How To Keep Your Team Engaged From Home
Even in a period of difficulty such as the one we’re living, that is characterized by a global pandemic, we are trying our best to be with you by doing our favorite thing: organize Team Building events, the so called Stream Building.
It is an unprecedented period of crisis and we have been forced to change our daily lives to work in totally different conditions than usual. Companies had to complete a digital and mentality transformation in a few days which, in normal conditions, would have taken months, if not years.
Obviously, not being able to organize Team Building events in person and outdoor, the solution we thought of is to organize them in a virtual way, making use of the available technologies.
Online Experiential Learning
For the first time online, this Team Building will be made up of a series of enigmas to be solved together with your colleagues. The team will have to follow a trail of virtual rooms and look for a way out using every element of the structure and solving secret codes, enigmas, brain teasers and riddles. This format is quite helpful for developing problem solving skills and building team cohesion. Solving these online enigmas will require a lot of creativity and teamwork. Furthermore, one of the main targets of this Team Building activity is communication.
CUSTOMIZATIONS AVAILABLE
Both the number of rooms to escape from and the available time are customizable.
Asking for clues or giving incorrect answers will deduct precious minutes from the timer. The Team will therefore have to develop a winning strategy to claim victory.
With this Stream Building format, participants will have the opportunity to create a schedule of a television broadcast, such as a newscast. Within the overall video, each member of the group will have his own small dedicated space. To fill it they will have to make a service of 1-2 minutes in which they’ll update the team on the chosen topic.
Like the Radio Team format, this Stream Building is also an excellent opportunity to try to enter a new world. It’s a world that we are so used to seeing but which, at the same time, seems so far from our daily lives: that of television studios.
During this quarantine surely it often happens to turn on the TV or radio to have some company. This Team Building is an excellent opportunity to try to enter that world that seems so far from our daily lives. Each company television news will be registered and then presented to the rest of the team and company. For this, it will be a video that can be viewed in the future. It could remain as a collective memory element to be used on festive occasions or as an element of promotion inside or outside the company itself.
Even in this type of event, the guiding thread will always be of the corporate type. The latest news will be heard on the news regarding the company, product advertising, updates on new communication methods or resource management. Especially in a period like this, it can be an opportunity to improve various aspects of the team’s characteristics. In particular, the work on communication.
Crossword
This puzzling team building can be an idea for a different activity than usual.
The enigmatic competition allows companies to “evaluate” their employees on the knowledge of facts, values or company data, or even to reward the most attentive customers at the end of a series of presentations of the company’s products or services. The ideal, for example, would be to do this activity after an important meeting, so as to obtain maximum attention before and fun in relation to achieving results afterwards.
After some creative and enigmatic preliminary challenges, the teams are offered a true crossword puzzle scheme that they will have to solve using all their knowledge. Collaboration, albeit remotely, will be indispensable: each participant will in fact receive a series of puzzles to solve that will lead to definitions for the crossword puzzle!
Each participant will therefore have to use all the strength of the group, send the definitions in the team chat to help others and in turn receive help from them.
For this activity, the Teamworking team will search for the most suitable words to be included in the crossword puzzle. These can be the most disparate, but always in relation to customer or company requests. This format, in addition to giving participants the opportunity to collaborate in solving one of the most famous puzzle games, will allow the team to fully focus on their company, giving them the opportunity to understand or discover new things.
Furthermore, for very large groups, multiple crossword puzzles can be generated. We will use the already compiled schemes for the resolution of a final crossword puzzle whose resolution will unite all the groups in one big team.
Mosaic Team
The idea of this Stream Building format is to create complex digital designs with the contribution of all participants.
These are created by combining many different photographs, as if they were pixels. According to the colors, in fact, the photographs can be associated and positioned close to each other. This is in order to create a larger and more representative logo or image, chosen by the team or the company themselves.
