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Hiring talented members of staff is one thing, but to truly get the best out of your team investing in training and development is essential. This keeps your employees engaged in their role, maintains staff motivation, and reduces absenteeism, which can have a serious impact on productivity and, thus, revenue.
The need for staff training and development is clear because when employees are left to their own devices with no time invested in them from management, they soon become disillusioned. Eventually, staff feel as though they hit a glass ceiling within the company with no opportunity afforded to them to further their career, feeling as though they need to look elsewhere for those opportunities to better their career prospects.
As well as from a professional perspective, the importance of staff development can also be found in how employees grow as people by improving skills such as communication, organisational and leadership credentials. Confidence is also boosted by training and development plans which can lead to members of staff who, perhaps, aren’t as forthcoming with new ideas to make themselves heard to introduce something innovative that could change the way the business operates for the better.
Businesses that do not invest time into staff learning and development are most likely to find the need to constantly recruit new employees to fill the gaps left by departing members of the team. If your company is having to recruit to replace, as opposed to recruiting to expand, you need to answer the question as to why this is happening.
Employees leave roles for various reasons, which can include not feeling valued by the company they are working for. With little to no time dedicated for training and development, this can lead to employees feeling as though they are not valued and have no opportunity to work towards climbing the corporate ladder leading them to seek other employment.
Providing those opportunities for current members of staff to climb the ranks is not only important from a retention point of view, but this is also how you will unearth the business’ future leaders. If the company almost exclusively only hires from outside of the business, this is another indicator of a lack of opportunity and undoubtedly means that you are missing out on talent that is right underneath your nose.
It is important to recognise the potential of the staff you have at your disposal. Training and development opportunities not only allow employees to learn new skills but can also demonstrate the skills they already have in an environment removed from the usual workplace. When leadership skills are showcased, transferring those skills into the workplace and giving that member of staff the opportunity they deserve is the next step. Additionally, when other members of the team see a colleague given extra responsibility, this can serve as motivation to them as they will recognise that they can also earn the same opportunity if they work for it.
Knowledge is power and when staff are provided with training and development opportunities, they come back feeling empowered. This is because they are more confident carrying out the tasks not only associated with the role they currently have but for the role they want. This leads to autonomy in the workforce, with teams becoming self-sufficient which translates into productivity.
As well as providing a platform for staff development, investing in team-building events and training courses mixes up the usual day-to-day ongoing which, after a while, can feel monotonous. No matter how much you love your job, coming into the office day after day, carrying out the same tasks can become boring and, as a result, see staff feeling unengaged not only with their responsibility but also their colleagues.
Investing in staff development allows for staff to take on new responsibilities which will help to keep them engaged in their role within the business, caring about what they do because they feel the business cares about them. When staff become disinterested through a lack of opportunity, it can be difficult to reverse and, worst of all, that feeling can manifest in other colleagues. Before you know it, because of a lack of opportunity, you could be left picking up the pieces of an entire team suffering from a lack of motivation.
Our team has years of experience in hosting and tailoring team-building and staff development days for businesses up and down the country. Our events are designed to bring the best out of your members of staff, helping them to realise their full potential.
For more information on our events, please do not hesitate to get in contact with a member of our team today.
Office quizzes and events are a tried and tested method of team building, but with the evolution of modern technology comes a range of new and exciting possibilities.
When you think of office team building exercises, you can be forgiven for immediately thinking of problem-solving puzzles, group outings and office days out. In 2017, it is time to make use of the technology around us – in fact, the technology that many teams use on a day-to-day basis.
At Team Challenge, we have an array of tech-based team building events for businesses to utilise in order to put an added spring in the steps of their staff.
Getting the team together for a day full of games is a great way for everyone to have fun with one and other, just make sure that things don’t get overly competitive!
A fantastic modern spin on an ageless team building activity – by using GPS tablets, teams can navigate around an area in search of checkpoints to reveal different challenges. Our GPS based, interactive treasure hunts in conjunction with the Go Team App are award winning for a reason, and ur tech-based events can be devised for groups of any size.
