By Katie Elsaesser

So you’re planning a team-building event, and you want to do it virtually? Wonderful! Luckily over the last few years, it has become easier to help facilitate fun, inclusive, and memorable events through online platforms.

Navigating the virtual landscape, however, can be daunting. Whether working with a third-party who specializes in team building events or doing it yourself, here are ten things to consider: 

1. Plan Early 

A last-minute Zoom meeting to catch up with your colleagues is easy to throw on the calendar, but building a fun and connective event takes time and research. Give yourself at least a week, ideally, two to prepare.  (RemoteBridge’s virtual team building events can bring your team together in a whole new way. Learn more)

2. Know Thy Team

Are your team members new to each other? A simple get-to-know-you event might be the best route.  Is your team familiar with each other and just looking to blow off steam? Then likely a group game where everyone is on teams or working towards a common goal might be better. 

Or perhaps you are looking to network with other companies or introduce clients to your company? Then a half day conference that blends video conferencing and ice breaker games might be the way to go.

Have an international team? Then the virtual event space is the perfect place to gather, but keep in mind the time of the event may be tricky. In this case, consider two events to help accommodate different time zones. And if designing your own game, be sure your clues and prompts are culturally agnostic (i.e. no Kim Kardashian references). 

3. Practice Run Through

Now that you know and the outcomes you’re hoping to accomplish. narrow down a list of activities to help you achieve these goals draw up a rough timeline, 

And go through a dry run of your event with at least four team members. If you’re planning on your own, note the moments you find exciting, confusing, or not as interesting, . Remember, excitement is contagious, and if you the organizers are not excited for your event, that feeling will translate among your peers. Clear, simple instructions, of course,  are absolutely essential for a great team building event. 

4. Collect RSVPs 

Asking for an RSVP in advance will increase attendance and allow you to better plan your event.  RSVPs also will make your event feel like “more of a thing” which, in turn, will increase excitement and participation. 

When collecting RSVPs provide a general schedule to your colleagues and highlight a few details about what to expect. But leave a little mystery about the event - don’t give away every fun detail or overload them with information. And, of course, think of RSVPs as a soft investment, where numbers will fluctuate rather than an iron clad figure. Unless your event is mandatory, expect your attendance to fluctuate between 5 and 8%. 

5. Know Your Event Flow

Virtual events eliminate travel planning and a lot of coordination, but build in time to allow for last minute audio and connection issues.  If you have attendees waiting, let them know this was part of the plan and you are right on schedule  

Structure your games and activities to allow your hosts some flexibility about when to conclude each segment.  You always want to end exactly on time - while it may be tempting to go over if people are having a good time, attendance at future events will drop if you don’t end when you say you are going to end.

An event shouldn’t last longer than 90 minutes, nor shorter than a half hour. This helps retain attendees, but, more importantly, retain attention. If you are doing a half day virtual conference, build in time for bathroom breaks and for people to check their email.

6. Consider A Mix of Activities 

Keeping your event moving is key to keeping your audience engaged so build in a good mix of games and activities. You will likely plan more activities than you can actually get to, but this is better than  improvising last minute changes. In general, you’ll most likely want a combination of physical challenges and  mental challenges. For example, at RemoteBridge, we have virtual scavenger hunts to allow people to run around and explore our island, Wizard Battle, a team drawing game, and Last Avatar Standing, a connective, get-to-know you game.  And all events end with a virtual dance party on the beach under fireworks.

Virtual scavenger hunts can be a great way to get folks up and moving. Even if it’s just a digital avatar searching through a virtual environment - any change of atmosphere is a welcomed reprieve to a stationary setting. If you have already, also consider a virtual escape room in which teams work together towards a common goal. 

The most important part about picking the right activities for your group is that they are fun and connective and don’t feel like a quiz or a complicated work project. 

7. Don’t Do Trivia

Trivia games can be enjoyable but most teams have done a lot of these already and, even if they haven’t, the experience will be quite familiar.  And those who are less keen on trivia will like they are taking a grade school test or being formally reviewed.Best to stay away from drilling employees about who knows more on your team. 

If you do host a trivia game, make it personal to your colleagues. Everyone will be more excited to answer “Who danced on the table to Queen’s Don’t Stop Believing at the holiday party in 201?” rather than “Which product had  the best  Q3 reviews?” The more fun you have planning, the more fun your team will have playing. 

8. Find the Right Platform

Running a virtual team building event in a video conference platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams can make your event feel like any other work meeting. In other words, you can wear a funny hat in Zoom but you are still in another Zoom call. Over the course of the pandemic, so called “Zoom Fatigue” has set in - note how many of your colleagues keep their cameras turned off these days. 

People are often tired of being on camera or worrying about a kid running through the background or what their messy room signals to colleagues.  To keep team members engaged, consider a fun, hosted, avatar-based experience from RemoteBridge.  If you are going to run an event via more traditional video conference, consider companies like Hopin, TeamBonding, Kapow, or Elevent.  

9. Find the Right Host

Dynamic hosts are essential for a successful event. D.I.Y. hosting is possible but unless you are a professional virtual event host, not recommended.  You are likely to find yourself reading instructions, unable to answer activity instructions, and scrambling to sort out any tech issues. (We have found the best hosts are often stand-up comedians who are comfortable ad libbing with work-appropriate humor.)

An experienced host will also know the best ways to get more reticent attendees to participate, by giving them the right tools, game structure, and encouragement.

(Go beyond funny hats in Zoom and bring your team together with RemoteBridge. Schedule a tour. )

10. Choose The Right Tech

Not everyone can jump into a full haptic VR suit and join their colleagues in a digital office, but this isn’t a must-have in order to have a fulfilling virtual team building event. The important thing to remember is that your team is trying to connect, and if they can’t connect to the internet, they’re really not going to connect with their colleagues

The logistics of planning an in-person corporate event run the gamut of obstacles including travel, location scouting, housing, and a long list of other annoyances. Luckily with virtual events that list is paired down to only a few potential snafus, but the main roadblock becomes the technology. 

The two most important  things to consider with a virtual event are internet and the age of device. All other technology is just icing on the cake, but if there is difficulty with one or both of these it will be difficult to conduct  a fun virtual event. 

With the advancement of technology as a whole, most events are easily accessible. Good event platforms do not require any download of applications or content, and are easily accessed from your browser. This allows users to avoid malware, and simplifies the login process of the attendee. 

Luckily, most virtual meeting platforms only require a bare minimum of  .06 - 1.5 mbps internet speed to function, which is well below the national average. Needless today, the faster the speed, the better the experience. The last thing you want it for your CEO to have terrible internet right in the middle of their End of Year reports. Events will also retain more attendees longer the better their internet is. 

Wrapping Up…

Virtual team building events are a great way to keep everyone on the same page when it comes to your organization's mission, culture, and values.  A good event will foster trust which, in turn, will foster creativity and improve retentionWork-from-home may have been an unexpected change over the last few years, but it also allows us to connect in entirely new ways - all without the commute!