Corporate teams around the work have embraced remote work and find a new way to collaborate. Team building is an important part of collaboration and bonding. Team building efforts are most effective when done regularly, and result in a caring and connected team. 

When it comes to remote working with teams, virtual team building is especially important. Since the intention to communicate and collaborate needs to be at the forefront of all remote initiatives, making sure that your team feels emotionally connected is a good place to start. 

REMOTE TEAM BUILDING AND BONDING

Speaking to your team member in person is easier when in person as you can give your attention, pick up on nonverbal cues, and build rapport via shared experiences.

However, choosing to get together in person as one team does come with some challenge. Assuming it’s safe to travel, airfare and accommodations can be pricey, and each flight will add about 0.5 metric tons of CO2 to your carbon footprint. 

Selecting remote meetings helps fill in the communication gaps during those technologically-challenging moments. Let's look at some icebreakers and quick virtual activities to help your team kick-off your next conference call on the same page.

The key here is to make team catch up with consistent, rather than a random bonding exercise. In the long run, your team will become more familiar with the idea of opening up to other team members through some fun virtual activities like cooking. 

Here are some quick and ongoing team building activities to implement in your team conference calls to keep work moving forward in a collaborative and connected light.

THE HAPPY HOUR TEAM BUILDING 

We will be cultivating a fun and imaginative atmosphere, making delicious food and drinks to share in this virtual team-building ‘happy hour’ demonstration class. Through an approachable back-to-the-basics style of cooking and hospitality, we empower people to connect and develop as a group. Our chef instructors have structured a fun, engaging, and interactive program using food and beverages as a vehicle for inspiring deeper connections. We provide a variety of food-based experiences like home cook-offs, cocktail workshops, cooking classes, contests, and challenges. You can choose any of the menu themes below.

ONLINE COOKING CLASSES 

In this online cooking class, your team members can cook, connect and celebrate together. This virtual cooking event can be hosted by our chef in Melbourne to the comfort of the participants' kitchen anywhere via Zoom. You choose the menu, we may change a little to reflect the timing and send you a list of ingredients, so your members can include them in their normal shopping. Our menu below has been customised to use your local supermarkets (Australia - Coles, and Woolworth) or (New Zealand - New World, Countdown).   We can modify recipes and ingredients to suit any dietary requirements. The virtual cooking events can range in duration from 1 to 2 hours and are for a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 40 Zoom connections. All you need is a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone, a functioning kitchen, and a few pantry basics. Check the ingredient list before booking classes in Dumpling Making, Street Food Asia, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean or Vegan 

ONLINE COOKING CLASS  WITH A MAGIC BOX OF INGREDIENTS DELIVERED AUS WIDE

Online cooking classes with our magic box of ingredients are the best activity to do with your team or clients? Perhaps an alternative to your end-of-year party or a gift? Live private cooking classes with Otao kitchen chefs are the perfect way to enjoy great food, learn new tricks, and get together when it's not so easy to physically get together. We'll deliver everything including some stool (no meat/seafood) so you and your guests need to cook along at home, so all that's left is to log on our Zoom, hone your cooking skills, eat delicious food, and have a great time. Generally, we need 7 working days to deliver your boxes to a metro city, and it will be more for regional cities and towns in Australia. The meals will be vegetarian, and we will include in your note if you want to have the option to add meats and seafood.  Check the menu here: The Ultimate Dumpling Making, Japanese Ramen Making Class, Authentic Pasta making Class, Cooking with Native Ingredients, Plus you can ask for our drink Victorian option.

Bringing corporate teams together is an important way for your business to thrive. Cooking and sharing is a great way to facilitate the bonding as it not only brings you out of your comfort zone, but gives you the chance to get to know other people in the business. There are many things to love about team cooking classes in Melbourne. It’s a great way to bond over the love of food and to learn things about other team member you didn’t know before. 

