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4 Surprising Ways to Put the Fun Back
in Your Virtual Team Retreat

How can you plan a team retreat for your office when you can't be together in person? This year has thrown us many challenges, so if you’re organizing your company’s team-building event, you’re probably wondering how it can be done virtually.

Team retreats are important for building camaraderie and helping your staff develop loyalty to the company, so they should be held at least once per year.

Are there any creative ways to make a virtual retreat fun? Surprisingly, yes! Online doesn’t mean boring, so keep reading to find four fun ways to create an exciting virtual team event.

1. Play Trivia

A fun way to boost staff morale is with online trivia. There are plenty of online trivia games, which you can play either in teams or individually.

Everyone enjoys the challenges of pub trivia, but with bars closed, your company can still enjoy some quality team building online by testing one another’s knowledge with tricky trivia questions.

2. Use Breakout Rooms

Part of the reasons team retreats are important are because they help colleagues get to one each other and develop friendships. But when everyone is working alone from their homes, it’s tough for new employees to bond with their colleagues.

One way to help with this is by giving time in your retreat for virtual breakout rooms. Through platforms like Skype and Zoom, you can set up breakout rooms, where small groups of people can chat.

By breaking into smaller groups, it’s easier for anyone to have time to talk and get to know each other.

3. Plan a Socially-Distant Happy Hour

Let’s face it—work drinks are one of the best parts of work retreats. But even when you’ve gone virtual, you can still have an office happy hour—everyone has a drink at home and gets to chat and laugh online.

However, even when you’ve gone online, your company still needs to promote responsible drinking.

4. Give Staff Incentives for Attending

Your employees work long hours, often doing thankless work, so staff appreciation is a big deal. To make your retreat more fun, try to think of ways to let staff know they’re valued.

You may want to offer them a small bonus, such as a couple hours of time off, or an end-of-year gift that they'll be sure to love. It’s also a good idea to plan your virtual retreat during business hours, so staff don’t need to give up their own time to attend, off the clock.

Plan an Amazing Team Retreat—Online

Just because your team retreat is online this year, doesn’t mean it has to be dull. To liven up this year’s event, use some of the ideas above to create an itinerary that’s sure to get staff excited!

If done well, your team retreat will get staff engaged, helping them have fun, connect, and hopefully lead to a more productive company.