Bringing Remote and In-Office Staff Together Through Team Building Hybrid-style
The hybrid workplace is the new norm, but this creates a conundrum: how do you cultivate team spirit when half of your staff works from home and the other half sits in an office? The trick is creating meaningful experiences that transcend physical boundaries.
Design for Equal Participation
Make sure the activity is not in favour of people who are working from the office. You’ve already lost if your office team is playing rounders while remote workers watch you on Zoom. Do, however, pick activities that everyone can do actively — escape rooms together online work great and there are lots of different companies doing them now; trivia competitions where you get bonus points for being the quickest to answer questions correctly in crowdsourced games from around the world; collaborative problem-solving over long-distance teamwork.
Use Technology Strategically
Buy decent video peripherals in every meeting room so that people working from home are an addition to the meeting, rather than always feeling a bit out of it; invest in quality tools such as Miro or Mural which allows creative works to be co-created real-time, no matter where your team member is.
Create Hybrid-Friendly Traditions
Create rituals acceptable to all. Weekly coffee chat, monthly “show and tell,” quarterly hybrid hackathon helps keep all team members in the loop regardless of location.
Rotate In-Person Opportunities
When possible, set a budget and bring remote workers together for events. This once in while meet comes with a long term friendship that works to sustain virtual engagements. For Corporate Team Building Activities, contact 270climbing.com/group-activities/corporate-team-building
Prioritise Communication
Hybrid teams thrive on transparency. Build these systems into your team-building activities by creating shared channels for non-work chat or finding space in all-hands check-ins to discuss more than just project updates.
