Will Remote Team Building Be A Thing Long After Quarantine Life

We have presented Improv Shows, Workshops and specialty / novelty work (silly characters for live industrials) for corporate teams since 2003. For 15+ years we taught teams games they can play before any meeting , or even 2–5 minutes daily to continue bonding and growing, both individual and team skills long after our workshops.

After a fun couple of hours playing Improv Comedy games, the most common question was, “How do we use these games as a team that is spread across the world (because this is only time of year we see each other in person)?”

Then EVERYTHING Changed

Of course, when New York City shut down in March 2020 we were forced to answer this question for our own entire operation. Our Off-Broadway show, Times Square comedy school, and private event business was paralyzed overnight.

By April we realized we needed to adjust to a new normal and discovered ZOOM.

By August, I already spent 1000+ hours performing and teaching on ZOOM and other platforms. My book, Improv on Zoom, answers the question we had been asked for 15+ years, “How do we navigate these games as remote teams.” (Available free via Amazon KindleUnlimited.)

The Future of Virtual Digital Team Building

Now, as we approach a year of remote production, we face a new question.

Is THIS the new normal beyond COVID-19?

As much as I miss performing and teaching live, we have had success online. We have far exceeded client expectations, which in most cases, considered remote team building a bandaid, holding us over at a time there is no other option.

Due to our success I think we will see remote events long after the current worldwide health crisis.

One strong argument for continuing virtual programming is the ease of access and cost.

For a fraction of the cost for live events, which requires bringing us to you or vice versa, paying for travel time and other expenses. Now we can connect top NYC talent with your teams worldwide.

Imagine a monthly session where teams can log on for 45–60 minutes just to laugh and connect, getting much needed distraction without causing major disruption to daily routine.

A shorter regular routine of team building is more effective then an annual big bang. But the cost of bring the team together requires squeezing it all in a three day retreats.

There is Improv in every corner of the world now, but the talent in New York definitely is a step above most. Companies pay top dollar to bring our artists to them. Since 2008, these events have certainly been smaller in scope, but companies still love what top NYC talent can deliver.

We love joining you in Jamaica for a retreat, a very well paid vacation. Or even Disney World, hanging out at the park’s night life after working with your teams.

I doubt those wonderfully perk-filled gigs are totally a thing of the past, but there will be changes.

In our public digital classes, students joined the fun from as far as Australia for the chance to work with our teachers. A woman, from India, joined at 11pm One gentleman from Israel took a nap, woke up to join at 3am his time. A teen from Australia logged on at 9am his time to play in our after school programming.

On the corporate side we entertained teams in Europe at the same time as Dallas and LA. An early lunch here is dinner time there. Suddenly the entire team can share in some laughs.

For team building, now teams can play together. Many of the smaller tech firms we train stuggle getting software engineers, marketing and design teams to communicate, to truly listen to the input and/or needs of colleagues from varying divisions. Improv solves that.

• Now our team knows how to teach your team to use improv remotely.
• Companies realize that remote work can be effective.
• Many individuals realize that they save hours every day, between distraction free work time and commuting. Remote work equals time for the family.
• Bring top NYC Talent worldwide for a fraction of the cost.

So we expect remote team building and even some performance to be a part of our menu of options for corporate groups for years to come.

The past year has forced us to master the ZOOM platform. This new expertise will be a powerful tool for your team in the future.

Walt Frasier is the artistic director of EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH Improv Comedy, which has weekly performed in Times Square, NYC since 2002 and toured Nationwide for corporate events, college campus entertainment and k12 educational outreach. Frasier has international credits in TV, theater, music and comedy including TruTV’s “Friends of the People”, Showtime’s “Billions” CBS’s “Blue Bloods”, USA’s “Royal Pains” and Nexflix’s “Lilyhammer”. Frasier got his start on TV via Sketch Comedy bits on MTV and Letterman. A corporate team building specialist, Frasier has worked with teams from Milbank, DataDog, Accenture, HSBC, Macy’s, 360i, JP Morgan Chase, IBM, Morgan Stanley, Master Card, American Express, NYC Schools (DOE VENDOR), Microsoft/BING, Twitter, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Home Depot, Enrst & Young, GM, KRAFT, UBS, UNILEAVER, HBO, and 100s more firms.