Team cooking events can help to solve issues in the team by providing a fun space to work together in a more casual way. It also allows for group interaction and team cohesion while discussing solutions, successes and challenges in the kitchen. Cooking team building classes can serve as a reward for all the hard work going on in the office and improve the team's overall communication skills.

It also strengthens bonds between staff and allows them to practice following instructions and the learning to adjust to any situation while increasing motivation. Sharing an experience can help workers come together in new ways they never thought possible. It allows for improved communication in the workplace and can be where friendships are formed and where skills are discovered. 

Whether you want to learn how to make Mexican cuisine, Korean food, Thai dishes, or you just want to have one big dumpling party for your teammates, Otao Kitchen is the place to do it. The classes run for two to four hours and are 100 percent hands on. Their team building sessions can be customised dependent on what kind of experience you're looking for, whether it's friendly competition or more relaxed teamwork. The classes are taught by professional chefs and can be held at their brand-new studio in Abbotsford or at a venue of your choice. 

Dumpling Party

Immerse yourself in Chinese food culture with this dumpling party making class. In this class, you’ll learn how to make your own dough from scratch, a tasty filling with your choice of protein: beef, pork, chicken or tofu, and a selection of decorative folds. 

The class experience will be guided by an expert chef, who will be teaching you all the finesse and skills to craft your own delicious handmade creations. Of course, the best part comes at the end. Eat to your hearts content, or take your creations home for your family or friends to enjoy. 

Learn more.

Street Food of Asia

This exploration of popular Asian Street Food will take you through four countries. Our well-traveled chef instructors will guide you through 4 diverse cooking traditions, spanning 4 lessons, which can be attended individually or as a package. In this hands-on class, you'll be navigated through preparing numerous beautiful and tasty morsels of food.  The street food of Asia has been crafted to teach you all the skills necessary for you to be able to prepare your own Asian finger foods at home, perhaps a perfect solution for your next party at home. Whether you're looking for new and creative ideas for your next dinner party, a unique date night, we offer an engaging and thoroughly convivial experience. 

Learn more

Pizza Making Party

Discover our secret recipe to the perfect stone-baked pizza! While you learn how to make Italian pizza dough from scratch, our staff will be on hand to help the drinks flowing and the party going. Then, get ready to throw some dough! Show off your best dough-tossing skills, as you compete against your mate in the ultimate #BiggerTosser #otaokitchen challenge. Once you’ve topped your pizza with your favourite Italian ingredients, we’ll place it in our new Gozney oven - cooking the pizzas @500.degree for 90 seconds. Now you want to take take the oven home - a la the authentic Neapolitan way! We cater for gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free pizza buddies. 

Learn more

Business events can't be just about work but have a bit of fun, building great relationships or thanking everyone for their work. And most companies will organise something along the lines of going out for dinner after a meeting or heading to the bar for few beers which are all fabulous, and do work wonders for morale. But have you ever wanted to do something a bit more unique event?

2020 has transformed the event industry world upside down. Technology became a matter of fact, and the events started happening on screens. As the world has not recovered from COVID-19 yet, Virtual event has been the safest way to organise an event.

Most physical events have been on hold for the past six months. While corporate events will likely be the first to make a full comeback, many companies we spoke to delayed all live business meetings well into 2021. When you hold corporate events, they will be mainly Zoom webinars during the pandemic, but these types of interactions won't deliver results long-term.  With the live stream becoming the default meeting room, how do you enhance these experiences to make an impact on your team? Read more to get you some ideas?

Business event future is shrouded in uncertainty which the outlook depends on several factors in Australia and overseas such as resurgences of the virus, medical advances, restrictions on travel, the economy at large after easing restriction. The industry will bounce back. After all, we can't wait to see other people face-to-face because we like a strong sense of community and other people. Speak to many of our event planners, they share with us:

If your team is experienced and hard-working but its performance has been "hit and miss". You may find the team has lost some of its energy and motivation and morale is beginning to drop. You can get people back on track by exploring some team-building strategies and activities. Team building is about providing bonding time that your people need so that they can work in harmony. But, to be truly effective, it needs to be a continual process, embedded in your team and business culture.

