5 Great Team Building Activities Your Team Won't Hate!
Posted on April 26 2017
Sure, we all know a vital part of having a successful business is down to having a happy and productive team, but often the idea of another team building event can extract groans of displeasure from even the most dedicated team player.
Unfortunately some of the old-school team building activities have become rather long in the tooth (“....not karting, AGAIN!”); or uncomfortable and non-inclusive because they are too physically demanding (paintball bruises, anyone?); and sometimes they can make you feel downright awkward (like being forced to participate in something humiliating in drama club when you were 12). However we still believe team building can be a way to motivate, focus and re-connect your team if you use a little creativity and some careful planning.
So, we’ve come up with ideas for 5 activities which can help to make the process more productive and a lot less painful.
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Unite in paying it forward
Working together on a cause that people care about is always an excellent way to bond. Joining volunteer outings with local non-profit organisations will create an opportunity to do something meaningful for others and will also provide a break from the typical office environment and work routine. Asking the team to decide, as a group, what type of volunteer activity they’d like to participate in will give you the chance to discover what your team members care about even before you get started.
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Play a game of Barter Puzzle
This is a good activity to establish or rejuvenate relationships in any team as it will rely heavily on problem solving and leadership skills. To play the game you will need to form small equal-sized groups of team members and give each group a different jigsaw puzzle with the same difficulty level. The goal is to see which group can complete their jigsaw puzzle the fastest. Needless to say, there's a twist! Some pieces will be mixed around in other groups' jigsaw puzzles, and it’s up to the team to come up with a way to get those pieces back - either through negotiating, trading, exchanging team members, etc. Whatever they decide to do, they must decide as a group. So, some team members might stand out and some might stand back, but the entire team will have to come to a consensus before a decision is made.
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Play a game of Truth or Lie
This is a great ice breaker game, especially for new teams. To play the game everyone must sit in a circle facing each other and each person should take turns to come up with 3 true facts about themselves and 1 lie, in random order. It’s a good idea for the lie to be realistic instead of extravagant. The other team members should guess which fact is the lie, before moving on to the next person. This game will help to eliminate snap judgements of colleagues and will give introverts an equal chance to share some facts about themselves.
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Socialise
Interacting freely, without a formal plan, is often the best way to get to know your team members. Organising periodic trips to the cinema or the theatre can be something exciting to look forward to. Or, sometimes even a simple event like a meal at a nice restaurant or drinks at different pub is all that is needed to lift office morale. Or, if you want to make a day of it, how about exploring one of these Great Locations outside London?
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Go on one of our Discovery Games UK Treasure Hunts
Spending a morning or afternoon solving one of our Discovery Games UK puzzles is our TOP team building activity and is an excellent way to build camaraderie and inspire teamwork. We can cater for group sizes from 8 to 200, and will keep it fun to ensure a social event, or can offer games with corporate messages and business management outcomes. Our treasure hunt games and spy missions involve role adoption, communication skills, creativity, strategy development and leadership, so it really is a wonderful option for the perfect team building day.
We understand that researching, planning and booking team building venues can be hard, so if you engage us to host and manage your team treasure hunt away-day, we are always happy to help with this step!
We would also love to hear which activities YOU rate highly for a team-building event. Or, if you would like some more ideas for outdoor puzzle adventures and treasure hunts, please send us an email at info@discoverygamesuk.com or give us a call on +44 (0) 207 193 4401.