Video game consoles and other tech-based activities encourage fast-paced and high energy fun for your team. To maximise the fun, why not invite the family along to join in? Create a round of events that everyone can take part in, either individually or as teams, and tot up who has the most points at the end of the day and crown the winner.
The challenge is simple; each team must complete five levels of randomly selected trivia and challenges before the others in the fastest time.
A tablet and Tri-Master Kit Bag will be handed to each team and, following a brief technical brief, teams will begin their journey on the interactive board game.
Tailor made challenges can be created to suit each business and teams, further increasing the fun and interactivity of the game. At the end of the challenge, the winning team will take home the coveted Team Challenge Company Winner’s Trophy.
As each team follows the trail and completes activities, they will be kept updated on the progress of how the other teams are doing, encouraging them to up the ante! Not only will each team enjoy a positive a rewarding experience, all members will be able to take a positive and improved relationship back into the workplace.
For more information on the benefit of incorporating tech based team building activities into your office fun days, please call give us a call on 03300 040903 today.
In 1965, Dr Bruce Tuckman developed a four-stage model that focuses on team development in terms of ability, maturity and the relationships formed within the unit. This model, named Dr Bruce Tuckman’s Team Development Model, is designed to present a simple explanation for how a group develops and is commonly used as a means to help each person achieve their potential during team sessions.
The four stages of Dr Tuckman’s model are:
A fifth stage was introduced by Dr Tuckman around 1975 which he called adjourning. This fifth and final stage is a little removed from the original four as it focuses more on the aftermath of the development, looking at the break-up of the team and any changes to the members' relationships and well-being.
Primarily, it is the original four stages that are used when it comes to team development and tracking the evolution of changing leadership styles.
The initial Forming stage of Tuckman’s theory of team development is when the team is first brought together and/or a new leader or system has been implemented. This stage requires the leader to be very hands-on with their approach, often answering a multitude of questions from the team either because they have a lack of understanding about processes or they are resistant to it, thus testing the tolerance of the leader and system.
Often, at this stage, the individual roles and responsibilities of each team member are unclear and there is little agreement on the overall goals of the team, other than those expressed by the leader. The Forming stage requires a strong leader that can display patience as the team gels together and/or gets used to a new system, as well as being able to clearly communicate what is expected and build those relationships.
Teams in the Forming stage require a lot of direction but, as they develop and progress through the four stages, the leader’s time and patience will be rewarded in the end. They can evolve their leadership style to suit the needs of the team depending on the stage of development they are at.
Slowly, relationships and cliques begin to form within the team but there remains a lot of uncertainty over individual roles. Some members may start attempting to establish themselves over other members in the team, as well as challenging the leader’s authority and status. As these relationships and challenges form, the team must not become distracted from its purpose and ultimate goal.
The leader’s role evolves slightly from the Forming stage. Instead of actively directing and almost spoon-feeding the members of the team, they are now assuming a coaching role and allowing their team, who have now formed a basic understanding of responsibilities, to learn and develop. During the Storming stage, compromises will have to be made as the group’s development continues.
Once the team reaches the Norming stage, this means that there is a general acceptance of their role and responsibilities. Relationships are becoming stronger as, too, is the trust and respect in the leader and their way of managing the team and project. The team responds well to direction from the leader, who begins to delegate responsibility amongst more senior and trusted members of the team. These staff members may now be responsible for making small decisions, while big decisions are made by the agreement of the group.
As the team becomes familiar with its system and working style, constructive discussions begin to occur as to how processes can be refined and perfected to increase productivity. It is up to the leader to enable the team to take responsibility and ownership of their duties to allow them to evolve and, ultimately, bring more to the table. If a leader is unwilling to listen to their team or allow them to contribute to the system and processes that are in place, not displaying any trust in the members of the team, there is a risk of the group stalling at this third phase.
This final stage of development is when the team, as the name suggests, is performing at or close to its potential. Relationships are strong between members of the team who are more strategically aware and look after each other. Disagreements can and do happen amongst the team but these are handled internally and necessary changes are made to suit, whether these are in relation to structure and/or processes.
As members of the team are now standing on their own two feet with a shared vision and desire to deliver, the team now has autonomy and requires very little direction or interference by the leader, who now delegates and oversees activity. The leader will establish criteria and expectations for what should be met, but their actual hands-on participation is primarily limited to when team members seek out assistance.