There's a place for one-off team-building exercises, but they need to have a clear purpose, such as improving a particular skill and must be well designed to avoid conflict. In this article, you can explore how to use team-building activities and exercises as part of an ongoing strategy for developing a strong and effective team.

Getting Started with Identifying Your Team’s Needs

The first and most important step when planning team building activities is to identify your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Start by asking questions to identify the root of any problems. 

• Are there any conflicts within the team?
• Do they need to know one another better?
• Is poor communication affecting the team progress?
• Do people need to learn to work together, instead of individually?
• Does the group need a morale boost?

Making Team Building Part of Your Business

Regular team-building sessions are one way to strengthen the bonds within your team, but they are not a shortcut to success. Instead, you need to make team-building part of your team thinking. Think about the team-building potential of routine workplace activities. You can use the four strategies to develop your team’s strength, cohesiveness and effectiveness:

1. Get to Know Your Team

Your team is made up of people with different needs, ambitions and personalities. Getting to know your team, and helping them to get to know each other, can build a happy, trusting team.

Hosting an evening drink is an easy way to start to get your team members mixing and mingling. Attending social events such as cooking classes is a great way to build relationships. People will more likely to open up and reveal more of their personalities in a relaxed setting. We think sharing aspects of your personal life increases your likability, as it shows others that you can be an empathic, compassionate and authentic manager.

2. Work Toward a Common Goal

You can unite your team by inspiring them to get behind a shared vision or goal. Having an identified destination can prevent individuals from pulling in different directions, which is frustrating and ineffective. Creating a plan can provide your people with a written definition of the team’s purpose and goals. You can find strategies for bringing a team together to achieve a particular goal.

3. Develop Strong Team Skills

Your team needs to develop the right skills and competencies to achieve its goals. Developing stronger skill sets, and matching your people to the roles best suited to them, can result in a more able, more motivated team. Chances are, as more and more people work from home or remotely, you could find yourself managing a virtual workplace. It can be hard to get to know team members who have limited meeting face-to-face. Time zones and cultural differences can present challenges when considering team building activities or strategies for virtual teams. It is possible to stay in regular and effective communication with virtual team members, given the wide range of available online tools. However, the key to building an effective team lies more in how its members to meet face-to-face than in the technology they use.

TEAM BUILDING AT OTAO KITCHEN

Team building can only occur when relevant and timely activities that address specific needs are part of your business. One-off exercises can help with this, but they are not a shortcut to success. The purpose of team building activities is to motivate your people to work together, to develop their strengths, and to address any weaknesses. So, any team-building exercise should encourage collaboration rather than competition.

Be sure to incorporate team building into your workplace. For example, get to know your people better, work toward common goals, develop their skills, and make the extra effort to connect with your virtual team. In this way, you'll build a firm foundation of purpose and trust that you can add challenging events appropriately.

You have a budget in mind for your next team building? Keep reading as we have great advice for you and your business.

Keep calm and plan the perfect hens party with our simple step by step hen party here. 

Planning team activities for large groups is always challenging. Because you want everyone plays their part in the activities you select. Because of the size of the group, not all activities will be able to deliver the feeling of connectedness that is required to get team members to bond and form great relationships that bring productivity in a positive manner. We have been working with large teams before and here is our experiences to share.

Team events provide a break from the everyday - the same, giving team member an opportunity to escape workplace tension and relate with one another in a relaxed setting. Also, because these team events are few and far between, it is important that they provide fun and excitement to keep the team member to get out and bond with others.

