In recent years, team building has become a major concern in the corporate world. Businesses are investing a great deal of time and energy into satisfying their greatest resource – their employees. This trend has also given HR departments around the world a chance to develop activities, games and events that utilize the power of fun to give a boost to problem-solving, teamwork and communication around the office. In help you improve the day-to-day life of your employees and increase their productivity, here are the new and improved team building activities everyone at the office will enjoy.
Office Olympics
Like all the top office games, Office Olympics is a great game that incorporates various team-building skills, like collaboration and teamwork. This game makes use of all the various activities we do when we are bored at the office, or repetitive tasks no one likes doing. Divide your staff into teams (you can use existing departments), and have them compete in an office triathlon or pentathlon. Include games such as paper toss free throws, an office chair race, water bottle weight-lifting, office mini golf, or a make a race out of getting everyone’s coffee at the office. This game doesn’t use a lot of time and can be a great way to motivate staff to do the things at the office everyone dreads.
A Scavenger Hunt
This game is a great way to build camaraderie among your employees both, and can be played both in the office and outside. If you opt for a scavenger hunt at the office, separate your staff into groups give them clues, using treasured office memories, and watch as everyone scurries around looking for miscellaneous stuff. Conversely, if you choose to take your scavenger hunt outside you can use one a scavenger hunt app to build your employees’ adventure. The best thing is, you design it on your own, while your teams find the object or places across the city. You can even include your partners’ or clients’ place of business.
The Food Truck Challenge
Every week you can assign two teams to participate in this game. Each time will have a chance to display their culinary and creative skills when they create their own truck stand somewhere around the office, and cook up some tasty fast food recipes for the entire office. Besides feeding the entire office, every employee can participate by voting for the better meal or the better truck design, while the employees who participate can be rewarded with the rest of the day off.
A Touristy Field Trip
Although most of your staff know all the tourist hotspots in their own city, it is unlikely that they have had the pleasure of going on a touristy tour. This is a bond with everyone at the office, and to do something silly and fun at the same time. This office team-building exercise is especially great for major tourist hotspots like New York, Sydney and London. Professional coach in Sydney, for example, can also land you a tour guide, who might give some great insight about the city no one knew. Alternatively, you can go on one of the tourist traps like a Segway tour or a scenic horse carriage ride.
Air Band Office Party
Although karaoke has been known as a great team-building activity outside the office, you can spice it up inside the office and create an air band competition. Choose teams of three to two members, and connect multiple headphones into one device. Each “band member” is given their own headset, and after choosing the song, the concert can begin. This can turn into a real party, while the only people in the room actually listening to the music will be the air-drummers and air-guitarists playing their imaginary instruments.
When creating an exercise in team building, always rely on your imagination to give something really fun and entertaining, yet useful to your employees. These events can become a regular activity at the office, and are guaranteed to lift the spirits of your entire workforce.
