Using Virtual Events to Connect Your Global Team
Doesn’t it feel like the world has gotten so much smaller? That’s because (drum roll...) it has! Not physically of course, but thanks to the never-ending march of progress we now have opportunities that were unthinkable even just several years ago.
This is mainly due to the pandemic (ick); as awful as it was, we should be a little thankful for the change it inspired in our working lives. Hybrid working is now the new normal, and thanks to that, our rosters are no longer limited to the amount of time one is willing to be in a car or bus. No, businesses are now truly global! As long as you have a computer and Wi-Fi, you have a chance to be part of the team!
This article will look at the benefits of a global team, as well as give you some cool virtual event ideas that will increase collaboration and teamwork. After all, even though we’ve gone virtual, social interaction is the key to a team’s success, so let’s get started!
Benefits of a global team
The first obvious benefit of a global team is that your talent pool is now slightly larger. Scratch that, it’s limitless! You can potentially hire from any country in the world. Think of all that talent!
This larger talent pool also gives you access to new ways of thinking. After all, we’re all different, and different points of view can bring fresh insights that an homogenised culture might miss. A global team can give you creative and interesting ideas!
Related to this, bringing onboard workers from different cultures will make your team more diverse, inclusion, and respectful. The exchange of culture and ideas will lead to a more open-minded approach within your organisation and give it a truly global feel.
Lastly, there are benefits to having staff members in different timelines. When some of your team are clocking off for the day, others might be clocking in. It’s like you’re never closed! This is great for projects with a quick turn around or improving customer service with speedy responses.
Benefits of virtual events
Of course, with so many benefits of a global team, there had to be some downsides, too (boo!). These mainly come in the form of teamwork, trust, and collaboration issues. It’s tough to truly bond and feel like a team when most of your staff have never met, and if it’s a global team, then you can’t all meet up for a pub quiz in town.
This is a problem, as 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures. Thankfully, there is something you can do to boost that teamwork (and make the dream work). We’re talking about virtual events, and as you’ve already guessed, they’re just events you hold... virtually!
Holding these virtual events regularly could be a godsend to your hybrid working strategy. For starters, they promote collaboration. By meeting up online, bonds between team members are forged. They become aware of each other’s personalities, their strengths and weaknesses, and gain a better feel for how they can work together. A lot of people think that teams can’t work together as effectively when online, but that’s simply not the case: 75% of virtual teams worldwide say that remote collaboration allowed them to be more effective in their jobs, and virtual team building activities lead to an increase in employee performance rate, claiming 41% lower absenteeism and 21% higher profitability.
Hosting virtual events for your global team will also increase morale. Let’s face it, sitting behind a screen all day communicating through typing can become a tad demoralising after a while, so breaking the monotony with a bit of fun is a great way to avoid burnout. Even online meetings over Zoom or a casual meetup to check in with everyone works, it doesn’t have to be a big thing.
One pitfall of remote working is that workers can feel cut off from the rest of the team. They’ll suffer from a lack of direction which will affect their productivity, but virtual team building exercises and events can get them back on the right track and feel connected again.
Another great thing about virtual events is that it promotes honesty and open dialogue in a safe space. For most of us, being at home makes us feel secure, surrounded by loved ones, pets, blankets, etc, etc and this leads to better communication, which is great as 99.1% want to be part of an organisation that nourishes honest communication.
Virtual events also break down country borders. In the past, teams in different countries were siloed. The UK team couldn’t just pop over to the USA for teambuilding exercise! But thanks to the Internet, a greater sense of unity between offices and regions can be fostered.
There are some benefits for the company, especially for those who have to organise the virtual events. For starters, they’re much cheaper! No booking venues, paying for food, or costly commutes. It also saves tons of time. Think how long it takes to plan an event in the real world and get everything ready (shudders). Lastly, your imagination is the limit. You can make it as varied as you like, by choosing the level of interactivity, speakers, videos and games. You’re not limited to a physical space.
So if hosting a virtual event sounds like a good idea, that’s because it is! Whether it be a game night, quiz or even a tiny campfire (roast your own marshmallows over a candle at home); your team will become stronger. If you’re stuck for ideas then why not try one of our popular virtual events? Our famous scavenger hunt will get your colleagues competing in small teams to complete 30 challenges. Or for something completely different our virtual horse racing will get teams cheering, placing bets, and training or sabotaging horses with all the excitement you’d find at a horse racetrack! We’ve worked with some of the biggest companies out there, so get in touch today!