Location-independent work is becoming increasingly popular, not just among employees but also among numerous businesses. Remote recruiting has also become very popular as it allows anybody, from anywhere in the globe, to apply and demonstrate their greatest skills for Fun Virtual Ice Breakers For Remote Teams.
It is time for employers to accept work-from-anywhere as the new normal. To maximize the potential for people, the planet, and profit, functional groups such as HR, IT, Real Estate, Finance, Sustainability, Risk Management, and others must collaborate toward a shared aim of re-framing the work culture in a post-COVID world.
In the new normal, when employees work from home, it is critical for HR to go above and beyond to foster team spirit. Terms like virtual team building, virtual meetings, virtual team games, and virtual icebreakers have become more prevalent as the new work culture has taken hold.
Virtual icebreakers may be utilized at the start of each of your video team meetings, but they are especially useful in a few situations. For example, if your team member works from different places and is unable to meet in person, icebreakers can help them create the same relationship and chemistry that an office-based team would develop over time.
What are Virtual Ice Breakers?
Ice breakers are simple games or discussions that serve to eliminate any concerns or nervousness when a group gathers for a meeting, discussion, casual talk, or a variety of other situations. A virtual ice breaker is ideal for meetings that take place through video conference or conference calls, as people may feel a little awkward in this sort of social situation.
Unlike working with co-workers remote teams may acquire the habit of focusing solely on work duties, denying themselves the opportunity to create relationships with one another and develop effective work patterns that naturally occur when a level of personal understanding is achieved. Virtual team ice breakers can help to break down communication barriers, promote creativity and cooperation, and reduce feelings of isolation.
Why Virtual Ice Breakers Are Important?
Virtual icebreakers are a wonderful method to get your team members to switch gears and focused on something other than the daily grind. These icebreaker exercises are generally quick and fun, but they provide a variety of advantages.
Most of the employees on your team may not know each other, because they are all new to the team. Alternatively, your company may be brand new, and this is the first time everyone is meeting. In any case, you want to move over the uncomfortable period of everyone getting to know each other.
Virtual icebreakers are fantastic for moving past the terrible introduction stage that every team must go through. It enables you to be innovative in how personnel introduces themselves without putting them under strain. These enjoyable team ice breaker games and activities may disarm players, allowing them to relax and interact with their co-workers on a more human level.
It also guarantees that everyone is in the correct frame of mind to begin their workday. A bad start to the day may have a significant influence on your employees’ workflow and interrupt the entire project. These icebreakers will guarantee that your team starts the day on a pleasant note and that they give their best to their job.
Furthermore, this allows you to demonstrate that you genuinely care about them. With the epidemic in full swing, most individuals will feel lonely since they will be confined to their homes for most of the time. Virtual icebreakers let you check in on them and see if you can assist them in any way.
An effective icebreaker may prevent awkward silence at the start of your meeting, get people chatting, and help you relax everyone before you get down to business.
When Virtual Ice Breakers Are Not Suitable?
Virtual icebreakers may not be suitable for every meeting with your team. Spending time on activities might irritate a team member who is working under pressure. These icebreakers will be inappropriate if the individual has a lot of duties to complete or if you are currently in a meeting to handle an emergency.
Furthermore, if a higher-level executive decides to join the call, you may need to postpone it. While it may be tempting to highlight your team’s outstanding working dynamic, it is far more important to remember that their time is likely short. Allow them to get to the purpose of their meeting so that your team may resume its work.
The Most Effective Way to Host Virtual Icebreakers
Want to make sure your virtual icebreakers are as successful and enjoyable as possible? Choose an appropriate location for your virtual meeting. It may not appear so at first, but what your staff can see in the background has a significant impact on their attention span, engagement, and enjoyment.
If you’re conducting the conference from your house or apartment, position the camera to catch as little of your living surroundings as possible – a blank or minimally adorned wall is ideal.
Of course, the best choice is to hold all of your meetings in a conference room or other professional setting. In this article, we are listing some fun ice breaker activities, team building questions, and team ice breaker games that can be helpful
Guess the City
This virtual icebreaker game is ideal for scattered and remote teams. If you’re all working from the same area, the game is far too simple!
Each attendee should offer a unique fact or description about the city/state/country from where they are working without using the real name of the city/state/country. For example, if someone is working from Paris, France, they can add, “This capital city is known for museums.” Someone working in Los Angeles may comment “This city is known for famous people and bad traffic,”.
Alternatively, you might widen it and ask folks to explain the state or nation from where they are operating. For example, if your team is distributed all over the world, you may have them or provide a description of or humorous facts about their location.
