10 Ways to Connect with Your Virtual Team

May marks the third month of remote work arrangements for much of the nation’s workforce. And as we settle into our new offices – from the living room couch to the poolside lounge chair – the initial shock . As businesses across the nation went from business as usual to mandated work from home, people are beginning to settle into a virtual workforce.

This ongoing connection through a virtual workforce is more than just a way to see one another during meetings. In fact, engaging with your team through a virtual platform can improve your overall culture and team synergy. Did you know that HireBetter functions as a virtual company with offices and employees across six cities? To ensure that our team remains connected despite the distance, we established a Culture Committee named “The Vibe Hive.” This group is made up of a cross-section of employees whose goal is to create purposeful and fun opportunities that increase employee engagement and foster a unified HireBetter community. 

Now is the ideal time to develop and test new ways to keep your team engaged. Whether you are managing a team or are part of a team that you feel is craving engagement, share this list with them and give it a try. Here are some Vibe Hive favorites: 

1. Morning Coffee Break – Schedule a 30-minute check in call at the beginning of the week. No agenda. Doesn’t have to be work related. (And coffee is optional) 

 

2. Team Pride Ask coworkers to wear company swag or company colors during virtual team meetings. 

 

3. Take a Trip: Turn your Zoom meeting up a notch by adding a virtual background and ask your teammates to do the same! 

 

4. Work in the same room: Do you miss the feeling and ambient sounds of the office? Create a virtual meeting with coworkers who share the same sentiment and work normally — albeit with video and sound on. 

 

5. Social Zoom Calls: It shouldn’t be all about work all the time. Here are some things you can schedule on a Zoom call instead:
   1. Weekly Book club discussion
   2. Watch and discuss a TedTalk
   3. Virtual scavenger hunt: the moderator asks the group to find objects in the house and the first one back wins. Then have fun hearing why they chose the object.

   Here are a few fun ideas:
   • Find something orange
   • Find the oldest piece of clothing in your closet
   • Find something from your childhood
   • Find a holiday decoration

    

6. Office Bingo: Fill in your company’s favorite buzz words, including values and the company mission statement for a fun game during a meeting.
   

 

7. Take a Virtual Walk: Pair up people and ask them to take a walk together via FaceTime or Zoom. If you have a closed social media page you can encourage people to use Facebook Messenger or to post photos of their walk.

 

8. Play a Kahoot! game: Engage your team with a fun Kahoot challenge. Have everyone submit pictures of their desk and see if you can guess whose it is! The view of how your teammates work is fun and insightful. 

 

9. Host a watch party. Mail each person their favorite movie candy (make mine Goobers) and a package of microwave popcorn. Block out a long lunch and watch a movie virtually! 

 

10. Invite and embrace the chaos: We are all in this together, but together looks different for each household. Take the stress out of a potential family blooper and conduct a virtual meeting where everyone is invited. The cat that sits on your laptop, dog that barks at every passer-by, a vocal bird, significant other, children. Get everything in the open, laugh together and hear the exhales.

 
This is a small sample of how we have built our community at HireBetter, despite being miles apart. What are some additional ideas that have worked well for your team? We’d love to hear how you’ve created a truly unique culture while managing your team!