As we enter into 1 month of Phase 2A in Singapore, where work from home (WFH) becomes the default mode for work again, we are reminded that working from home is an arrangement that may not go away anytime soon.

This is a hot topic that some of our clients look out for to creatively engage with their teams.  As their trusted partner among HR consulting firms in Singapore, we wanted to offer some ideas to help companies to stay on top of employee engagement.

In this article, we have compiled games & tools that teams can bond virtually in the comfort of their own home which even small businesses can implement in their daily employee engagements.

Online Gaming

Playing games online where teams can log into and have fun on a Friday afternoon is one of the ways to facilitate communications while having fun. Here are 10 games and activities that are fun and improves communications among teams.

• Pictionary
• Charades
• What Would You Do
• Triva Questions
• Mafia
• Online Karaoke
• Workouts over Skype
• Beer over Skype
• Escape Room

Taking courses online

As HR professionals, we always advocate group learning as part of employee engagement because it enhances capabilities, improves knowledge and spice up worklife too.

Learning together with peers is one of the best ways to build camaraderie. Taking this online is easy with available video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, Google Meets and Microsoft Teams by utilising the platforms’ features such as screen sharing, non-intrusive chat functions and breakout rooms for separate team discussions.  You can also inject little quizzes or heatmap surveys during the learning sessions.

And the list of courses may not be subjected to only work-related topics, it can range from cooking to yoga sessions based on the hobbies and interests of your co-workers.

Online corporate parties and meetups

When working remotely, it is easy to miss out on birthdays and organizational events that you, otherwise, used to celebrate in the office.

The simplest way to do this is to write a genuine and congratulatory message to your colleagues in a group chat. But when it’s an event that calls for more than a text message, you can always throw an online party.

We extracted a scenario based on the experience of SoftwareMill’s remote team on how they did it:

• Choose a date, agree on a time and instruct everyone to get some drinks and food in advance; (or better still, the company arranges for food and drinks delivered to the staff!!)
• Plan entertaining activities – any of the team building / online games and exercises described above will do – and think of the optimal way to group employees for playing them;
• Gather your party-goers in a video conferencing platform, such as Zoom, at the predetermined time (and don’t forget to take a snap);
• Start playing games by using tools that provide users with space to sit at virtual tables, as well as draw and write stuff on a whiteboard
• Enjoy your time together for as long as you are willing and have the energy to hang around online.

Engage professionals to create online workshops for team bonding

If you are out of your brain juice, creativity is a tall order, it is best to get the professionals to design a series of activities to roll out team bonding rather than to do it yourself.

As professional partners to clients, our advice has always been to focus on your core and what you are good at.  Get in professional help who can design, plan and implement workshops to effectively meet your people management needs.

There are many vendors out there who specialize in such planning, HR consulting firms like Enable also collaborate with event specialists to inject a people and employee engagement twist for such events for our clients.

ABOUT ENABLE CONSULTING

Established in 2013, enable Consulting is a specialised hr consulting firms for small business.

We believe that having a strong and robust HR function is a key driver for continuous growth in any successful business. It is on this belief that we have built many successful partnerships with clients across different industries.

We are a people business and it is our talent pool that defines us. Each and every one of our consultants is highly professional with many years of experience in HR management consulting and services.

Our Consultants are PMC certified to further be able to help local SMEs improve and optimise their HR operational efficiency through Singapore Grants. enable is about offering affordable, high value adding solutions to improve business performance; while at the same time nurturing and inspiring a fair and respectful working environment. But above all, enable is about enabling you.

Contact us for a non-obligatory Q&A consultation today