4 Ways to Build Camaraderie in a Virtual Setting

The employees form the core of any thriving company. Their unwavering commitment and diligent efforts significantly contribute to the achievements of your organization. Thus, it becomes imperative to show sincere appreciation and admiration towards them and create a more meaningful relationship. 

However, you need a clear plan on how to accomplish that, especially when your employees work remotely. Usually, bonding and communication occur in the hallway or breakroom, but if your staff is working remotely, you’ll want to swiftly build new ways of connecting.

To continue building closer relationships with your employees, even from afar, you will need to organize events, pay attention to the necessities of your employees, and strive to talk with them more often. By actively talking and acknowledging their achievements, companies can foster an environment in which employees feel valued. As a result, it is critical to have a positive attitude and a strong will, even if everyone is not physically there.

Here are four ideas to create a meaningful relationship with your employees even when working remotely.

Celebrate your employees’ birthdays

Prepare a virtual birthday party and send presents to your employees celebrating their birthday. Create the event, send everyone an invitation, and make sure you have several surprises prepared for the person celebrating. If you don’t know what to prepare, research online for fun virtual birthday ideas and choose the most interesting one. For example, send out gift bags loaded with sweets, ornaments, and the favorite beverages of the person celebrating, so that everyone on the call may enjoy them. 

Along with the gift bags, you might send everyone birthday hats, balloons, and board games, and to the celebrant a personalized gift. Also, during the virtual birthday celebration, you may play a virtual escape room game or set up a quiz for everyone to get involved. There are many ideas you can implement, but the important thing is to make online celebrations fun for team members while also practicing digital interaction.  

Plan enjoyable activities

Keeping your staff entertained is crucial. Organizing an engaging virtual group game, stand-up, or dancing contest is one of the finest ways to keep everyone involved. You may mix these activities by inviting musicians, magicians, and comedians to perform online and include your staff in their performances. 

Another possibility is to give everyone access to some fun online multiplayer games. Even if none of your employees are gamers, these activities and tournaments may be entertaining and help you build a bond with each other. You may also make a playlist and download virtual karaoke software so that everyone can sing joyful tunes throughout the gathering.

Use video conferencing for meetings

While it may be tempting to hold team meetings over the phone to reduce distractions and save time preparing for the camera, video chats can make your team feel more connected as they’ll still be able to see each other face to face. In addition, teams have fewer miscommunications since body language can be read over video. 

Given that team members may be taking care of their children while working, or working in tight rooms with a roommate or spouse, make it clear that noise disturbances are normal and they won’t be reprimanded for that. 

Create a trusting environment

When teams are divided, creating confidence among coworkers might be more difficult. To implement any of the above suggestions for improving team camaraderie, you must first create a trusting work atmosphere. 

Building a trusting culture improves both employee engagement and corporate outcomes by enhancing productivity and profitability. In fact, teams that have an open work style are 60% more likely to achieve faster results.

The first step in fostering trust among remote teams is to encourage managers to interact in the same way that they would in the office. For example, be an icebreaker at the start of a meeting, be present in the group chat, and participate in each event suggested and organized by your employees.  

Final thoughts

At first look, these ideas provide your staff the opportunity to be sidetracked from work projects. However, by recognizing their desires to keep connected, your team will be more productive and less stressed amid the present situation. Putting together a virtual event to celebrate their birthday or simply a small get-together, requires both ingenuity and work. So, choose an appropriate virtual event platform and consider methods to engage your employees. Make sure to allow your employees to talk and express themselves.