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Introduction
The shift to online work has changed the way engineering teams work. There are several benefits of remote work that are fruitful. But it also brings new challenges especially in promoting team unity. In this blog we will discuss new ideas of activities to build remote engineering teams.
Normally we can gain effective team building through personal interactions. But now it needs an innovative virtual method. This will make sure that engineers are in contact and motivated.
Table of contents
Activities to build a remote engineering teams
Building a remote team is not an easy task. It requires a lot of activities that help the team to stay connected and inspired. Activities are as to build a team is as follows:-
Virtual coffee breaks and Water cooler chats
The purpose of this chat is as follow:-
Purpose
These chats are developed to copy the casual relation that occurs in office. These activities aim to promote friendly discussion. Moreover it promotes strong relations and builds a sense of community in members of the team.
Casual relation is very important for engineering teams to make a helpful culture. This can result in improving communication and teamwork on projects. By participating in non-work related talks, members can easily understand other members.
How it work
Below is the working of virtual coffee breaks and water cooler chats:-
- Scheduling regular sessions:-
Schedule constant virtual coffee breaks and water cooler chats. It guarantees that they suit everyone’s schedule. These sessions could be held on a weekly basis. It also depends on teams availability and choice. - Random pairing:-
To support meetings between different team members, organizations should use such tools or softwares. Software like Slack. This ultimately pairs members for group chats. This helps in guaranteeing that every member gets a chance to connect with his colleagues. - Casual Atmosphere:-
Promote a casual environment where team members can discuss non work related topics. This method will create a natural office environment amongst the team members. - Use of video conferencing tool:-
Use different video conferencing tools and softwares. Softwares such as Zoom, MS Teams or Google Meet to host sessions. Watching each other face-to-face improves our sense of relation. - Optional Themes:-
Present topics for discussion. Meetings where other team members can share something interesting. - Encouraging participation:-
Participation should be an optional to prevent adding pressure. Motivate all members to participate. Mark the importance of these bonds.
Virtual coffee breaks and water cooler chats are essential to build remote engineering teams. Members can keep social interactions that are usually lost in remote work setup.
Online Coding challenges
Below is the purpose of online coding challenges:-
Purpose
Online coding challenges can perform as tools that improve technical skills. Moreover, it improves the capabilities of problem solving and teamwork spirit. These challenges give a ground to team members to participate in competitions.
Moreover, these activities promote a sense of friendship and respect. Team members face problems collectively, celebrate success and learn from each other’s experience.
How it works
The working of online coding challenges is as follow:-
- Selection of platform:-
Select an appropriate platform. The platform gives a broad range of customized coding problems to different levels of skills and programming languages. - Scheduling regular challenges:-
Schedule weekly coding competitions. Competitions can be single or based on teams. In these competitions engineers can work collectively to solve problems. - Problem selection:-
Organize a list of problems that match with the team’s ongoing project. Make sure a mix of easy, medium and hard problems. This will serve different levels of skills in the team. - Setting up a points system:-
Apply a points system to analyze progress and performance. Points should be given on the basis of complexity of solved problems. Also consider the speed of completion of problems. - Communication and collaboration:-
Use communication softwares to announce, talk and collaborate during the challenges. - Real time leaderboard:-
Show leaderboard to promote spirit of competition and encourage participants. This can be combined with a coding challenges platform. It can also be managed on other tools such as Google Sheets. - Feedback:-
After every challenge, schedule a meeting where participants can discuss their solutions and give feedback. This promotes knowledge sharing and helping team members. - Reward:-
Appreciate top performers and give them rewards. This will boost their morale.
Open coding challenges is a useful activity to build remote engineering teams.
Virtual hackathons
Purpose of virtual hackathons is as follow:-
Purpose
Virtual hackathons is an online event where team members partner with each other. This is done to create projects and solve challenges. It plays an important role in building remote teams.
It offers structured but casual habitat where engineers can explore innovative solutions and ideas. Apart from normal work, team members can test with new technologies.
These events need team members to work closely collectively. This improves partnership and communication skills. Moreover, it helps engineers to understand each other’s power and ethics of work.
