Just because your organization has transitioned to working remotely, doesn’t mean that the team interactions have to stop. Here at Nextrio, we have found a variety of ways to keep our quaran-team engaged and cohesive, despite working from various houses across the city. Here are some of the ideas our staff has had to keep our Nextrion family engaged:

1. Virtual Happy Hour

They say it’s 5 o’clock somewhere and that somewhere is a virtual happy hour call. Using our already implemented communication tool, Microsoft Teams, we have devoted a channel to host happy hours. When folks are finished for the day, they can join the video chat happening with their favorite beverage at home.

2. Virtual Games

There are a variety of games that you and your team can play while remote. You can play these during your virtual happy hour or set up a lunchtime game to get everyone together. Jackbox Games have been our go-to, with a variety of game packs spanning different numbers of players. The laughs are abundant and our Nextrions have even included their friends/families/roommates to join in on the fun. A few other options for virtual games include:

• • Murder Mystery Parties
  • Werewolf/Mafia
  • Charades
  • Bingo
  • Karaoke

 3. Spirit Day

Halloween is a favorite for our office, but who said costumes have to be limited to October 31st? Plan a spirit week or a spirit day(s) to help keep the mood up. Encourage your staff to get creative and craft their outfits with items they have around the house. If you want, you can even add prizes for best dressed or most creative.

 4. Battle Station Videos

Chances are everyone’s home office set up looks vastly different. We decided to call our home set-ups battlestations. We hosted a battlestation competition where everyone could share a one-minute video of their battlestation with our team. Other Nextrions got to vote on their top three favorites and the winners received a prize. This allowed our team to embrace their unique styles and share their cool gadgets, gizmos, and 3D printed objects that they have laying around their house.

 5. Virtual Workout/Art Session/Cooking Class

Another fun idea for your team is to host a group yoga session, an at-home art class, or a virtual cooking class. Not only is this great for team bonding, but it’s a relaxing activity your staff can use to unwind. Who knows, you may even discover that some of your employees have hidden talents.

 6. Food Delivery

While we haven’t exactly mastered remote cake day, we have utilized delivery apps to celebrate our team and deliver them lunch. Many local eateries have pivoted to offer takeout and delivery. We encourage you to support local and purchase gift cards for your team or have lunch delivered to them from your favorite local place. You could even start an internal conversation, sharing your favorite spots with your team. You can also send e-gift cards for many national delivery services, like DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates, etc., some of which have waived delivery fees for local restaurants. 

 7. Pics of Pets

Animals have been front and center while we are working remotely. Many people have showcased their animals during meetings – willingly or not. So why not have a virtual meeting for these new coworkers. You could host a quick session allowing everyone to showcase their fluffy family members; or, if a video conference is too much, allow your staff to share fun and funny pictures of their animals in a chat. I’m sure this is guaranteed to put a smile on a least one person’s face.

While this is just a small list of ideas, we hope we have inspired you to use technology for team building. We would be happy to assist you in setting up any of these fun ideas or hearing about what you and your team are doing. Feel free to reach out to us as info@nextrio.com.