In this virtual Team Building, each Team must think, produce and share photos with its group on a specific topic. Obviously, it has to be linked to a company value or a specific theme. The chosen image must be shared by all and have a profound meaning for the participants for reasons that may be personal, related to their work group or the company’s logo.
At the end of the activity, through the subsequent reworking phases, all the images chosen and taken will be put together to create a unique work that can have different meanings. This will then be printed in digital format and can also remain in the office as a souvenir for the future.
Do you want to know more about Virtual Team Building?
Do you think it is impossible to design and make a short film through remote collaboration?
If the team is aligned and guided by our master trainers, however, we are sure it can be done and it will be a wonderful experience!
How does it work?
Each of the team members will participate in the activity with:
- writing a storyboard
- the realization, with the help of your webcam or mobile phone, of the shots assigned by the team
- the final editing that will allow participants to create a unique work, a commercial spot or a real short film.
Participants will feel closer by collaborating in the creative activity and then observing the result!
Depending on the needs of each company, then, the final product of each team can be translated into an advertising spot, a narrative short film or in other different types. Any product will still remain as a memory of the day as well as a corporate communication tool, both internally and externally.
In a particular period such as the one we are experiencing, having memories that can help us, in the future, to think about how we have overcome it can be an element of great support for future moments of difficulty.
This team building allows the team to work on corporate values, proposing them through music. The first part of team building is in fact dedicated to the work on the lyrics. It therefore begins with a brainstorming to define the topic of the song, and then each individually contributes to composing the lyrics. Now more than ever it is important to work on what can be motivating in a deeper and faster way.
The 4 parts into which the activity is divided are therefore:
- Brainstorming
- Writing of the lyrics
- Recording of parts of the song
- Mixing
Led by our music trainers, the team will have to narrate in a poetic text the objectives and results achieved by the company. Furthermore, they can talk about its Vision, Mission, Values, future prospects, or simply rhyming their everyday life. With the creation of a personalized song it is possible, therefore, to project employees towards a common goal. The focus can be placed on what really has value for the company and the team and encouraging them to give more and more for the good of all.
After the lyrics writing phase, we hypothesized a roadmap for writing and recording the song. Based on the company’s requests, the teams can sing through videoconference their parts of the song, which will then be mixed. It can be done by themselves or by Teamworking staff after the end of the event.
It is also possible to involve high-level artists to put their experience at the service of the team. This will give the event a testimonial that enhances its value.
If the aim is to build a bond made of values and emotions, this musical format is perfectly suited to the task!
iPad Game Indoor
After the Urban Game iPad and iPad Game indoor formats, TeamWorking now also offers a version that can be done individually and comfortably at home. The scores earned by multiple participants will however be added together to form the overall Team score.
The following will be part of the activity:
- creative challenges with photos and videos
- quiz
- customized games on business or general knowledge topics.
The main focus? Effective smart working.
The activity can be carried out in a single session or be divided into several sessions. For example, they can be done at pre-established times during the week. There will be tests to overcome, quizzes to answer, objects to collect, different game levels and alliances between teams. Basically, there are no limits to the personalization of this exciting activity!
Based on the characteristics of the spaces, it will also be possible to combine the indoor part with some stages to be carried out in the open air, around the building or area that the participants have available.
Would you like to book one of our Stream Building formats?
Storytelling
The storytelling activity, as well as that of the theater, is very effective when the goal is to foster a deeper mutual knowledge between colleagues. Also, it’s useful when you want to make interpersonal communication easier, or simply when you need to reactivate the energies. This is valid during the coffee break between various interventions of a meeting, online or not.
Storytelling exercises are, in a sense, part of the theatrical practice as they are drawn from it. They are important because they can focus on different points based on the needs of the team and the time available: from sharing emotions up to the actual story-telling. In fact, it is often used as a persuasive communication strategy, especially in areas such as economic and business.