The Adjourning stage stands alone as an expansion to the original four stages of Tuckman’s stages of team development in 1965. Here, the group is evaluated beyond the primary purpose of the Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing, looking at individual vulnerabilities in people such as insecurities resulting from the change.
In terms of the development of a team and management style, the Adjourning stage is not highly relevant which is why it is rarely included as part of the stages of team development.
For more information on Dr Bruce Tuckman’s team development model, as well as how this is implemented as part of the team building events hosted by Team Challenge Company and how it can help your business, please get in touch with us today.
As a business, you naturally want to have the best employees working together to create the best teams that all work together to achieve one common goal. However, that doesn’t just happen overnight; it takes time to develop a dynamic within the team where every member is familiar with the role that not only they play, but that of everyone else, too.
As has been the case in 2020, the move towards remote working patterns has seen the need for team building events to be more flexible than ever. Here at Team Challenge Company, we are proud to host our virtual escape room event, Escape the Mob, which challenges teams to work together via an app and online conference platform to solve puzzles, crack the code and escape.
Escape the Mob is an online escape room game that is perfect for developing team-building skills for remote teams, regardless of whether they have been used to sitting side-by-side in the office or have never met in person. The game comes with a duration between one and three hours and is suited to a minimum of eight participants, but it can accommodate as many players as you wish.
The game begins with a mysterious video which informs the teams that they have been incriminated with the perfect heist; being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Teams will compete against each other to solve puzzles, aiming to accrue the most points to win the game, but they will also collaborate in a joint effort to clear their name.
An online facilitator will guide participants through the event and the Escape the Mob app will present different challenges for players, no matter where in the world they are. Teams must communicate and work together efficiently and effectively to solve the puzzles and win the game, calling on creative, outside-the-box thinking.
The event comes to a gripping finale as teams that were competing against each other to win the game must come together to crack the final code and escape the mob.
Key benefits of the Escape the Mob escape rooms team building game include collaborative problem solving, thinking outside the box, recognising individual strengths and developing team dynamics and bonding. These are just some of the skills that are synonymous with all great teams that work together to achieve a common goal.
The Escape the Mob event helps teams and individuals to recognise their roles and help them piece together the different pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. No two people are the same, and if everyone had the same strengths, that likely means they would have the same weaknesses – leaving a considerable gap in the team.
Teams that are unable to communicate and collaborate will be unlikely to succeed in the Escape the Mob challenges, forced to watch on as the other team claims victory. Ultimately, with the aim of the game being to crack the code and escape, the winning team will be reliant on the others to work as a unit to solve the final puzzle – all it takes is for one person/team to let the side down.
The lessons taught as part of the Escape the Mob team building game can be taken back into the workplace – or online workspace in the case of remote teams. Being tasked with communicating and working together across online platforms and competing against other teams will help your members of staff to learn how to communicate and work efficiently online without having the luxury of sitting in the same office.
Taking part in the game can also help newer members of the team to come out of their shells and realise their place in the team, developing and improving the overall dynamic of the team. As walls begin to crumble, the potential of the employees and team begins to be realised and met which, ultimately, is a positive for the business - both from a human and commercial perspective.
To learn more about our Escape the Mob game, or any of our other remote escape rooms for team building events, please get in contact with a member of our team today and we will be more than happy to help. Team Challenge Company has been hosting team-building events for almost two decades, delivering more than 400 high-quality products.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to adapt their working patters, which is why we have created remote team building services that are designed to ease the bedding-in period as you adjust to this new way of working.
Humans have a natural desire to learn and to better themselves, feeding their curiosity to find out new things and expand their knowledge. Those that work in the finance industry are no different, which is why, as someone responsible for the professional development of your team, you should ensure that your members of staff are provided with those opportunities.
When it comes to finance staff development, the goal is simple – to give each member of your team the best chance to better themselves on both a professional and personal level. Whether they desire to climb the ladder in the finance sector or branch out into different areas, your company should do everything it can to retain the most talented and ambitious of those employees.
