You found our list of the best global team building ideas.
Global team building ideas are activities that help geographically dispersed workers form new connections and sharpen their problem-solving abilities. These ideas include book discussions, online Pictionary, and online health sessions. Global team building is an excellent approach to improving communication, fostering a sense of community, strengthening connections, and boosting morale in geographically distributed workplaces.
These activities are also related to online team building games, virtual team building activities, and virtual group activities. Many of these exercises can also serve as virtual diversity and inclusion activities.
This article contains:
- global team building activities
- global team engagement ideas
- geographically distributed team building ideas
- team building activities for teams in different countries
Here we go!
List of global team building ideas
Since many modern workplaces employ remote workers from geographically dispersed locations, virtual team building exercises have become more common. These activities are an excellent way of introducing new team members, increasing employee engagement, and fostering bonds that sustain successful teams and cross-country collaboration. The following are global team building activities you can consider.
1. Idea Mockup
Idea Mockup is a problem-solving challenge that requires you to use your imagination and creativity to develop solutions to everyday business problems. Challenges that encourage “lateral thinking” aim to kickstart participants’ imaginations by prompting employees to consider solutions to issues from new perspectives. Team building exercises that require participants to use their imagination and creativity are a terrific way to get to know one another better and have some fun in the process. Of course, some questions have standard answers. Your team will benefit the most, though, from the subsequent discourse and problem-solving.
You can create a Google Document detailing the specific problem. Afterward, give each participant access to edit the document, one at a time. Each employee will write their idea for solving the problem, and the next worker on the queue can write a different idea or add their input to the previous statement.
2. Virtual Scattergories
Scattergories is a great mental challenge. The activity encourages original thought by testing players’ ability to think quickly as they use a given first letter to name objects in a particular category. The game is best for teams of two to six players, although smaller groups of players are welcome to play in breakout rooms.
Participants can fill out digital forms, or the host can share the lists on their screen, and players can copy and paste their answers into the chat. Once the round begins, players will have two minutes to think of a response to each prompt, and then the moderator will give points according to the rules. The fun aspect of this game lies in the variety of answers. For example, employees in different countries might provide unique responses based on their culture, which is an interesting learning opportunity for other players. For instance, for sports, an employee in the USA might put climbing, while a worker in India might write cricket.
Check out these Scattergories lists.
3. Online Tabletop Simulations
This team building exercise is helpful if you would rather focus on business matters in the global office. To start, make up an issue that often arises at your firm. The next step is to solve the problem using a tabletop simulation. Organizations, including fire departments, armies, and engineering corporations, often engage in these drills.
When dealing with these issues in the real world, finding a solution might take a long time because of the length of time because due to communication delays. Tabletop exercises allow you to concentrate on decision-making processes and alternative courses of action in minutes rather than hours. Due to timezone differences, work issues can often go unattended, pending office hour sync. This activity presents a unique opportunity to learn about your team’s approach to problem-solving.
4. Book Discussions
You may help your staff grow professionally by encouraging them to read regularly. Moreover, introducing five-minute book chats promotes open dialogue on various themes. The activity is perfect for honing your abilities and gaining confidence in front of an audience. All participants should read the same book or article and commit to a time limit for book chats to be productive. Then, after the reading deadline, every participant will have a chance to share their thoughts on the book via a group call. This idea can boost employees’ confidence by allowing them to voice their views despite the possibility of negative feedback.
Check out these lists of books on work topics.
5. Open Mic
This activity is akin to a mini-talent show. You can give everyone a minute to think of unique interests or skills they have or like doing and perform for the group. Employees can share whatever they believe will be interesting for the team, whether a tale, a joke, or playing guitar on video. You can use this activity as an icebreaker or conversation starter at your next meeting. According to research, small talk can help build trust and team cohesion. Also, this activity presents a unique opportunity to learn about each worker’s culture and traditions.
For similar activities, read about virtual talent shows.
6. GIFs Party
Since GIFs are easily shareable in most online communication platforms, this option is a simple yet effective online team-building exercise. A picture-based activity like the GIFs Party can help your team overcome language barriers. Employees in the group should offer a shoutout to another colleague in the group for a task they completed recently or consistently do well, and then pick an appropriate GIF to express their praise. After everyone has selected a GIF, they may provide individual compliments and share their selections. You can also give employees prompts to respond to in GIF form. For example, “weekend plans” or “when a coworker brings in food.”
7. Guess Whose Answer
For this activity, get every team member to answer the same question. It is advisable to use a question that will elicit varied responses, such as “What was your first pet?” “Where is your birthplace?” or “What is your favorite ice cream flavor?” Every participant should answer and submit their response in a private message to the leaer. The host should read the answers aloud and have the group try to figure out who wrote each one.