Our working day seems to be packed with team meeting, team planning or team report... Team member face the challenges each week, they often struggle to come up with ideas on how to make team events and corporate entertainment more fun and memorable. If you have a team event coming up and you need team bonding ideas on how to spice things up, here is the team activities you might like to choose:

TeamBonding is a one of large team building companies in America say 5 ways for your team to work better. When your staff work better together their performance and happiness would be much better. 

How do you effectively engage attendees for your event? It’s time to think differently about participant communication. According to Eventbrite many participants believe attending live events and experiences make them more connected to other people, the community, and the world. But how can you empower that sense of connection this year? You can create some special moments that make your participants connect, celebrate and inspire with their work and friends. 

Many of us know how important is to participate in informal networking because they can give work and career advantages with hidden insights. We can think of informal networking is good-to-have? These informal networks are increasing popular in our business today because they have a major impact on business effectiveness. For example, engaging participants to informal networking in a well organised cooking event often open up the hidden informal networks to share insights and resources that could help you and your team member better with their job and career.

Your team is doing a great job to achieve sales or completing an important project. You seem to be too busy with your work and often we don’t give thanks nearly enough: Many employees quit because they didn’t feel appreciated. And ignoring this important gesture may do some harm for the business and relationship so to give thanks to those that we lean on every day in the workplace.

During a time where the end of the year is fast approaching, employees rush to get projects completed, and planning for next year has already begun, it's important to take a step back and give thanks to your team. Here are a few ways you can show your team some love and appreciation this holiday season.

Check out the secret to better work here

Birthdays come once a year, which means a celebratory activity is considered to make the day more enjoyable.  But, over time the means of celebrating may end up becoming too repetitive if an idea is overused. Try something new for a loved one by planning a unique surprise mystery dinner and cooking experience that they will never forget!

Hosting a surprise party may seem a bit tricky at first, but don’t get discouraged. The surprise and reaction of your loved one will make the process well worth it. While planning the event, keep in mind that arranging a surprise party is just the same as organising a birthday party except there is some element of surprise or reveal at the beginning.

Best party food ideas come in small. The popularity of canapés and bowl food trending in private parties and corporate events. These exquisite bites don’t just look good and taste delicious. Choosing Asian finger foods or making canapé  would not only solve issues with small space but also allows your guests to really enjoy the party. Guest can walk around and interact with each other, while canapés are being passed around on trays and platters by waiting staff. The best thing is that you can offer small or large selection of food compare to a formal sit down meal, so you can be assured that your guests are happy. 

Looking for thing to do or to celebrate to suit all ages and skills? A work place with multicultural mix or maybe a group of friends getting together for a celebration or Christmas party? An Asian cooking class could be just what you’re looking for. Here are some reasons for it!
 

We come up with ways to reduce your party food bills. This would be great for your home party, private or corporate functions and even at your wedding.

You are thinking how your special wedding day time plan would be? The secret is to plan an easy flowing wedding that allowing enough time for everything to flow nicely throughout your special day. 

It might be your wedding and you wonder how to allocate for each portion of the day. Let make it simpler by using valuable information from your caterer, venues, photographers, celebrants. They serve many couples like you before and can give you their advice or even help you to plan your wedding. The trick is to find your happy medium where you will have enough time for everything. Remember when you plan - less is more.

You’ve been asked to organise the hen party to beat all hen parties, keep reading for hens party ideas. Whether you’re inspired by celebrity style hen party in Bali or are after a more chilled affair in Great Ocean Road, now is the time to start planning. We have 5 amazing hen do activities.

Can My Kitchen Rules, Master Chef bring teams closer and boost productivity? A surprising number of startups are trying with cooking parties. From pizza making, dumpling cooking, amazing race and social cook off, food-loving executives are spicing up the ways they engage their team bonding.

Get a great time in this the season for great venue, good foods, activity and entertaining and of course the infamous Work Christmas Party. If you are in charge of organising your office social calendar, no doubt you want to make sure it’s Christmas cheer and everyone enjoy what you plan for them. And of course you’ll want to avoid Christmas party hell.