Strengthen team cohesion, transform virtual meetings into team building!

Interaction has always been a key word for pushing team members to strengthen their cohesion. It must be understood that if most meetings often take place online, neglecting this aspect of collaboration can set a considerable trap for the company.
Indeed, if concentration on the heart of the work is one of the main advantages of virtual meetings, a little animation would not hurt. On the contrary, everyone benefits by allowing everyone to get closer.

Usually, team building sessions require the organization of an event in an interesting place with professional entertainment. However, while resources are limited and it is necessary to create an interactive event between colleagues, working on group cohesion is still necessary, even essential.
To be noted and anticipated, therefore, among other things, when you want to organize an interactive meeting that will promote the unity of your team, the following challenges:
• The quality of the internet connection and the attention of each team member are not always what is needed for dynamic remote activities
• Accessories and means are not always available for each participant
• The environment does not always allow you to fully appreciate the moment: the family next door if the person does not have an office at home, the other occupants in a coworking space, etc.

If these are the obstacles to successfully conducting an online team building session, all you have to do is be creative and proactive in order to overcome these problems and make your online meeting an impactful and unforgettable session.
• Inform the people concerned about the event and provide all the necessary details to let them choose to isolate themselves during the meeting in a place where the connection is the best at home (or elsewhere if they prefer!)
• Ask them to prepare the necessary accessories and means in order to effectively participate in the prepared activities.
• Invite professional external facilitators to keep everyone in the spirit of interaction.

To give you a starting point for starting the online team building session preparation, here are some ideas:
• Introduce various icebreaker activities: describe yourself in one word/describe a colleague in one word, one lie two truths, etc.
• Create team challenges during virtual meetings: water drinker challenge, "complete the picture on Paint" challenge, etc.
• Organize a team game session: escape games (there are quite a few on Fortnite), card games, riddles or quizzes, etc.
Your company has a lot to gain by investing in ideas to transform virtual meetings into team building. The bigger the challenges seem, the more the ideas vary, in order to create a unique experience to strengthen team cohesion.