To encourage your members of staff to pick up and develop new skills, as well as a better understanding of the roles their colleagues play, job rotation is an option to consider. While this may not suit every company, and may not be applicable to smaller businesses where members of staff don many hats, this approach can help to keep your staff feeling challenged and motivated.
While some roles undoubtedly have interchangeable skills, others will have unique demands that can help the employee to add another string to their bow. Further down the line, this experience will be invaluable should they decide to move into a managerial position. Promoting from within, rather than hiring from outside the company, should always be encouraged and the rotation of roles and responsibilities lays the foundations for a future leader to step forward with a clear idea of the demands of the job.
Whether this may be providing access to short one-off courses or continuing professional development (CPD) courses, employees should always be encouraged to gain relevant professional qualifications. Not only does this build confidence for your members of staff to take on extra responsibility, but it adds value to the company.
As far as the benefit of finance staff development is concerned, courses and qualifications concerning day-to-day operational tasks (such as the making and recording of payments, banking income, processing the Month End), the operation of petty cash accounts, insurance returns and the setting up and monitoring of a budget are valuable. While the employee should always be encouraged to seek out development courses for themselves, the manager is responsible for ensuring their members of staff receive the relevant training for their role and responsibility.
There is no better way to learn than by learning directly from those in the industry. While some employees may see the attendance of seminar and networking events as an unnecessary interference, others see these as invaluable opportunities to learn. Quite simply, the attendance of seminars and programs should be for those of whom are genuinely interested in going, otherwise, there is a strong chance that this will be a wasted spot. If an employee displays an unwillingness to develop their skills, this is a clear sign that they probably should not be considered for future opportunities.
Those that do wish to develop and better themselves will take a great deal from listening and connecting with other professionals in the finance industry. Here, they can make notes from respected leaders in the field, discuss new concepts and report back to the company with fresh ideas.
To encourage your employees to sign up to any subscriptions and/or memberships that will prove useful to their profession, consider offering a full or partial reimbursement of the costs. Often, new starters aren’t aware of what is available to them, so offering this at the start of their employment could help to increase staff retention.
If you already have staff that are paying for any memberships or subscriptions, this offer will certainly be greatly appreciated by them and give them further reason to stay and develop with the company.
As with any department, you need to have one eye on the future. While your managerial staff are great today, there are no guarantees about tomorrow. Eventually, your senior staff will depart the company, leaving junior staff to be promoted into those positions – which is why relevant training and opportunities should be afforded to prepare them for when this time comes.
At Team Challenge Company, we offer a range of team building events that are designed to unearth the leaders within your team, helping to develop and refine leadership qualities as well as the overall strength of the unit. Our events can be tailored to suit all sectors, meaning that we can offer a flexible approach with finance staff development in mind.
The reality is that no employee wants to remain in the same role for years and years. They want to spread their wings and take on new roles and responsibilities. As an employer, you should encourage your staff not to remain in their comfort zone as this is when employees begin to stagnate.
Training your staff not just for the roles they have presently, but for the responsibilities they hope to have one day, will help to push them to achieve their personal goals. With the skills applicable to positions higher up the corporate ladder, this can also give them the confidence they need to pursue those opportunities.
If you would like some more information on how to develop the skills of your finance staff and how team building events hosted by Team Challenge Company can help, please get in touch with a member of our team today.
For companies looking at new ways and means of keeping remote teams engaged, recreating the same excitement and feeling of comradery can be challenging. However, just as businesses have been able to thrive and remain productive even without a physical base, maintaining high levels of employee engagement is still possible.
Some members of staff may feel isolated working from home, especially if they have been used to working in busy offices alongside their colleagues. With a lack of watercooler conversation, a remote team building quiz can fill the void by injecting a fun, social aspect to the working day.
Without some form of remote team building, employees can soon feel as though their colleagues are merely names that pop-up on a computer screen. Making a conscious effort to include time for team building goes a long way to ensuring that members of staff still feel part of a collective group.
The Big Quiz Online by Team Challenge Company
The Big Quiz is one of our most popular team building offerings and can be tailored to suit your business. All that is required is a minimum of eight participants and between one and three hours to take part in this exciting game show. In real-time, colleagues can either play with or against each other across a series of questions, including photo and video rounds.
