Who wouldn’t like a little bit of fun at work? I know your remote employees wouldn’t mind an opportunity to unwind from the daily grind and to connect with their teammates!
The activities range from short ice breakers to something a bit more involved but absolutely worth the time.
#1 That’s My Favorite:
This is a really fun and short activity that can easily be used at the beginning of a meeting. And the rules are pretty simple. First identify the “coordinator”. Before the meeting, each employee sends the coordinator the name of their favorite song(s).
At the beginning of the meeting, the coordinator then shares the name of one song and the team guesses whose favorite song it was.
You can make it even more fun by playing parts of the songs.
| Adjustments: This activity can easily be adjusted with other topics and it’ll just be as fun. The activity can also be repeated in the next meeting. For example, instead of songs, you can do your favorite book, movie, person in history, etc. Some of the answers may surprise you. |
#2 Home Scavenger Hunt:
This next game is best played with remote employees on video. It’s a great way to get everyone up and moving –we can all use a little bit more movement when working at home. Also, it’s a good way to get everyone on camera.
Similar to the first game, you’ll need to identify a coordinator for this as well.
At the start of the game, the coordinator calls out one item to find and the team member who can show that item in the camera first wins that round. Pretty simple and definitely fun.
| Adjustments: Instead of the coordinator coming up with a list of items to find, the team members can take turns to come up with the list. In addition, the items can be seasonal. For example, if this is around Valentine’s Day, you can ask the team members to find something red. |
#3 Lunch and Learn:
This next activity is all about social learning. Each team member takes turns to come up with the topic and does a presentation during lunch hour. Most employees will present on topics they are interested in or are an expert in. This activity will be a great series to add to your team’s lunches.
You can call this lunch and learn or I’ve heard it called Bagged Lunches in some companies. Or even Virtual Open House. Check out some topic ideas for lunch and learns HERE.
| Adjustments: Rather than having everyone take turns each lunch to present on a topic, you can invite guest speakers from other departments or have a trainer come to train on different topics. In addition, you can have the presenter nominate who the next presenter should be. |
#4 Trivia Fridays:
Besides the Lunch and Learn series, Trivia Friday is another great series to do with your team. Trivia is a game that everyone has played before or at least have somewhat of an understanding of how to play it.
The set of rules used are going to be vital if you want to use this activity as a way to increase engagement for your remote team. For example, rather than the coordinator asking the questions each week, have each team host or come up with the questions. By doing so, the teams will have a chance to learn about each other’s interests. In addition, mix the teams up. For example, no more than 2 people can be from the same department. In that same vein, mix the career levels so the VP is placed in the same team as an Associate. Check out the complete rules to my Trivia Friday series HERE.
| Adjustments: One way to adjust this game is make it into a one-time game instead of a series. By doing so, it’ll be a great activity for a departmental meeting. |
#5 Work Jeopardy:
Similar to Trivia Friday, this would be a fun game. Rather than a series, this game is pretty fun to play at a department meeting. This may take about 20 to 30 minutes so keep that in mind when you schedule the meeting.
This will be a great way to incorporate a category with questions about the company. Also a fun idea for new hire orientation. Here’s a site with a free template.
| Adjustments: Make this into a series of games / tournaments. Who wouldn’t want to be Jeopardy Champion at work! |
You’re busy, your team is busy, and honestly – everyone is busy. However, it’s also important to take a moment to connect with your team and just have fun. Your team will appreciate the time to unwind together.