How it works
Below is the working of virtual hackathons:-
- Planning:-
Determine themes and create a problem for hackathons. Themes could cover from developing new features to solve challenges. - Tool Selection:-
Select the best tools or softwares for partnership, coding and discussion. Softwares such as MS Teams or Slack for discussion. Zoom for video meetings and presentations is important. - Team Formation:-
Create teams with fair mixed skills. Participant can make his own team or give them randomly to promote new connections. - Kick off meeting:-
Schedule a virtual kickoff meeting to describe the rules and objectives of hackathons. This meeting sets the stage and gets everyone excited. - Work session:-
Project time is from a few hours to 2 days. Ensure there are check in on a daily basis and sessions to answer the question. - Submission:-
At the end of hackathons teams give away their projects. Meanwhile they present solutions to judges. Presentations can be taken on video meeting softwares.
By organizing and performing virtual hackathons companies can build effective remote engineering teams. It will strengthen their relationship and improve their ability to work together even from far distance.
Remote Pair programming sessions
The purpose of remote pair programming sessions is as follow:-
Purpose
Remote pair programming sessions focus to improve quality and promote knowledge sharing. Also it promotes partnerships among team members. This method motivates engineers to work collectively, merging their strengths.
It creates a sense of teamwork, making sure better practice. This can greatly minimize the time needed to solve hard tasks. It also supports constant joining of team members by allowing them to learn directly from experienced colleagues.
How it works
Below is the working of remote pair programming sessions:-
- Setting up:-
Setup daily pair programming sessions. It will make sure that all members of teams get a chance to participate. - Pair Assignment:-
Create pairs according to the needs of the project or goal. Revolve pairs oftenly to make sure that everyone gets a chance to work with different members. - Session Structure:-
Start every session with detailed discussion to set goals and understand tasks. Determine who will write a code and who will review it. Writer will write the code. The navigator will analyze the errors and present its solutions. - Communication and collaboration:-
Keep open communication in the sessions. The analyzer asks questions, gives comments and suggests alternative approaches. This constant communication helps in finding issues and results in better problem solving strategies. - Reviews and feedbacks:-
At the end of the session, analyze the code collectively and discuss. Give useful feedback and discuss challenges faced during the session.
By applying remote pair programming sessions, companies can build and manage remote engineering teams. This practice not just improves skills but also builds stronger relations within the members of team.
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Online Escape Rooms
The purpose of online escape rooms is as follow:-
Purpose
Setting online escape rooms is to improve teamwork. Additionally, it improves communication and problem solving in a funny habitat. Virtual challenges need team members to partner to finish tasks. This activity helps in encouraging a sense of friendship. Also it improves team dynamics that are important for partnership.
How it works
Below is the working of online escape rooms:-
- Selection of an online escape rooms:-
Select a highly rated platform that offers several escape room themes. Escape rooms platforms such as Virtual escape rooms by puzzle break, Escape game or Enchambered. - Team formation:-
Split teams into small groups. Groups should consist of 4-6 members. It is to make sure active participation and effective communication. Several groups can compete at the same time in different escape rooms. - Briefing session:-
Start with a detailed session. The game master will explain the rules and story of the escape room. - Debriefing session:-
After the challenge, schedule a debriefing session to share the experience. Analyze which strategy worked and what you can improve more. Also analyze how you use the skills during the game. This improves learning and strengthens the team bond.
By taking part in this activity, engineering teams can improve their working capabilities collectively under pressure. This improves their communication skills and enjoy a shared experience. It also helps to build remote engineering team.
Virtual Tech talks and knowledge sharing
The purpose or virtual tech talks and knowledge sharing is given below:-
Purpose
This session is held to promote constant learning and skill development. These activities offer a stage to share creative ideas related to their field. By easing the exchange of knowledge, these sessions keep everyone updated. Also these activities build stronger bonds among the team members.
How it works
Below is the working of virtual tech talks and knowledge sharing:-
- Planning and scheduling:-
Determine the topics related to the interest of the team. Topics can be from new programming languages to technical challenges the team is facing. Also schedule regular sessions to make sure constant management. - Volunteers presenters:-
Motivate team members to step forward as presenter. This can depend on their expertise, projects and interest. Guide on organizing presentations to guarantee clarity and engagement. - Interactive components:-
Encourage interactive environments by encouraging questions and discussions during and after presentations. Use aspects such as chats, polls or breakout room. - Follow-up:-
Conclude the key points. Also share the related material discussed during sessions. This improves learning and gives reference to future use. Take comments from participants in the format and content of tech talks.
By implementing this activity, you can create a knowledge driven culture. It not just improves technical skills but also strengthens the bond among team members. This will be very helpful to build remote engineering team.
Conclusion
Developing a balanced and encouraged remote engineering teams needs creativity and intentionality. By applying these activities, you can promote a sense of community. Moreover, it improves collaboration and keeps a high level of engagement among the team members.
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