Include Remote Employees in Team Building Activities

How can we include remote employees in team building activities? There’s a lot of value in periodically bringing all of your employees together for a team building exercise. When done right, these team building activities can improve communication, foster cohesion, and bolster morale.

Team building is harder than it used to be, and that’s largely thanks to the phenomenon of remote

workers. Simply put, it’s a lot harder to include employees in your group activities when those employees don’t work in the same building — or in some cases, when they don’t even work in the same town!

While it’s challenging, it’s by no means impossible. Let me offer a few specific ways you can include remote employees in team activities.

Remote Team Building Activities

• Start with some small talk. One of the disadvantages of being a remote employee is that you don’t get to participate in everyday small talk, like on-campus employees do. As a leader, you can encourage your virtual employees. Build some space into each conference call or video meeting for personal chat. Make it a point to go around to each employee, and especially each remote employee. Ask them something about their family or about how their week is going.