As part of The Big Quiz, there will be a remote quiz host who oversees proceedings, adding fun and charm to this fast-paced, high-energy event. This makes the quiz a fantastic event to run during any lunch break, at the end of the day/week, or as a Monday morning energiser to blow those weekend cobwebs away.
How Does The Big Quiz Work?
Participants are invited to join via Team Challenge Company’s online video conferencing platform where they will be welcomed by the host. Each player will then be asked to download the Digital Quiz Answering System, which can be done anywhere in the world, allowing all remote colleagues to play in real-time.
The questions can be tailored and customised to suit your team which means before the event, you can create questions that are either centred around your business and/or industry, or simply around general knowledge. Not only can our remote team building event make for a fun way to spend an afternoon, but it can also be a relaxed way of integrating new members of the team into the company.
At the end of the quiz, when all of the points have been counted and a winner has been chosen, it is completely up to you how you choose to recognise such an esteemed achievement. Perhaps you might want to consider a reward for the champion and forfeits for those who made up the numbers – the choice is yours!
Why Businesses Love The Big Quiz
Businesses love The Big Quiz because it is just as effective in building rapport amongst colleagues as it is fun to take part in. Whether your members of staff are used to working next to each other, or if they have never had the good fortune to meet physically, The Big Quiz will help to break the ice between colleagues and establish a relationship that can be taken into day-to-day tasks.
For anyone who has recently joined the team or who may be struggling to strike up a relationship with their new colleagues through a computer screen, taking part in this real-time group quiz can do wonders for helping them to bed in. Away from the usual workload and no doubt feeling as though they are bothering their colleagues by asking what feels like a hundred and one questions, this social team building event can be the ideal platform for new starters to come out of their shell.
As well as all that, businesses who continue to invest in team building despite the remote nature of their work reap the rewards that come with employees feeling cared for by their employer. Without seeing staff day-to-day in the office, it can be easy to forget about the human side of the business. After all, these are people who are sitting in front of a computer screen for eight-plus hours a day, many of whom will be on their own and the communication with their colleagues being the only form of companionship they have throughout the day.
Team Challenge Company recognise the need for businesses to continue to look after their employees, which is why remote team building quizzes such as The Big Quiz have proven to be such a popular product from our offering. For more information on our remote team building services, please do not hesitate to get in contact with a member of our team today.
Businesses that engage in staff development programmes do so with a simple objective in mind; to improve the productivity of the team and, with that, the business as a whole. Of course, that is just one of the objectives of staff development and it would be a disservice to simply leave it at that.
All businesses that invest in the development of their employees enjoy a positive culture – one that encourages all members of the team to go above and beyond, striving to improve themselves both professionally and personally. In contrast, businesses that do not invest in training and development often lose their most talented employees to competitors, as well as seeing company results fall considerably short of targets.
When an employee feels as though their employer cares, demonstrated by investing in their development, it serves as motivation to continue to work and climb that professional ladder. Humans are naturally ambitious and seeing a clear career path, especially within the company they are employed by, means that there is always another target to strive for.
That’s why, where possible, many businesses prefer to promote from within as opposed to hiring from outside of the company. By giving the opportunity and entrusting one of their own with extra responsibility, not only does that have a positive effect on the member of staff receiving the promotion, but it sends the message that anyone else can achieve the same level of recognition and success.
Training and development initiatives are what provide employees with the tools to take that next step. As well as developing skills and talents appropriate to their role (whilst also potentially being transferrable to other areas of the business), training and development will also have a profound effect on staff confidence levels. This boosted confidence is key for giving staff the impetus and drive to not only chase promotion opportunities but prove that they deserve one, further increasing productivity and business success.
With the confidence of putting themselves forward for new opportunities, stepping out of their comfort zone and willingness to take on extra responsibilities, employees can reach their full potential. Rather than sitting at a desk for five days a week feeling unchallenged, becoming more and more disengaged as the weeks and months go by, employees would much rather feel challenged and stimulated by the work that they are doing.
