There is nothing like team games and a spot of light-hearted competition to boost your team’s communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
However, in the current situation, it’s not just your team’s skills that need boosting. With plenty of low morale caused by the pandemic, everyone working remotely can do with a bit of cheer and fun to liven up their lives, make them feel better, and give them something to look forward to.
And the biggest bonus is that all the fun will contribute to a positive attitude and work culture!
Yes, we are building a solid case for you to organise your very own version of the Virtual Office Olympics 2021, and there is no better time to do it than now!
Road to the Virtual Office Olympics
The excitement is a huge part of the games and gets people talking (yup! we are thinking positive, non-work-related communication).
So, start by slowly building up the anticipation!
You could announce the games, reveal teasers, make the teams known, and give hints about the games you are planning. This gets the enthusiasm and excitement going, and everyone begins to look forward to the event.
Let the games begin!
Planning virtual games is not as difficult as it sounds! In fact, it is easy to both plan and execute.
There are plenty of team games that can be played and enjoyed virtually- you can even invent a few.
But if you are not feeling up to it, here are a few suggestions:
1. Name that song
You could use songs from 1970 right up to 2021. Play a clip or give them some lyrics from the song (preferably the chorus) as hints.
See which team can guess all the songs the fastest! And to add more fun to the game, the losing team can sing a song picked by the winning team!
2. Unscramble the words
Unscrambling words is an all-time favourite!
Give the teams different sets of scrambled words- names of countries, cities, kitchen items, etc. Get them all scrambling to unscramble the words!
The team that gets the most words in a set amount of time, WINS!
3. The trivia quiz
This is a fun general knowledge game! All you have to do is pick a popular subject and create a quiz.
The sky’s the limit here; you can pick a particular cuisine, films/actors, travel, or even the Olympics itself.
The team with the highest number of correct answers wins.
4. Write a funny story
Pick a theme and get each team to write a funny 500-word story. The winning team is the one with the most humorous story!
A variation of this could also be illustrating a funny story, where the team tells a funny story using drawings.
5. Dumb charades
Dumb charades are always fun!
What makes this game great is that you can increase or decrease the difficulty levels by tweaking the game a bit. For example, to make the guessing easier, narrow it down by picking a genre (horror, romance, sci-fi, etc.), movies with a certain actor, or award winners.
It’s all in the preparation
Games are more fun when the team members are familiar with each other. So, after you have announced the teams, get them to start bonding a few days before the events begin.
You can kick off the process by getting them to decide on a funny team name, a team costume, and a team motto. You can even give prizes to the most humorous and creative team.
On the appointed day of the Virtual Olympics, make sure everyone logs in about 10-15 minutes early so that connectivity issues or any other issues can be sorted out beforehand and will not eat into the time of the games themselves.
Participants can log in from their PCs or even mobile phones- whatever is convenient and fun!
Do not forget the prizes, a.k.a. the Olympic Medals!
There can be no games without prizes. So you can organise virtual medals for the day of the games. However, don’t be cheap! Send all the winners real prizes via mail.
Prizes can be fun stuff like vouchers for dinner for two at a local restaurant, gift cards, fun, trendy, practical items they can use- like fitness devices or bottles of wine. The sky’s the limit when it comes to prizes. Be creative!
A few things to keep in mind:
1. Give everyone prior intimation
Announcing the games well ahead of time builds up the excitement and gives them a heads up to keep the date and time slot free. This way, you get maximum participation.
2. Create small teams
Small teams (4-6 people) are ideal because it is easier for team members to coordinate with each other, and if your company is small, it allows you to create more teams. It is also more fun when there is more competition.
Also, preferably, have teams with employees of varied age groups and capabilities so that nobody is disadvantaged in any way.
3. Keep the activities short, sweet, easy, and fun!
Since the activities are virtual, there will be more engagement if the activities are short and easy. Longer and more complicated activities can be left for when everyone is physically present at one location.
4. End the week on a good note
Plan the games for a Friday- towards the end of the workday. By then, people are usually in a weekend frame of mind, and the games will help end the week on a happy note and help unwind from a hard week.
5. Do not hold the Olympics on a day off or on the weekend
This is an official event so organise it during office hours. Organising it on the weekend or on holiday taps into the family /’me’ time, and nobody will want to give that up for office games- however much fun it promises to be. There are likely to be drop-outs if this happens.
6. Include everyone
Ensure everyone is included in the games- juniors, seniors, introverts, extroverts, newbies, and veterans from all the departments!
7. Document the memories
Finally, in all the excitement, don’t forget to take pictures. Looking at the photos after the event is fun and will give people a reason to talk to each other about things other than work.
Also, putting up the pictures on your social media pages will help in your employer branding.
Conclusion
With everyone working remotely, work culture and bonding among colleagues have taken a hit. So an office Olympics can be just the thing you need to lift everyone’s spirits and infuse some positivity into the virtual working environment.
You do not have to have an expensive event and blow a hole in your bank account to organise a Virtual Olympics. The main focus should be hosting a delightful event that makes memories and generates positive interaction among your people.
So go ahead and declare the Virtual Olympics 2021 open!
And now, it’s your turn! Do you have some interesting virtual games that you would like to share or some tips for all who are organising a Virtual Olympics? Go ahead, leave us a comment or get in touch with us- we would love to hear from you!
