In order to cooperate with one another, teammates have to trust each other. Building trust in the workplace increases mutual respect, creates accountability, and opens pathways to honest communication.
It may sound surprisingly intimate to trust your coworkers, but this facet of a strong team is essential to success. Whether your team is participating in a fundraiser, working for mutual business success, or even working toward academic goals, investing time in team building exercises can enhance trust--and improve your team’s chances of success.
Here are 10 trust building activities that are excellent for remote teams. Even teams that only communicate virtually can participate in these fun, productive exercises.
The Activities
Slack Game Apps
Virtual messaging system Slack is a favorite of remote teams because it makes team communication a breeze. Instantly and privately message a single teammate, or build a group chat channel centered around a single topic--or even a subgroup of teammates.
Slack has games built right in, all of which are great for team building. Devote channels to playing Slack games and encourage coworkers to log on and play together anytime. When coworkers feel like they can destress and relax together, they feel more inclined to trust each other during business hours as well.
Icebreakers
Breaking the ice doesn’t just get people talking, it breaks down one of the largest barriers to trust: feeling like strangers. Get to know your team and help them get to know each other. Play icebreaker games like Never Have I Ever or Weirdest Place I’ve Been to open up initial conversation. Feel free to start every meeting or team building gathering with an icebreaker.
Icebreakers are some of the most proven exercises for team building. When people like they can communicate openly, they can start to build trust.
Guess Who?
Note that this isn't the branded board game by the same title, which is limited to two in-person players. Rather, this is a game that tests teammates’ knowledge of one another. Each person in the team will discreetly write down the name of someone else in their team. Then, call out individuals at random. The rest of the team will try to guess which person’s name they selected.
Players are allowed to take turns asking yes-or-no questions, like, “Are they blonde?” The person being questioned can only answer with “yes” or “no”, without giving away any other hints. Take score and track the player who guesses the most names correctly. That’s your winner!
The Room Game
Before joining a virtual conference or meeting, ask every member of the team to take one picture of a room in their home. Ask them to submit these pictures to you via email or another chat function. When it’s time to play The Room Game, display each person’s submitted photo one-by-one. The goal is for every team member to guess who’s home they’re looking at.
As with Guess Who, this game tests each player’s knowledge of their teammates. When players get to know unique details about one another, they build the foundations of trust.
Virtual Bingo
Host a virtual Bingo night with your teammates! This game is simple and popular enough that everyone probably knows how to play. Call out spaces at random and instruct every player to mark a space when it’s called. If they get a full row, column, or diagonal line marked, they’re the winner!
Hand out prizes and play themed variations of classic Bingo to change things up. Games like this encourage distant remote workers to spend time together and learn more about the teammates they depend on.
Virtual Coffee Break
The midday slump is real, even when you don’t work in an office. Maybe it’s time for an afternoon pick-me-up like coffee or tea. Use web conferencing platforms to recreate an office staple, the break room, and invite team members to log on with their pick-me-up. Feel free to combine your coffee break with one of the other activities on this list, or encourage team members to offer their own suggestions!
Virtual Happy Hour
Similar to the coffee break, happy hour is a staple of coworker team building. Thankfully, you don’t have to live near the same neighborhood bar; after working hours, invite team members to web conference with an adult beverage of their choosing (if they’re of age, of course). Unwind after a long work day, play games, and more.
Hidden Talent
Everyone has a hidden talent. Whether someone is excellent at drawing, singing, poetry, or even something silly like being surprisingly flexible, these talents may not be needed in your workplace or group project. Invite your team to hop on a web conferencing platform and share a hidden talent with the group!
One of the major steps of building trust with others is to reveal something you tend to keep close to your chest. Don’t ask anyone to share secrets with the group; ask them to share a talent they tend to keep private. More introverted players may be nervous about this activity, but once the activity ends, they’ll be grateful for participating. Encourage everyone to give positive feedback.
Virtual Escape Rooms
Escape rooms are all the rage these days, and in fact, they’ve become so innovative that some game developers have created online, virtual “rooms” to puzzle your way through. Collect clues, solve riddles, and work as a team to get each other out of a sticky situation!
The only drawbacks of virtual escape rooms are the price--you may have to pay quite a hefty entry fee if you’re hosting a large team--and the time investment. Escape rooms are a good option for longer team building events, though. Also be sure to gauge the difficult level; this is the only team building option on this list that could end with everyone losing--which is no fun.
Team Trivia
Competitive team games like trivia are excellent for building trust in the workplace. You have to work closely with and depend on your team to pull through and win. Even if you don’t win, you learn how your teammates compete, how they communicate, and--at the very least--what interesting facts everyone knows!
Playing virtual trivia games with coworkers is fun and easy on TriviaHub. This professional team building site has plenty of fun and exciting games for teams to play. Get to know who you work with and learn to depend on them--especially if prizes are at stake!
In Conclusion
If you lead a company that works remotely, TriviaHub is the virtual communication and team building solution that you need to succeed. Build trusting working relationships between coworkers that would ordinarily be too distant to stay in touch. Get started with TriviaHub today to start benefiting from a better, stronger team culture.