Even the best employees can fall into the trap of simply going with the flow and it isn’t necessarily their fault. Much of the blame can lay at the door of the employer, who fails to recognise the talent within the team and/or develop the staff already on their payroll. Sooner or later, those employees will seek employment outside of the company to continue their professional development if they feel those opportunities are not afforded to them where they currently are.
Quite simply, if your company fails to recognise what the goal of employee development is and does not offer anything of the sort, you will lose the members of staff you want to retain and be left with those that are more than happy to get by with the bare minimum. This scenario will leave your business without future leaders, innovators, and drivers, which will ultimately reflect in company results.
If you are in a situation where you are trying to help your employees realise their potential, then why not give Team Challenge Company a call? Our professional team have years of experience in devising and hosting team building events tailored to each individual company’s needs. From indoor activities for a small number of participants to grand events where hundreds of employees can participate in the great outdoors, anything is possible.
Our team will liaise with you to discuss what you are hoping to achieve from any of the team-building events offered by Team Challenge Company, helping to determine which of our products are best suited to your team. If there is a particular event that you are interested in, whether that is something from our remote team building, indoor events or evening entertainment packages, please feel free to get in touch and mention it. Regardless of your scope and goals, we will have an engaging, development-driven event which works for you.
For more information on our range of team building events and how they can help to achieve your staff development objectives, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team today. You can reach us by calling us direct on 03300 04 09 03 or by sending us a message via our contact page. We will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.
Your team is the greatest asset that your business has. Without a diverse, motivated and driven team, the overall productivity of your company is likely to be seriously affected.
That’s why it is so important to ascertain that you have the right team behind you at all times to ensure your business is successful. One of the best ways to be sure that you are utilising your team members to their full advantage is to use team building events to fully harness the power of your workforce.
After all, if your employees aren’t motivated, then chances are they aren’t working to their full potential.
Motivation and productivity go hand in hand, and as the team leader, it is your job to make sure that goals are being met, targets are being achieved, and new ideas are constantly being generated.
If your personnel are in need of a boost to their levels of motivation, consider the use of team building events.
Put in the time and effort now and you will be sure to see the rewards further down the line when your team is easily hitting targets and achieving a lot more. When team members are motivated, they are likely to be more receptive to creativity and the generation of new ideas, as well as working together more effectively.
The real power of a team is in the way that people with very different personalities come together to create an efficient, multi-faceted team. Each member of your team is able to bring a different set of skills to the table, and when diverse skill-sets work well together, it means that the team is going to be all the better and stronger for it.
Need some inspiration for your team building events?
Here at Team Challenge Company, we offer a wide range of team building events, days and activities to help teams and businesses meet their full potential. We provide both indoor and outdoor team building activities, encompassing everything from interactive treasure hunts to traditional team games.
This means that you have complete control over your choice of activity, and the flexibility to choose events that suit your business’ individual requirements.
"If your personnel are in need of a boost to their levels of motivation, consider the use of team building events.
Put in the time and effort now and you will be sure to see the rewards further down the line when your team is easily hitting targets and achieving a lot more. "
For more information about our team building events, activities, and the range of services that we offer, please get in touch with us today on 03300 040903.
While we are all working from home during these uncertain times and have been forced to connect with our colleagues virtually, it's still possible to take advantage of the benefits that team building provides. Even though we cannot chat with the person sitting next to us right now, there are still many ways in which we can replicate that social interaction through well-designed virtual activities.
Here at Team Challenge Company, we have compiled a list of some of our favourite easy team building activities for remote employees that do not involve hours of preparation. We hope that these remote team building ideas can inspire you and your team to seek out and try new ways of remaining connected.
This first fun team building activity for remote employees involves your team doing nothing more than taking a picture of their workstation and sending it to a nominated event manager. One picture per day is then uploaded and shared by this event manager, with the team guessing whose desk they think they are looking at. Not only does this make for a fun distraction in the day but it also provides a little insight into the life of colleagues and coworkers, developing the trust and interpersonal relationships which teams rely on to work effectively.