By telling the story, a sort of “connection” is accomplished, with a dual function:
- Direct to interiority: narrative in reflective function;
- Aimed at the context in which you are immersed.
The telling of a story always implies a discussion with the other and refers to a memory or a sensation, reconnecting to one’s own experiential life. Consequently, it involves the presence of a certain emotional component that characterizes the story itself. The narration leads to a reflection on the contents, the elaboration of these and above all the development of learning.
But how is it done?
It could be linked to the construction of the character intended as a hero.
Everyone, having objects and accessories at hand, has the opportunity to invent and identify with a type of character of their choice. What the storytelling activity focuses on, however, is the so-called “hero’s journey“. This can be individual or corporate and is always intended as a metaphor for one’s own path within the company.
As in the face-to-face activity, with Heroes Day we want to make sure that each participant turns into a different superhero! The most important value within each team is diversity, and we want to help you bring it out.
Both in the virtual or real world, it is important for each team member to give vent to their peculiarities. The Heroes Day activity wants to celebrate the differences and highlight the strengths of each person.
This creative team building is recommended for teams in which there is already some mutual knowledge. During an initial brainstorming process, team members will be assigned by colleagues a superhero. It could be classic or invented, with very specific characteristics and powers. This introspective work represents a moment of self-discovery, since attribution often generates a sense of amazement and pleasant surprise.
It reveals the attention of colleagues for sides of the personality that the person himself did not believe to manifest in the workplace.
To each superhero will then be assigned by the team:
- superpowers (always related to the workplace)
- a super secret move
- gadgets and disguises that can be found at home, to transform themselves physically.
At the end of the activity, it is possible to create a promotional video with superhero performances, which will remain as a reminder of the experience and a possible communication and promotion tool for the brand.
This musical Stream Building can be used as an introduction to another format or as a stand alone format. In this period, moreover, we thought it could be important to bring it in a virtual way as a format that brings joy and strength to the team. Moreover, it can help bring confidence for the future.
Using your body as a musical instrument: this is the challenge behind Body Percussion. Starting from simple movements, it is possible to combine increasingly complex sounds. Then, there are also dynamics that are intertwined with voice and rhythm.
The goal of Body Percussion is not only to “play” using the body, but also to create deep dynamics. They’re useful for the improvement of:
- communication
- interaction
- leadership within the team.
Additional option: Haka
One more possibility is to enrich Body Percussion with the creation of a Haka. That is a Maori dance that is played with many “instruments” of our body such as hands, feet, legs, body, voice and language. It accompanies the performance of many sports teams and is often associated with a war shout. It’s not just a “war shout”. In fact, it can also be a manifestation of joy and a way to fully express one’s feelings. This dance will give strength to the team and instill confidence in the future.
Do you want to know more about Virtual Team Building?
The key word of this activity is remote communication. Through this Team Building online, we want to make sure that the participants compete with the transmission of a message. They have to develop language and mutual listening.
With various objects available that can be easily found in every home, the possibilities for doing this team building better are different. Some of these, for example, can be:
- Draw an object or shape that participants cannot see but that a team member must try to describe with as many details as possible
- Guessing the objects that others have by only having a few clues
- Show an object and make others succeed in rebuilding it
Taking part in this activity is an excellent opportunity to test yourself and your relationship with colleagues.
This online team building will be an opportunity for all team members to express their creativity. Moreover, to confront with their colleagues in a different way than usual.
Super Quiz
Super Quiz is an undemanding proposal that can be adapted to various corporate occasions.
By working virtually, the participants will be seated at their own desk. Then, they will have to communicate and collaborate with each other to give the right answers to the questions given. That will let them earn points for their team.
The questions may relate to general knowledge topics or be customized on company issues. In this case, a Super Quiz represents the ideal way to verify the understanding of concepts and goals after a meeting or after the presentation of a product. The prospect of being tested will also entice employees and/or customers to pay more attention to explanations!
Do you want to know more about Virtual Team Building?