Are you looking for ways to enhance morale and productivity in your workplace? Team building activities help staff get to know each other, learn to work together and promote problem solving. The key is to make activities fun! So, bring on the hot dogs and the laughs for team building day, so your employees can’t wait to do it all over again.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
Guessing games
Start off small with team building, so everyone has a chance to adapt to group activities. A great way to do this is with guessing games. Give one person a random item from the office, with the objective of demonstrating a wacky or funny use for it in front of the group. The team has to guess what the player demonstrates, without that person talking. It’s similar to charades and great for inspiring creative ideas. As time goes on, you’ll find a friendly competitiveness develops as people strive for originality – and laughs.
Scavenger hunt
Take the office outdoors for the day on a scavenger hunt. Make a list of funny, educational or physical tasks and divide the team into two groups. Set a timeframe, whereby the first group to complete all the tasks wins, and offer a prize.
The human knot
Another fun exercise is forming a human knot. It encourages communication and breaks down personal boundaries. Have your team stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder and facing each other. Groups of eight to ten work best. Each person puts one hand out to grab a random hand across from them. Repeat the process with the left hand. Set a time limit and, within that time, the group must figure out how to untangle the knot of arms without releasing any hands.
Truth and lies
This activity is a perfect way to break the ice particularly when you have taken on new staff members. Instruct each person to come up with two facts about themselves and one realistic lie (if anyone says they flew to Pluto last year, it’ll be a little too easy to guess!) One by one, everyone shares the details with the group and the others have to guess which ‘fact’ is actually a lie.
Group exercise classes
Organise a group fitness session. You could get a bulk discount at a local gym, yoga studio, martial arts or dance school and get everyone moving in the same direction. A climbing wall is another excellent way to foster teamwork, with pairs having to work together to get to the top.
If you have budget restraints, arrange a group walk or a team soccer match in a park close to the office. You might even want to take a longer-term approach to teambuilding, and consider making group exercise a regular thing once a week. Doing so promotes teamwork and bonding, which means great things for productivity – and your business goals.
Catering for team building day
A hot dog stand is a convenient and fun way to cater for your employees on the day. With delicious dogs and the gourmet hot dog toppings Sydney is famous for, it’s easy to feed a few hungry team members, or a few hundred!