It feels as though everyone has been taking part in a virtual quiz during this time, either with family or friends. Making time for a quiz with workmates is a fun way of energising the team, possibly making for the perfect Friday afternoon remote team building game before signing off for the weekend. Here at Team Challenge Company, The Big Quiz Live makes up one of our team building activities and has proved highly successful for both physically collaborative teams and remote ones.
This requires no prior preparation other than making a coffee or preparing lunch before turning the camera on. In the normal office setting, it would be common for colleagues to have lunch together or sit and chat on a coffee break during the day. Just because we are working from home, it does not mean that this socialising has to stop, so why not invite the team to a virtual break where you can have relaxed conversations and maintain a positive working atmosphere.
Just as virtual quizzes have become popular so, too, have fitness sessions (Joe Wicks, anyone?). These activties can be tailored to suit individual preferences or abilities and can even be turned into something of a competition with colleagues – the push-up challenge. With the camera positioned so that the remote team-building exercise is in full view, nominate someone to referee and set the time to two minutes as everyone else sees who can complete the most amount of push-ups in the allotted time. Pride is on the line and it will also help to ensure your team are getting some exercise away from their desk.
If you are a user of social media, then you have likely already used (or at least heard of) the popular app Words With Friends. The game is essentially Scrabble, allowing you to play with another person online. Colleagues can set up their games and, if there is enough interest, create a tournament amongst the team. As there is no time limit between moves, with users able to pick the game up from where they left off, there is no concern of this team building game getting in the way of more pressing matters and affecting productivity.
Many companies are utilising programmes such as Microsoft Teams and Slack as a means of working together, whereby ideas and collaboration can happen with dedicated project channels. Creating a channel that is dedicated to non-work-related topics, a social channel, encourages colleagues to engage in the water cooler conversation that they are no longer able to do so in person.
Sitting alone at a desk for eight hours a day is not fun or healthy. Give your team a reason to get up out of their seat for five minutes every day with a virtual dance party. Nominate a person every day to choose a song (ideally something with a good beat) that the rest of the team can dance to and show off their moves via video chat.
Within your team, are there those that fancy themselves as the resident stand-up comedian? Or perhaps they have been practising some intricate magic tricks? If so, arrange a virtual open mic session, encouraging anyone brave enough to step up and take the stage with their act. It does not matter whether it is comedy, singing, magic or anything else, as long as it's engaging. This type of occasion creates team unity by exposing the personal interests of individuals within the team, encouraging communication and developing trust.
Who has not played Simon Says at some point in their life? The rules are simple, nominate one person to be Simon and they give out instructions to the rest of the team. If that instruction begins with ‘Simon says’, the rest of the team must carry that out on camera. Should instruction be given without first saying ‘Simon says’, anyone who does that task is out of the game. This continues until one person remains. Simple, casual and relaxed - perfect as a pick-me-up game that gets everyone laughing.
If you are not familiar with the concept of shows such as Through the Keyhole or MTV: Cribs, the object is simple. A person gives a showcase of their home (not revealing who they are) and the team must work out whose home they are looking at. There will no doubt be various clues that participants must try to piece together – smaller teams may want to limit the number of guesses to keep this team building game competitive.
Ask everyone to send in their baby photos (not everyone may wish to do so) and challenge the team to guess who is pictured. This could be a game in itself or make up a round of a larger online quiz.
This team-building idea for remote workers could serve as a fantastic ice breaker for new starters, asking them to draw up their bucket list and share it with the team. By doing this, the team can learn about their colleague and what makes them tick, as well as providing various topics for conversation when it may otherwise be awkward without any information to work with.
If your team is a fan of watching movies and would often spend their breaks discussing new releases, why not nominate a movie on any of the popular streaming services available to watch one evening and dedicate 10/15 minutes to discussing it the day after.
This is another of Team Challenge Company’s offerings and one that we believe will make for a fun activity for the team to get involved in. Escape the Mob is an app-based escape room-style game where teams work together to solve puzzles and complete challenges in an attempt to get away from the mob and to safety. Demanding effective teamwork and clear communication, Escape the Mob is engaging, educational and fun, the perfect balance for any remote team building activity.
Virtual karaoke has the potential to be equally as disastrous as it can be successful. Not everyone is going to have the voice of an angel, and that is half the fun. This will make for a good time, especially if you can arrange for this to happen on an evening when no one has to get up for work the next morning.
