From simple group meditation to intense mental challenges, teams are spoilt for choice when it comes to online bonding.
Zen state of mind
Remote teams from around the world can gather virtually together at Maikoya, a traditional tea house in the heart of Kyoto, for a livestreamed online zazen – a seated meditation that is the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition.
The 60-minute experience begins with a short informative session that provides guidance on posture as well as an introduction to the philosophy and history of Zen meditation, and the practice’s connection to Japanese culture.
A 45-minute meditation follows with the use of a Japanese “singing bowl” known as rin. Instructors guide participants through this entire process, leading them on a journey of acceptance, letting go and mindfulness.
At the end is a short exploratory session where participants can ask questions about any aspect of zazen or consider their thoughts on the experience. Companies could even use this time as an opportunity for team members to reflect, share or offer feedback.
The online retreat will feature well as an ice-breaker to a more intense teambuilding session, or as a stand-alone wellness exercise for teams.
Cost: 10,000 yen (US$90) per pax
Contact: kyoto@mai-ko.com
Better blooms
Maikoya also offers online ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangements. It is a popular way to learn not only one of Japan’s ancient arts but also a little about Japanese culture and history.
This one-hour session is led by a geisha who will outline ikebana culture as well as a methodology suitable for beginners. She will explain simple rules for participants to make a basic, but authentic ikebana artwork.
After receiving their tutorial, participants can begin to bring their flowers to life. Step-by-step guidance is provided.
This activity features well as a break-time activity in between online meetings, or as a relaxing conclusion to an intense teambuilding session.
Cost: 5,000 yen per pax
Contact: kyoto@mai-ko.com
Impactful work
The newly-launched Impact Online works 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 into a programme that encourages participants to appreciate their own strengths and the diversity of skills of others in their team while learning how they can contribute to a sustainable future for all.
Conducted by Team Building Asia, the programme requires teams to select from a suite of tasks related to challenges such as no poverty, zero hunger, life on land, life below water, and climate action. Team members complete tasks and submit their attempts to gain points and ascend the leaderboard.
Collaboration is key, as the director and other participants possess different bits of information that they must share and work together in order to solve challenges.
Challenges range from mental, creative and active. New tasks and levels are unlocked as the game progresses.
Gameplay takes an hour, and it is followed by discussions among teams on actionable items to do individually and as an organisation to be more sustainable.
Impact Online offers three difficulty levels – easy, medium and difficult. It functions well as a main teambuilding activity.
Participants needs to download an app as well as have a computer for the video call. The activity is suitable for groups of eight and more.
Cost: Available at enquiry
Contact: stuart.harris@teambuildingasia.com
Smells like team spirit
An expansion of Asian Trail’s 2020 bestselling online activity, The Investigation Affair, the new Online Investigator calls on teams to compete against time to sniff out clues, discover evidence and solve cases in order to become leading detectives.
The game begins with an introduction to the Crime Academy, and participants will need to solve team puzzles, interact with other teams, complete tasked pictures or videos, and conduct research to progress through more than 25 cases.
Unified solutions will be input via a web-app to score points. Live-scoring allows participants to track their performance as well as that of other teams.
Online Investigator has no capacity limits, although it is recommended that each team takes no more than six people.
Online Investigator functions well as a main teambuilding activity. It trains planning, problem-solving and communication skills while bringing remote team members together for some fun.
Cost: Available at enquiry
Contact: menging@asiantrails.com.kh
Multi-pronged quest
Conducted by Asia Ability, Quickfire Interactive is a high-energy, app-based game of mental, physical and creative challenges that can be customised to reflect corporate identity and convey organisational goals as well as specific learning experiences.
To begin, teams are formed and their quest is to complete as many challenges as possible within a given time frame. Challenges come in various difficulty levels and forms, such as photos, videos, single-answer and multiple choice questions, and logic puzzles. As time elapses, the pace and risk levels build, creating an atmosphere of fun and urgency. The final results are shown through a presentation of the best team-generated photos.
Quickfire Interactive emphasises the vital role of every team member in achieving group success, while the challenges encourage innovative thinking, effective communication skills, and collective strategy.
Participants will need to download the custom-built Quickfire app on their phone or tablet and join the activity on a video conference platform.
Gameplay is suitable for groups of eight to 1,000 and can be conducted as a single 90-minute or two-hour remote event. It can also be broken up into smaller sessions throughout a conference or meeting.
Through Asia Ability’s partnership with B1G1 Business for Good, Quickfire Interactive can also integrate CSR elements to allow teams to generate positive impacts towards pre-selected good causes as they progress through tasks.
Cost: Available at enquiry.
Contact: ask@asiaability.com
