First Rule: Team Building Had to Be Fun!
Team building is an excellent way to form close bonds between employees who work in the same workplace. While the benefits of successful team building range from increased productivity to improved relations, the consequences of failed team building can be disastrous. The only thing worse than a disjointed group of employees is a failed attempt at getting that group to gel. While you want your employees to find common ground, you don’t want that common ground to be how much they hate the activities you have created for them to do! Thus, it is critical to choose team building exercises that are fun as well as productive.
Choosing Fun Activities for Team Building
1. Quizzes About the Office
One activity that is a sure winner is to play office trivia. This activity should take between 25-35 minutes, which allows for your employees to become engaged without getting bored. Divide the group into teams of three or four, depending on how many people you have on hand. Then simply ask a series of random questions about the company, the work environment, even the janitorial staff. The goal isn’t to educate your employees necessarily, rather it is to let them realize how much there is about the workplace that they don’t know. The team with the most points wins. Small prizes such as candy or office supplies will go a long way to making the winners feel rewarded. This activity is a healthy way to encourage friendly competition while using a game that many people are familiar with and enjoy.
2. Hunting for Items
Another excellent activity is the scavenger hunt. This will require a little more thought and planning than the trivia activity and will take a little longer, usually between one to two hours. The goal here is to divide the employees into groups of three or four, depending on how many you have, and have them accomplish the tasks on a checklist provided to each of the teams. These tasks should require some element of problem-solving, such as taking a picture of a ship, bringing back a cup of sand, or any other light hearted ideas that can be accomplished with a little thought and effort. Doing this in a shopping mall is ideal as stores are often very willing to help in such activities.
3. Retelling a Story
A third idea involves putting people in pairs rather than in groups. This activity is called winner/loser. The goal here is to have one person tell the other person of a time when something went very wrong for them, or when they made a big mistake on a project or the like. When the person is done telling them of their true life story, the other person has to retell the story, but instead of focusing on the negatives they focus on the things that went well. Then the people switch roles. The point of this is activity is to encourage people to take ownership of their actions, while also finding the positives in every situation, no matter how bad.
