We have already talked about the advantages of online team building, but not everything is perfect. Remote team building also has some disadvantages. But with a few small tricks we can easily solve them and carry out activities without problems. Be prepared to combat these disadvantages!

Time and opportunity cost.

It’s no surprise: The time you are doing an online team building activity is time you are not working and advancing on projects and tasks. Many times the lack of time on the part of a team that is already full of work is one of the reasons why the number of team building activities carried out is not done (or reduced) . 

Anyway, this disadvantage should not be taken into account as much, because it is not time wasted. The advantages of team building are many, therefore it should be seen as an investment, not as a waste of time. Even so, there are two solutions to this problem, or to those who see these activities as a problem regarding lack of time:

Solution 1: Go for several online team building activities that can be carried out in an hour or two. There are simple, digital activities like those offered by GamiTeams which last between one and two hours per session. And taking out an hour or two a month is not crazy. Much more time we waste in useless meetings that lead nowhere .

Solution 2: Bet on online team building activities that are focused on values that fit into your company culture. If we simply carry out team building activities out of tradition or inertia, but We do not tie them to any message or any value , it is easier for many to be a waste of time. But there are games like DigiKudos that encourage communication and feedback, and there are games like DigiCrea that encourage creativity and innovation in the workplace . By giving added value to team building activities we can justify your investment in time. 

Budgets and costs compared to the experience received

When many companies were forced to move their entire structure to remote work, team building activities also moved to a digital and online terrain. However, what many companies did was bring exactly the same activities to a video call. An online wine tasting, an online dance workshop, a videoconference cooking course … These were some examples that we observed searching on Google how to do online team building activities in times of pandemic. These activities require a large budget due to their logistical complexity , but the experience was not the same as when these workshops were held in person. Was it worth the cost? Many think no.

Solution 1: Bet on digital tools to do online team building for remote teams. Let’s not drag old habits into a world where they make no sense. Let’s take advantage of the power of digital tools to propose proposals from scratch. A session of GamiTeams costs between € 50 and € 75 and up to 8 people can play per session(at an average of € 9 per person, and you only need a video calling tool). Something like this can be much more rewarding than a traditional team building activity transferred to a video call. In fact, the reviews are positive: “ in addition to getting to know their classmates better, they laughed a lot and the time flew by .”

Solution 2 : Go ahead and create your own fun online activity at 0 cost. Question and answer games, drawing games, fun challenges to do on video calls … Plus This allows you to do many activities throughout the year, instead of just one or two, and it also allows you to direct those activities wherever you want, including the company culture values you want to highlight. Experiment, try, ask for feedback, correct, keep experimenting … in the end you will come up with super fun, super original and unique activities . And most importantly : super adapted to your company culture. You don’t even need to start big: try a department or two, and then scale up little by little. 

Time to organize the activity

Before we have mentioned the time of the employees that they are not going to dedicate to their tasks. But the time that those responsible for the team building activity must dedicate to organize it is also notable . This is especially worrying in the type of activities that we have mentioned before, where there is even physical material to send to the participants at home, such as wines (in the case of online wine tastings) or kits with the ingredients. for the recipe in the case of the cooking workshop. 

We have also proposed as a solution to one of the disadvantages of online team building to create our own activity, but this also requires preparation time and not all companies can take on this workload.

Solution 1: Entrust a company with a digital activity focused on your values, designed to be carried out online. Companies like Prisma, specialized in games and gamification In the business field , they can help you in this task. Tell them ! They have experience both in large companies such as Consum, Ferrovial or American Express, as well as in local companies and social associations.

Solution 2: Bet on tools and games that are activated in two clicks, like the games from GamiTeams. You just need to contact them to activate your account and in no time you have the game up and running. You can learn more here .  

The technological barrier

Forcibly we have had to learn to work with digital tools that until now we had never had to use. Making a video call can be a very simple task, but if you have never made one, the first few times could be true hell. Fingers crossed that the microphone worked! Because calling was easy , but if any problem appeared we would be paralyzed .

Little by little we have learned to navigate this virtual terrain, but for many it is still a swampy terrain where any unknown technology causes flashbacks of war.

Solution : Bet on very simple technologies that adapt to the tools that you already know and with which you are familiar. The games of GamiTeams are activated with one click, and the only thing you need to do next is share your screen with your traditional video calling tool . 

Coffee for everyone does not work

For many years we have had to endure great activity for the entire company, whether there are 10 or 100 of us. A climbing session? Well, maybe only 30% like the idea, and maybe 10 % see it as horrible, but everyone had to join the bandwagon whether they liked it or not. We have continued to carry that old habit along . Many companies do not conceive of something as simple as creating different activities by department simply because of that phrase that does so much harm: “ we have always done it that way . ”

Solution : We are not going to tell you to give up the big activities that bring together the entire organization, because we understand that they are important. But they do complement these annual activities with more discreet monthly activities focused on the tastes of each group. For example, DigiKudos is designed to work on communication and feedback. DigiCrea to work on innovation and creativity. DigiReta to get to know each other better between teams with hooligan and fun challenges. You can choose several games and focus each one on the specific audience that will enjoy them the most.  You can learn more about the games here .

Difficult to measure results

The gentlemen and ladies who pay for the party like to know that that cost has translated into something more tangible than “ everyone had a great time . ” If this is not the case, team building activities are increasingly seen as rituals that cost moneyand lead nowhere .  

Solution 1: Make the objectives and expectations clear before the activity, and check if they have been met. From satisfaction surveys after the activity, to something more related to the day. Add work time , such as time spent in meetings (if we have done an activity that can work and improve communication ) .

Solution 2: Commit to a continuous measurement tool throughout the year, and check if there is a difference after a team building session. Tools like Zeppelean can help in this case. If we continually measure the team’s mood , the quality of communication, etc., we can check with data how they were before and after the online team building activity. You can learn more about Zeppelean here . 

Scarce in time

Many of the problems we have mentioned here not only correspond to online team building activities, but also to traditional ones. That is why (especially those related to budget, opportunity cost and logistical issues ) traditional team building activities were only done once or twice a year. However, if we want to raise team morale, improve relationships between colleagues and ultimately work on the company culture, one or two activities a year may be insufficient. 

Solution : Now that digital tools and games allow us to do online team building activities easier and cheaper, we can consider doing more activities throughout the year. Instead of a great annual activity, doing small activities throughout the year. Or even that these two models coexist at the same time. 

In conclusion, no matter how many advantages online team building has, it will not always fit all situations and it also has several disadvantages, since there is no perfect option. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take action and find solutions to these disadvantages. Remote virtual team building can be a great opportunity to leave old habits behind , and consider a digital company culture that fits much more with each member of the team.

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Do you want to start with something quick and easy? Try one of the GamiTeams games!