“Corporate team building activities are necessary, either it is online or on-the-ground basis”
Team building activity is a necessary for creating a stronger bond among colleagues. It is a fun time together. Allowing everyone getting to know each other in lovely moment.
There are so many options for team building event. Many activities can be done outdoor or indoor. Colleagues can finally meet up face to face with each other
Multi national company will invite their employees who work overseas and they gather everyone in one place. They will do team building event together for one whole day or two full days.
It is a fun moment. The goal is to bring everyone together and create a strong bond together. Giving a warm moment, getting to know each other better.
It was fun, it was an event that everyone was waiting for, until the pandemic hits. There is no longer (yet) outing activities together. Until when, we don’t know.
Online Team Building Activities to the rescue
Working from office is not an option for most people. Working from home is the new normal. Working from home depends on our internet connection & our desktop. It has different emotional attachment than meeting up colleagues near the coffee machine and have a chat for 3-5 minutes.
The pandemic hits. Therefore, it is not even an option to have team building activity in one place like it used to be. But team building event is still a necessity. Especially when everyone doesn’t work side by side in the same building anymore.
Companies start looking for a solution. An online team building activities are the one that they are looking for. There are so many team building activities but a few can only be done online. It is even not much options to find a customized & personalized team building event.
A customized
corporate team building event!
There are so many online team events, such as cooking, painting or even like board games together but…only few that can offer a very customized team activity.
Customized means that the team building activities really share the story, the theme, the values of the company. The client can really put their ideas & core values into the activities.
The ingredients shouldn’t be difficult to find, the method should boost everyone’s creativity and also it allows everyone to have fun and get to know each other better. Especially when the team members are scattered around the world.
These are 3 options for online customized team building event:
1. Cooking, Painting or any other creative workshop :
Everyone can have their own ingredient by buying or the provider send the ingredients. The theme can be customized based on the company’s theme.
2. Board Games Activities :
This is such a fun moment to get to know everyone. The games can be customized based on the preference, like getting to know each other cultures or simply about guessing each other personalities.
3. Food Art Workshop :
Think of my workshop like cooking workshop but without the stove. The ingredients are coming right just from your fridge. You can use your special ingredients and create your own food art that resemble the team building event’s theme.
Those are the most common online team building workshop that easily can be customized. It will boost creativity & togetherness among team members.
Recently I did team building event for 70 people from 15 nationalities and they are based on 4 different countries: China, Singapore, The Netherlands and Portugal. This fun activity was 45 minutes long. The theme was Tour Around the World.
So, I decided to make a module where everyone can make food art that is using special ingredients from their own culture or country.
It was such a fun moment because it allowed everyone to show their culture. Indonesian people used red chili pepper in their food art, Chinese people used their special cabbage and fruit and shaped it into a flower and Dutch people used either cheese, bread or drop to show their culture on the food art plate.
I had a fun moment learning so many fun tips and tricks from them too! They were so excited and so enthusiast doing it and sharing it to their teams Microsoft chats. I will share the result in a few days from now.
The Facilitator of Online Team Building Activity
So, there are some options for online team building activities but only a very few that can offer a customized one.
But there is also one important thing that affects the whole vibe of the event. The facilitator should be someone who is very skillful in team building activities.
She can accommodate all the team members personalities & have a positive energy that’s shown online.
Everyone should be able to get her energy even it’s a virtual event.
Facilitating on the ground team building event & online team building activities require different skills.
Technical issue can arise easily and online activities are depending on that. Someone who can handle the team building event with creativity & good problem solving will save the day.
Because technical issue in online workshop can’t be solved by replacing or moving the teams to another place & giving another game while waiting the issue to be solved.
The FUN online team building activity usually takes place during quarter meeting or half year meeting.
The meeting will be held the whole day and the organizer needs 1-2 activities that lift up everyone’s mood. Activity that engages everyone, make everyone’s smile and boost their positive energy. It takes around 45 – 90 minutes.
If you are reading this until this far, thank you so much!
I really appreciate.
You can also share your ideas & comments.
Simply drop me a message : contact@sekarnareswari.com
I will be happy to answer all of your questions.
…and if you want to search me through google, you can simply type:
Sekar Food Art!
Happy to know you all,
Sekar Nareswari
The creative head of Sekar Food Art & Workshop. She is mastering her food art's skill & coaching in The Netherlands, Philippines & Indonesia. Her friends describe her as a very energetic and creative person, her family sees her as a very expressive and extrovert person. Food Art & Workshop is her outlet to express her creativity, to boost her energy and to share her passion with others. She is currently living in Zwolle, The Netherlands. Connect with Sekar on Instagram.