The catch is that every participant must agree on each response. Whoever has the solution must conceal the fact that they know it by acting as if they do not know. You can reveal the worker’s identity after every participant has voted. This activity challenges team members to think outside the box to get knowledge from each other.
For inspiration, here is a list of get-to-know-you questions.
8. Quick Recall
Quick Recall is a fantastic exercise for team bonding and memorization. For this activity, you will pose a single question to the group and have participant share their thoughts. It is preferable to ask questions with straightforward responses. For example, you can ask for a book, show, or movie recommendation. You might also ask workers what their favorite color or food is. You can try to frame your inquiry such that it will reveal an interesting fact about the individual.
Once every participant has spoken, have them remember the answer of another worker. Players can not repeat information that someone else mentioned. As the quantity of clues decreases, the difficulty of the game increases. The group can assist an individual who is struggling. This approach guarantees that every worker is involved in the game and that the pace never slows.
9. Emoji Pictionary
For this activity, get every participant to take turns sharing an amusing story about a recent work project or what they experienced recently. However, your workers can only use emojis to express themselves. The remainder of the group should then collaborate to determine what the emoji meant. Finally, the team may engage in conversation by asking the emoji sender follow-up questions. However, the only way participants can reply is with more emojis. This activity can inject some much-needed humor into often tense settings.
10. Virtual Water Coolers
Virtual water coolers are an online space your employees can visit and chat when they need a break. Setting up a Zoom meeting and leaving it open throughout the workday allows attendees to drop in and out as they like. You can also create a designated Slack channel. This idea is suitable for teams who have just switched from a typical office setting to working remotely or for groups in sectors that value constant interaction.
Employees used to remote work and only rarely interact with their coworkers may not value a shared area for breaks. However, it may be beneficial if individuals are used to gathering at regular intervals for a rest and a discussion.
Check out this list of virtual water cooler ideas.
11. Online Pictionary
This activity is the online version of Pictionary on Zoom. You may host a more structured game of Pictionary online on some websites, with virtual cards and a drawing board. For this activity, individuals will draw a symbol on the digital whiteboard of the video call app, probably using lines or geometric figures, and then share their creations with their colleagues. The pressure to complete a drawing within a time limit and show it on camera is often humorous. Also, players will have fun guessing the sketch and accrue points for correct answers.
You should probably factor in some extra time for exhibiting the sketches on camera. If you do not have a copy of Pictionary on hand, you can find word lists on Brightful.
12. Online Wellness Sessions
Remote employees’ wellness session includes several wellbeing-related activities. Usually, the session will begin with an icebreaker, followed by the guide providing some background information on the subject and a few activities. A five-minute guided meditation session is one example of how mindfulness practice may begin. Before starting the actual session, the instructor will go over the basics of mindfulness, including what it is, why it is useful, and how to practice. Additionally, the expert will provide tips on calming your nerves before a team meeting or job interview by practicing belly breathing. Other wellness activities include mental health, financial wellness, routines, and yoga.
Check out more online employee wellness ideas.
13. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
For this scavenger hunt game, list items individuals could have in their houses. Then, have the participants frantically search for the items, one at a time. You will award points to players who locate an item first or find the most objects before the game’s conclusion. This activity is convenient since it requires few supplies and minimal preparation. You may lengthen the process by requiring more objects or more unusual ones.
Examples of prompts to use for the hunt include:
- Sodas
- Sports equipment
- A breakfast meal
- Spices
- Stationery
- Kitchen items
- Bathroom items
This activity might help showcase shared bonds and interests among geographically dispersed teams. For instance, team members might be surprised to know that a different version of a product they have exists in another country.
Check out this guide to virtual scavenger hunts.
14. Powerpoint Parties
Remote presentations are just-for-fun activities where employees give Zoom lectures on a subject of personal interest. Each individual will have ten minutes or more to present a project they worked on or a discussion they led. Since it is difficult to demonstrate a rock wall or a mountain bike during a Zoom conversation, those with active hobbies like rock climbing or mountain biking may prepare a short film instead. For this activity, every participant should be familiar with using Zoom’s screen-sharing features while maintaining audio.
15. Do-It-Yourself Craft Challenge
The DIY craft challenge is one of the fun team building activities for teams in different countries. Each team member has 30 minutes to use common household goods to create a product for the challenge. You may establish guidelines like making an item out of household products, illustrating a video, or doodling. Some members may not be as artistic as others, so try to keep the task as simple as possible. Video instruction could be an excellent way to help participants get started.
