Team building, whether for the workplace or with family and friends, is an excellent way to strengthen interpersonal relationships while strengthening a variety of essential skills. After all, teamwork is known to increase deep learning through human engagement, problem-solving, dialogue, cooperation, and collaboration. As a result, team building activities have an important role to play in professional organisations, particularly those wanting to get the most out of their employees and create a decent company culture.
That being said, if you’re looking for fun team building activities but are a bit stumped for ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re searching for something you can do at the office, outdoor team building activities, or perhaps something more “out of the box,” these next five ideas will hopefully provide you with an option that fits the bill.
Go To An Escape Room Or Puzzle Challenge
Escape rooms have become ever popular, ever since the first one was created in Japan back in 2007. If you’re not familiar with the notion of an escape room, they work as follows: You enter a room with a group of individuals and must work together to find clues, solve puzzles, and complete tasks in a limited amount of time. The goal of the game is to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
As a result, escape rooms are fantastic for team-building exercises because they get everyone working together towards a common goal. They help to improve communication, develop problem solving skills, creative thinking, build trust, all while highlighting strengths and weaknesses in different individuals’ teamwork skills.
Other similar options include challenges very much like those seen on the TV show The CUBE. These involve teams being challenged in a series of separate areas with a number of challenges that test skills including balance, judgement, speed and memory.
Play Strategy Games During Breaks
If you manage a team, you must factor in regular breaks to maximise productivity and boost workplace happiness. Taking short, frequent breaks is known to help reduce stress, boost engagement, foster creativity, and improve mental health. After all, it’s simply not possible for even the most productive of humans to concentrate for every single hour of the day, so make sure you schedule plenty of downtime for your employees.
This brings us back to team-building ideas. Rather than allowing everybody to go and sit in the corner on their smartphones, why not use this time for team building games? It doesn’t have to be anything extreme, but as long as you get people playing team games together and interacting with one another, it will do wonders for the team morale in your office.
In fact, something as simple as playing strategy card games or solving free, online jigsaw puzzles, is enough to start bringing team members together to build interpersonal relationships. Some of these types of virtual team building activities can also be great for remote teams who are sometimes overlooked when it comes to team building activities and team bonding.
Attend A Team Cookery Class
How about team bonding in the most delicious way possible? Yep, you can even take your team to a local cooking class to help improve communication skills while freshening up on culinary prowess.
There are all sorts of different cooking classes you could take your team to, some of them more serious than others. If you really want to put yourself (and your team) to the test, then you can opt for a corporate cooking class that looks something akin to a commercial kitchen. You will be given a task, such as to make a specific dish within a certain time frame, upon which the team members must work together and discuss tactics and strategies to make that a possibility.
Of course, you can always choose something a little more lighthearted where you can bond over a casual class where you all learn how to cook something exotic — or better still just cook something better than the home-cooked fare that is usually brought into the office and then heated up in the microwave to the detriment of everyone. The choice is yours.
Participate In Trivia Nights
Who doesn’t love a good quiz? Going to a trivia night is a great way to build bonds between individuals while having a blast in the process. These fun games are great for increasing socialisation, improving cognitive skills, and learning more about each other outside of the workplace.
After all, conversions can become a little stale when you only converse with people inside the office. Often, the person that you have seen five days per week for the last three years is actually more of a stranger to you than you realise, but going to a trivia night can change all that.
When you have to play a part of a team to answer complex questions, you start to understand people by discovering their passions and hobbies outside of the workplace, as well as what type of things interest them. This can lead to much more meaningful conversations and can help to break down barriers between colleagues and new team members.
Company Team Volunteer Days
Research has shown that volunteering among adults has a wide variety of profound benefits, both mentally and physically, including combating stress, anxiety, and depression, increasing self-confidence, and providing a sense of purpose while teaching valuable new skills. All of this makes volunteering one of the best team-building activities around, especially since you will also be providing a helping hand to those that need it most.
And you most likely won’t find it too difficult to find people who would be happy to receive the help. Just give a quick call to your local charities; whether it’s caring for the homeless, a day out to the animal shelter, or going out to clean the street, there are plenty of ways to get out there and help the local community.
If you’re thinking on a larger scale, why not organize a company fundraiser where you can challenge your teams to raise as much money as possible for a worthy cause. Walk/run/bike-a-thons, car washing, auctions, and bake sales are all great team building event ideas to bring everyone together for a worthy cause.
One of the most crucial skills to learn, especially in the business world, is how to work as part of a team. Thus, if you lead a team or simply want to find a fun way to bring the entire team closer together, these five team-building ideas all provide an excellent means to strengthen a wide range of key skills while forming more deep and meaningful connections with people. Have fun!
