Why is virtual team building important?

One of the primary and the most important aspects of why virtual team building is essential is to make sure that the professional activities of the business operate, regardless of what the political and economic scenario is prevalent in the outside world. Say, for instance, if the weather plays spoilsport and it rains, employees will not be in a position to commute to the office. However, if the same team works virtually, work will progress, and business activities will function as usual. This is just one of the reasons why virtual team building is essential.

Making sure that the virtual team is in good health mentally and physically is paramount

Business owners have realized that virtual team building is not just enough. Research studies have brought to light that to reach high standards of business productivity, it is essential to keep the team motivated.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

While most of the workforce is comfortable working from the comfort of their home, a section of the global workforce has also realized that they consciously or unconsciously have put in more working hours. A few employees have admitted that they are struggling to maintain a work-life balance to make matters worse. All this reflects in work besides having an impact on productivity. Business owners have taken note of this and are quick to react.

Work from home is the modus operandi in the new normal

Companies are doing their best to keep their employees happy. While work from home has become the modus operandi even as things are getting back to normal, several companies encourage their employees to continue working from the comfort of their homes. The companies are implementing activities that can keep the remote teams engaged and motivated. Read on to get a glimpse of how

How are companies dealing with the situation?

One of the sure ways to make sure that the remote team members are happy and motivated is to engage with the team more often. Various research studies prove that games and engagement activities are enjoyable and can double up a stress buster for the team. Alongside this, it has come to light that when team members participate in games and other team-building activities, it goes a long way in strengthening the bond between the team members, and all this reflects in work. If the team can come together for a fun session, the individuals will certainly work with the same team spirit at work. This has prompted the companies to organize online team-building activities and virtual team events and initiatives. Many companies are allocating funds to organize remote team building activities and online team activities.

What are virtual team events?

Any online team-building initiative organized and conducted for the team is a virtual team event. Multiple online team activities can bring the team together. The activity is selected, planned, and implemented depending on the goal. Before planning online team-building activities and virtual team events, several factors need to be considered.

Factors to consider while planning virtual team building activities

Several factors must necessarily be taken into consideration while planning virtual team-building activities. Listed below are a few of them:-

Availability of the virtual team

Since the team members are working remotely, it can be a challenge to have everyone available at the same time. Thus, when planning a virtual team building, the availability of every member of the team must be taken into consideration.

Online team-building activities must not clash with work hours

The aim of hosting online team-building activities and virtual team events is to allow the team members to break the ice and get to know their colleagues, besides giving the team to take a break from work and de-stress. Virtual team-building activities are as important as work. Thus, great care must be taken to plan online team building initiatives and online team activities in such a manner as if they do not clash with business working hours. Virtual team-building activities and initiatives will have greater employee participation when hosted after the team has called it a day.

Virtual team building must be carefully planned and implemented

The virtual team building activity must be carefully planned so that maximum team members participate. It isn’t easy to host activities and games that all the team members will enjoy. However, if a majority of members participate, the goal of the virtual team-building initiative can be achieved.

Tried and tested virtual team building activities

Working hard and partying harder is the norm for those who work. One of the sure ways to make sure that the virtual team is happy after work is to host a few virtual team-building initiatives. Listed below are a few tried and tested ones.

Guess your colleague

A simple yet fun online team-building activity that can help the team members get to know each other better guesses your colleague. The host of this virtual team-building activity can read out a few hints that best describes a team member. Then, taking the hints as clues, the team members must guess who the team member is. This way, unknown facts and interests about the team members will come to light. Some could be hilarious too.

A quiz about the organization

Not all the employees of the organization are aware of facts, figures, and information about the organization that they work for. One of the ways to test the employees’ knowledge regarding this subject is by hosting a quiz with simple questions related to the respective organization. Through this virtual team-building exercise, the workforce will be aware of the organization they are working for. And for those who are not aware of aspects of the organization, the respective online team-building activity will be an eye-opener.

Apart from the ones we have mentioned, you can plan and organize online team activities and virtual team events for the teams, depending on the size and availability of the team.

Why do we need virtual team-building initiatives and events?

It might surprise many. However, the harsh reality is that remote working has impacted the global workforce, both in developed nations and developing countries. If results shared from Buffer’s State of Remote Work 2020 report are to be believed, experiencing loneliness and a poor work-life balance are consequences of working from home. Among the surveyed respondents, a total of 38% of the subjects stated that they have to deal with the two issues. Thus, virtual team building can go a long way in changing the scenario. 

Benefits of virtual team building

There are several advantages to hosting virtual team building. Listed below are a few critical important aspects:-

• Online team activities double up as a stress buster for the virtual team.
• Online team-building activities are ways to discover hidden talents and skills of the workforce.
• Online team-building initiatives are an opportunity for the team to socialize virtually.
• Remote team-building activities can help strengthen the bond between team members.
• Virtual team building activities and initiatives are ways team members can build trust among themselves.
• Online team building could help break the ice among the team members by communicating with fellow team members.
• Research study has proven that various virtual team building has improved productivity at work.

Apart from the ones that we have mentioned, there could be many other ways virtual team-building exercises can help.

Wish to hire a virtual team for your business? We can help

Many business owners are hiring virtual teams to work for them. If you wish to outsource hiring a remote team, you can get in touch with Recruit Ninjas as a business owner. The outsourcing partner will help business owners bypass remote hiring challenges by providing end-to-end remote employee management. Interview shortlisted candidates. Thus as a business owner, you can make the hiring decisions, and Recruit Ninjas does the rest. Get in touch with a representative with the hiring requirement of your business and Recruit Ninjas will do the rest.