How can you include remote employees from different countries in team-building activities?

2 Choose diverse and accessible activities

Another challenge you may face is finding team-building activities that appeal to and suit the diverse preferences, backgrounds, and abilities of your remote employees. You don't want to impose activities that may be boring, irrelevant, or insensitive to some of your team members. Therefore, you should try to choose activities that are diverse and accessible, meaning that they offer a variety of options, formats, and levels of difficulty, and that they don't require any special equipment, software, or skills. For example, you can use online platforms that offer games, quizzes, trivia, icebreakers, and other fun and interactive activities that can be customized and adapted to your team's needs and interests.

3 Encourage communication and feedback

A third challenge you may face is ensuring that your team-building activities are effective and engaging for your remote employees from different countries. You don't want to waste time and resources on activities that don't achieve your goals or that don't resonate with your team members. Therefore, you should try to encourage communication and feedback before, during, and after the activities. You should ask your team members for their input and suggestions on what types of activities they would like to participate in, what challenges or issues they face, and what outcomes they expect. You should also provide clear instructions, expectations, and guidelines for the activities, and facilitate the interaction and discussion among the participants. Finally, you should solicit feedback from your team members on how they enjoyed and benefited from the activities, and what improvements or changes they would recommend.

4 Celebrate diversity and inclusion

A fourth challenge you may face is creating a team-building environment that celebrates and embraces the diversity and inclusion of your remote employees from different countries. You don't want to ignore or overlook the unique contributions, perspectives, and experiences of your team members. Therefore, you should try to celebrate diversity and inclusion in your team-building activities, meaning that you acknowledge, appreciate, and leverage the differences and similarities among your team members, and that you foster a sense of belonging and respect for everyone. For example, you can use activities that showcase and highlight the cultural, linguistic, and personal diversity of your team members, such as sharing stories, photos, videos, or recipes from their countries, learning some words or phrases in their languages, or recognizing their achievements and milestones.

5 Align activities with values and goals

A fifth challenge you may face is aligning your team-building activities with the values and goals of your organization and your remote employees from different countries. You don't want to disconnect or distract your team members from their work or their purpose. Therefore, you should try to align your team-building activities with the values and goals that you share and pursue as a team, meaning that you reinforce and demonstrate the core principles, vision, and mission of your organization, and that you support and motivate your team members to achieve their individual and collective objectives. For example, you can use activities that reflect and reinforce the values and goals of your organization, such as sharing best practices, feedback, or testimonials, brainstorming ideas or solutions, or setting or reviewing targets or plans.

6 Evaluate and improve your activities

A sixth challenge you may face is evaluating and improving your team-building activities for your remote employees from different countries. You don't want to repeat or settle for the same activities or results without measuring their impact or seeking improvement. Therefore, you should try to evaluate and improve your team-building activities, meaning that you collect and analyze data and evidence on the effectiveness and outcomes of your activities, and that you identify and implement actions and strategies to enhance and optimize your activities. For example, you can use surveys, polls, interviews, or metrics to assess the satisfaction, engagement, performance, and retention of your team members, and to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your activities. You can also use the feedback and suggestions from your team members and stakeholders to improve the design, delivery, and evaluation of your activities.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?