You can also invite an artist to lead participants in a simple craft project. You can send your team members a Hoppier gift card loaded with the materials they will need for the session, then sit back and let the artist lead the way.
16. Remote Coworking Groups
One of the most challenging parts about remote work is that employees may not feel like they belong to a team since they all work independently from home. According to a Harvard poll, 52 percent of respondents said they often shunned and left out at work. In addition, there is hardly any time for the crew to hang out and get to know one another when working in different countries and time zones.
The formation of remote coworking groups or simply pairing individuals as coworkers is one of the best geographically distributed team building ideas. For example, employees may join a video conference and collaborate in silence. Even leaving the mics on is optional. Only the camera needs to be active.
Collaborative office environments boost output. This idea is so helpful that companies have created services to bring together remote workers for this exact reason. As a result, your teams will feel closer and work together more effectively.
17. Group Cooking and Recipes Sharing
More individuals are opting to prepare their own meals at home. You can gather your staff on a video conference and ask them to share one of their favorite homemade recipes. If the participants have plenty of time to prepare, they may bring the finished meals as an exhibit. You may even make the activity more interesting by limiting it to recipes for a particular meal like breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Alternatively, have workers deliver meals they know will be unpopular. Since you are working with a global team, you can count on incredible variety.
Here is a list of online group cooking classes.
18. Virtual Cleanup Party
You undoubtedly have at least one folder on your computer that serves as a virtual rubbish bin, regardless of how well-organized your other folders are. Cleaning your computer’s desktop and files as a group may be an enjoyable activity for the entire team. As team members arrange their virtual office, they may collaborate by sharing their screens. Alternatively, you could upload “before” and “after” images.
19. Online Office Trivia
As far as team building exercises go, trivia is relatively basic. However, you may make the game more relevant to your team by including questions about the work environment. For example, you can have your staff answer questions designed to reveal how much they recall their old workplace if they previously worked in a physical location. You can also check out office trivia for ideas. You can read the questions aloud, post them in the discussion, or share a trivia video. Participants will get points for answering questions correctly. An excellent idea for global teams would be compiling country-specific questions if you have branches in different locations. For example, you could ask, “when did the firm’s outlet in India open for business?”
Here is a guide to virtual trivia.
20. Virtual Campfire
For the virtual campfire, you will host a video chat where every employee shares ghost tales, plays Mad Libs, and maybe even lights candles at their computers to make it seem more like a campfire. If you have frequent review sessions at the end of the day or week, this one is certain to be a crowd-pleaser. You can wrap off your meetings with a fun campfire tale or game to get participants in the camping spirit. In addition, this activity helps coworkers bond and get more familiar with one another. Since most cultures have rich storytelling traditions, these session can be an excellent way for global teammates to bond and connect.
Check out this list of virtual campfire ideas.
21. Home Office Picture Challenge
For this challenge, tell employees to send a photo of their home offices. You can create a photo collage from the collected images to serve as the backdrop for future online team conferences. Another option is to display your office wall collage in a public area of your real workplace. Another option is to have team members create a “Cribs-style” video tour of their home office. You should set a realistic time restriction for the videos, but let them have as much fun as they want with it. You can have employees rate each other’s work desks during the meeting.
Alternatively, you can have team members try to identify whose office is in the picture. The office’s owner must take every precaution to remain unnoticed. In fact, you can ask workers to take photos in a way that makes it difficult to determine the actual owner. The team building exercise might potentially become a regular event. You could challenge your employees to a guessing game by having them send in photos of common workplace items like coffee mugs, headphones, and more.
You can set up a Slack channel or any other kind of online chat and teamwork for this activity. This idea adds a humorous peculiarity that the group can discuss and enjoy.
22. Virtual Office Olympics
This activity is the usual workplace Olympics but takes place virtually. You can form small teams to compete in exciting online activities, such as trivia contests and icebreaker questions. Employee morale will rise due to increased camaraderie from the lively atmosphere and friendly rivalry. This team-building exercise is one of the most interesting global team engagement ideas for participating workers. This activity is enormously relatable since the actual Olympics game unites sports lovers from different countries.
Check out this list of virtual office Olympics ideas.
Conclusion
When it comes to improving teamwork across borders, team building exercises are tops. In addition to facilitating familiarity and the development of trusting working relationships, global team building ideas allow employees to ease off and have fun.
Most of the ideas in this article are low-input team-building exercises. Putting together a strong team requires effort, but it need not be a chore. These online team-building activities will immediately and positively affect morale and output. You and your teammates may decide on the best structure for your group.
You can also check out our lists of virtual event ideas, virtual team challenges, and virtual team outings.
Grace He