Many organizations today emphasize team building – actions or processes that cause a group of people to work together effectively. Some popular team building activities include events designed to increase motivation and promote cooperation.
Team building can also help to strengthen bonds between members of a group and, in turn, more effectively achieve the group’s goals. As a leader or manager in your organization, there are several strategies you could use to bring employees together to accomplish objectives.
Why Are Team Building Activities Important?
Team building activities can provide companies and employees with many benefits, such as:
- Allowing people to get to know each other better
- Building camaraderie and trust
- Reminding people that winning is about the entire group
Your team building events don’t have to take long. Often, a 20-minute exercise may be enough to spark innovation and teamwork amongst your employees. After the activity, employees can return to their jobs with a renewed sense of accomplishing shared goals.
Examples of Team Building Activities
There are many examples of team building activities you could use. The one(s) you choose will often depend on your desired outcome and whether you intend to participate during the workday or after hours.
Some team building activity examples include:
- Solving a puzzle
- Taking a cooking class
- Holding a brainstorming session
- Having a show and tell
- Playing board games
- Participating in sports teams
- Creating a scavenger hunt
- Hosting a lunch and learn
- Signing up for a trivia match
- Volunteering
- Starting a book club
Solving a Puzzle
There are several options for solving puzzles with employees. For example, you could divide into groups and piece together physical puzzles or work together on brain teasers, which require thinking and brainstorming out loud. In addition, giving teams a time limit can make for an even more exciting challenge.
Taking a Cooking Class
Cooking classes can be a great way to help your employees bond. This is because making a dish or meal does not involve just one activity, and it could require several sets of hands to complete it successfully.
Holding a Brainstorming Session
Brainstorming in a group is another way to bring teams closer together. In this case, you could hand out ideas for an upcoming marketing campaign and ask team members to come up with ideas for refreshing it.
Having a Show and Tell
Similar to show and tell activities in school, you could also use this to build work teams. One example is to have each group member discuss what they are working on and ask for suggestions or feedback from the other participants. Again, doing this regularly can be beneficial.
Playing Board Games
Playing board games is another good option for building workplace teams. While it might seem silly to pull out some games in the middle of the office, this activity can help loosen people up and, at the same time, force them to work together in creative ways.
Participating in Sports Teams
Playing on company-sponsored sports teams, such as softball or volleyball, can also bring people together to determine and come up with ways to win against an opponent. For individuals who do not play on the team, there are other ways to participate in this type of team building activity, such as cheering, coaching, or providing snacks.
Creating a Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts can bring people together to work towards a common goal. These activities can be particularly beneficial for new employees because they can get to know the landscape of the company while at the same time bonding with their coworkers.
Hosting a Lunch and Learn
You may have employees with unknown talents, and you could use them as strengths for bringing team members together. For example, if someone in the company is adept at using PowerPoint, they could teach others in the organization tips and tricks. In addition to mentoring their coworkers, lunch and learn events can also provide an excellent atmosphere for teachers to hone their speaking and presentation skills.
Signing Up for a Trivia Match
Participating in a trivia match is a great way to get groups of employees focused on a particular task. In this case, they must come up with correct answers to trivia questions. This can be a fun activity, as it could be linked to a lunch or dinner. In addition, this atmosphere can also allow group members to talk about non-business-related topics.
Volunteering
Many people have charities or other organizations that are close to their hearts. So, if your employees are passionate about a particular cause or initiative, you could consider taking a day to do some community service.
In addition to bonding with each other, your employees will also feel great about making a positively impacting the entity or organization. There are many possible options here, such as donating items or serving food to the homeless or spending time with dogs and cats at a local animal shelter.
Starting a Book Club
Starting a book club can also help bring your employee teams closer. In this case, you could choose a book related to your industry or company’s mission and then have the participants discuss what they did and didn’t like about it.
Doing so could spark interesting conversations and encourage colleagues to share their ideas, stories, and input. This could help all the individuals involved learn more about their roles within the team.
Does Your Organization Encourage Team Building Activities?
Team building activities can take place in or outside of your work location. You could design these events to have the participants work together on solving a problem, coming up with ideas or motivating each other. If your company or organization is looking for ideas on turning individual employees into cohesive teams, working with an expert specializing in this field is recommended.