“WHY” is the Question
Allow each individual to select an item from their desk and hold it up to the camera for others to see. The individual can then explain what it means or why it’s on their desk.
This might be either nostalgic or hilarious. Someone may, for example, bring up a framed photo of their pet and tell you a little bit about it. Someone else may hold up an empty coffee cup and remark, “I haven’t had time to clean dishes yet.” It doesn’t have to be meaningful.
What we put on our desks can tell others a little bit about us—or at the very least make them giggle.
What is Common?
In this game, participants must discover the one thing they all share in common that is unrelated to their jobs.
This virtual icebreaker is enjoyable since it necessitates additional effort to learn more about each individual. You may start by having everyone toss out random data, ask questions, and see where they can establish connections—even if it’s a stretch!
For example, you may say, “I enjoy cooking.” Another employee could add. “My favorite cuisine is Italian, but am a poor chef ” someone else could say “I speak Italian!” In my final year of college, I studied abroad in Rome.” From there, you could learn that you’ve all been to Rome, which could lead to you swapping memories about your experiences there.
After throwing some ideas and questions around, you can discover a shared pastime, such as knowing how to play the piano. Or you might discover a remarkable coincidence, such as the fact that you and one of your colleague’s mother went to the same high school in London.
Two Truth and One Lie
This virtual icebreaker game is widely used as a get-to-know-you game at parties. It works effectively when you need a short or impromptu action because it requires no additional planning or equipment. There is no extra equipment necessary, however, a pencil and paper may be useful if you are keeping score.
The game Two Truths and a Lie is often played with a small number of people, although it may be played with as few as two players or as many as a large group of people.
To begin, one member of the group must make three comments about themselves to the rest of the group. The key is that not all of the assertions will be true—two should be truthful and one should be a falsehood.
When you’re through, have everyone guess which statement they believe you made up. Once everyone has guessed, confess which of your statements a lie was.
Continue the game by selecting someone who successfully predicted to go next, and then play as many rounds as you’d like.
To get more idea about this game you can have a quick look at 100+ Funny Two Truths and a Lie Ideas [+Game Rules & Suggestions]
Never Have I Ever
Online escape room
Do you require a full-fledged team-building activity? Consider using a virtual escape room. If you’ve ever done the actual thing, you know it’s as much fun as it is nerve-racking! It entails overcoming different hurdles, deciphering codes, and solving riddles to “escape out of the chamber.”
It’s the ideal team-building event — if your co-workers enjoy a terrific game, they’ll be fans. There are several escape room platforms available, here is an example.
Virtual Paint Activity
Participating in a creative, art-based activity may assist your team in developing innovative problem-solving abilities. Taking risks outside of your comfort zone might help you gain confidence and develop your ability for strategic risk-taking. Remember to choose a date and time that is convenient for your group. Once you’ve decided when and how you’ll meet, it’s time to figure out how you’ll meet.
This may appear difficult at first, but there are several solutions available to you. For a smaller meeting, an app like FaceTime may be appropriate. You may utilize a more complex platform, like Zoom, for bigger gatherings.
This game is one of our favorites since it mixes trivia, hands-on painting activities, and a variety of team-building tasks. Your staff will take part in engaging, interactive street art-themed activities during this program.
Virtual Cooking Class
Food has an incredible ability to bring people together. Food is always there, whether it’s a Sunday breakfast, a special event, or a get-together. When making or sharing a meal, family and friends usually find time to bond.
The same is true for businesses. Team building exercises were created expressly for the goal of bonding. These activities include rock climbing, laser tag, hiking, fun, and games. But what if you went outside the box and had a team-building virtual cooking class?
We find it is a great idea as it helps to increase the problem-solving abilities of your team and also encourages their creativity and innovation skills.
The kitchen may be a nightmare, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. A fire might start, food could burn, and you could gravely injure yourself.
Mishaps are unavoidable due to the strain that comes with working together to pull off a superb meal. The team may run out of ingredients, a team member may become injured, and so on.
This is one of the issues addressed by team-building corporate cooking programs. “How do we address this problem?” is the query. The idea is to think logically as a group and come up with a shared answer to get the work done. Later, the same approach is utilized in the workplace.
Virtual icebreakers, as you can see, do not have to be awkward. It all comes down to understanding the dynamics of the group and selecting an activity or question that is acceptable for your team. You’ll be well on your way to improving team collaboration and trust with these virtual icebreaker ideas.
We’d love to know which one is your favorite; please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Or, if you have any more amazing icebreakers that you utilize with your virtual team, please share them with us!
Find out about the best Online team activity number 1 to strengthen remote work
