Have you been struggling to think of a fun, engaging team building activity for your remote or hybrid team? Something that’s social and interactive that gets participants talking and making personal connections? Well, over the past three years, we’ve been using all our team building resources to expand our virtual + remote team building program category for teams that may not be going back to work in the office full time.
Virtual happy hours by TeamBonding
Don’t have time to prepare and host your own work happy hour? That’s where we come in! Two of our favorite happy hour ideas for work are Virtual Happy Hour & Mixology and Holiday Virtual Happy Hour & Mixology. (Don’t worry, we still offer our in-person Team Mixology event!) These virtual happy hour activities are fun and educational, and they’re designed specifically for remote and hybrid teams that may find it difficult to gather in person for after-work cocktails.
A TeamBonding remote happy hour event, hosted by one of our world-class mixologists via video conference, could help fill that social interaction void that often comes with remote and hybrid work, and help you build a stronger, more connected team.
Five steps for a successful remote happy hour
These are the five steps we recommend to kick off and enjoy your team’s virtual happy hour:
Step 1: Work out the details
What should go into a virtual work happy hour? Ideally, a meeting invite would be sent out to all would-be participants in advance, including all the details regarding when, how, and where to join, plus an agenda if you need one. Establishing a structure for your remote team happy hour event is strongly recommended so that all attendees will be engaged and encouraged to participate. This might include:
- Polling your team regarding the easiest to use video chat application
- Choosing an agreeable date and time
- Selecting a cocktail to make that everyone will enjoy
- Suggesting snack and non-alcoholic drinks for team members to have on hand
Tip: If you’re the one organizing this virtual happy hour game, you might even plan some conversation topics ahead of time.
Step 2: Prepare for your remote happy hour
Make sure the participants are fully prepared with all the ingredients for whatever cocktail you plan to make. If you sign up for TeamBonding’s Virtual Happy Hour or Holiday Virtual Happy Hour, you and your team will learn how to craft and enjoy classic cocktails at home. Using our signature cocktail kits, one of our expert mixologists will be your team’s work happy hour guide, demonstrating how to make perfect, delicious drinks.
First, choose your cocktail. We offer two different types of kits: Luxe Kits and Mini Kits. The Luxe Kits contain everything you need (including alcohol) to make 2-4 delicious, specialty cocktails or mocktails. The Mini Kits include everything you need to prepare up to 4 cocktails – all you need to supply is your favorite type of alcohol.
We blend in tips, tricks, and trivia from one of the world’s leading authorities on bartending. To top it all off, we’ll ship each participant their own cocktail kit.
Tip: Having a moderator can encourage attendee interaction and bump up the group’s level of excitement.
Step 3: Choose a video application
In addition to Zoom, there are lots of video applications, tools, and services to choose from. Some participants may be familiar with one or more of them, or have technical restrictions regarding which application(s) they’re able to use, so be sure to consider these when choosing a one for your virtual happy hour event. Here are some suggestions:
• Skype
• Slack
• JoinMe
• Go to Meeting
• Google Hangouts
• Jitsi
• Uber Conference
• BlueJeans
• Microsoft Teams
Tip: To ensure your happy hour activities start on time, all participants should download the virtual meeting application (e.g., Zoom) and test it in advance of the call.
Step 4: Use your platform’s tools
Having a planned structure in place should really help to ensure that participants don’t talk over one another during your virtual happy hour event, particularly with groups bigger than 3-5 people. This can be done by monitoring whatever attendee controls your platform offers. For example: Zoom allows you to “pin” or “spotlight” one video and focus on a specific speaker.
You may wish to have each person introduce themselves at the beginning of the happy hour, for groups under 15 people. Usually, for larger groups, they may wish to send a list of participants & bios in advance of the call to ensure that participants RSVP in advance by a certain date.
Tip: The mute button is your friend! All video conference applications have a mute function. If they’re not already aware, let your participants know that the mute function can come in handy when they’re not speaking to silence background noise.
Step 5: Have a fun Virtual Happy Hour!
What usually happens during a virtual happy hour? Events seem to take on the unique vibe and flavor of the team involved. As we said to Aly Walansky in an article in Forbes, having the details and agenda locked in, just like making a signature cocktail together, frees up time for spontaneity and lessens the chances of technical difficulties.
Tip: For groups of 15 or less, you might want to have participants introduce themselves on camera before the virtual happy hour activities begin. For groups larger than 15, you could ask participants to write and send short bios in advance of the call.
Holiday and seasonal remote team happy hour ideas
If your virtual happy hour activities coincide with a holiday, change of season, or a special event, these could work as fun remote happy hour themes. Here are some theme ideas:
- Easter, Halloween, Rosh Hashanah, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s.
- Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving.
- Summer or winter solstice, or kicking off the beginning of a new season.
- Full moon, supermoon, or an eclipse.
- Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Pride.
You might want to incorporate decorations, music, costumes, seasonal drinks, or games. Think about it! Halloween, a ‘70s, ‘80s, or ‘90s party, or black tie event costumes; everyone choosing and playing their favorite Christmas song; interactive games like charades, trivia, or paint night. The list of fun remote happy hour ideas is almost endless! And a virtual happy hour is sure to be an upbeat and friendly experience that’ll have a positive impact on everyone who participates.
There’s never been a better time for your remote or hybrid team to learn a new skill and connect with teammates in the process. Our fun remote happy hour ideas might be exactly what you’re looking for. Request a quote and let us help you create a memorable team building experience.
At TeamBonding, we mix work and play to create both virtual and in-person team building events for businesses. These events help foster a positive company culture, and improve employee engagement, retention, on-the-job effectiveness, and job satisfaction.
Feel free to contact us if there’s any other information we can share with you regarding virtual happy hours, team building in a remote work world, or otherwise!