Based on the popular BBC game show of the same name, Would I Lie to You challenges players to work out whether a statement is true or a lie. The game can be played in several formats, but a common one is asking players to make three statements, two of which are true and the other being a lie. Can the rest of the team guess which is the lie?
Lastly, simply downing tools for the last hour of the working week will be a welcome way of heading into the weekend. Set up a video conference with all the team and have a laugh and a joke with your colleagues because, after all, we must remain connected and human, even when working remotely.
At Team Challenge Company, we have a broad collection of online team building games for remote employees, all of which offer exceptional learning and development opportunities as well as engaging the team taking part. We believe that the most effective teams are those who feel connected, a trait which only becomes more important when team members aren't able to see or speak to each other as regularly.
For more information on how Team Challenge Company can help your team stay motivated and productive, please don't hesitate to get in contact with us today.
As much as 60% of the British workforce is now working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing organisations to reevaluate their entire business model and practices. While some may be used to remote work, for many more, this will have been their first time of working from home. There's no doubt that the change will have come easier to some and have been more difficult for others..
Team leaders faced with managing a team via a computer screen are now presented with the task of maintaining a positive working environment despite these teething problems and difficulties. A key part of this is learning how to build a strong culture with a remote team, ensuring that everyone is on the same page even when in different postcodes. The main concern that managers have is making sure productivity remains as high as it would do in the office setting, with the possibility for members of staff to take their foot off the gas without their supervisor watching over their shoulder.
Team leaders faced with managing a team via a computer screen are now presented with the task of maintaining a positive working environment despite these teething problems and difficulties. A key part of this is learning how to build a strong culture with a remote team, ensuring that everyone is on the same page even when in different postcodes. The main concern that managers have is making sure productivity remains as high as it would do in the office setting, with the possibility for members of staff to take their foot off the gas without their supervisor watching over their shoulder.
Whether working remotely or in the office, setting clear expectations of what is expected of the team is a must. This is especially true in present circumstances, where your business is likely to be working remotely through necessity. In this case, team leaders must instil a culture within the team where everyone is expected to communicate as much as possible with their colleagues – this can be done through various communication platforms that may have already been in place.
When the team knows what is expected from them, both in terms of productivity and communication, this goes some way to instilling a positive culture within your remote team. Without this, it can be all too easy for demotivated staff members to weigh down the team and the company.
Trust is the most important aspect for any team, especially those working remotely. Without trust, there is no team. Managers must be able to trust that their staff are working and not taking advantage of their remote workplace. Setting up a system where staff can make a note of what they have spent their time on and/or log completed tasks with as minimal admin time as possible helps to build that trust without the need for constantly checking in.
No one wants to be micromanaged. Not only is micromanagement completely counterproductive, but it simply does not make for building a healthy culture within your remote team. If and when employees feel as though they are not trusted by management, this is often the catalyst for a member of staff to seek other employment opportunities, especially if they feel that distrust will hamper their career development within the company.
We have already touched upon the importance of communication within this post, but as well as having somewhere that members of staff can ask work-related questions and share ideas, nothing beats talking face to face. Working remotely means that you cannot have the off-the-cuff discussions and meetings which you could do in the office; this is why setting a time once or twice a day where everyone checks in should be a priority when it comes to building a positive culture with your remote team.
For some, especially those that live alone, a video conference might be the only face-to-face interaction they have in a day. That can serve as a real motivation boost, as well as further helping from a team-building point of view, with members of staff better able to bond and feel connected with their colleagues, even if the actual call itself lasts for just a few minutes.
This presents a good means of discussing any action points that are perhaps better communicated verbally as opposed to in a written format. Even if there is nothing specific to discuss, allowing time to catch up helps to build and maintain team spirit, unity and connection.
As the world of business evolves so, too, has Team Challenge Company with our team working to offer specialised remote team building events. We have developed innovative programmes that champion teamwork, communication and connectivity, all perfectly placed to assist as you begin building a culture with your remote teams.
For more information on our range of team building events and how we can help your business, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today via our contact page or call us on 03300 04 09 03.
