If your team isn’t on the same page, you’re probably not going to be producing your best quality work. Projects take longer, communication falters, and tensions tend to run high. It can be difficult to find ways to connect and bond as a team, especially when typical team-building activities can be cringy and even embarrassing. If you’re looking for an activity your team will actually enjoy, here are eight options you can try.
1. Escape Room
Escape rooms are fun for all types of people for a variety of reasons. There’s a mystery, interactive props, and a time limit to keep the tension running high. Your team will have to work together and utilize each other’s strengths, or fail. Most people don’t like losing! This is also a great way to discover the strengths of others you may not have been aware of before. Plus, you don’t even have to take time out of your day to drive to an escape room. There are many virtual escape room team building options you can run in the office.
2. Cooking Competition
A cooking competition is another good way to encourage teamwork that hopefully results in a delicious meal for everyone to enjoy at the end. You can share recipes, come up with interesting challenges, and cheer your teammates on from the sidelines.
3. Wine Tasting
If your team doesn’t like competitions, you can try a more relaxed social activity like wine tasting. You can work together to identify the different notes of different wines and find ways to describe the unique flavors in appealing ways. Just make sure everyone on your team is comfortable around alcohol. This is another event that you can hold in the office. There are companies that put together tasting flights you can enjoy without ever setting foot in a vineyard.
However, suppose your team wants to experience a new level of wine tasting and relaxing feeling while enjoying the beautiful sceneries in the vineyard. In that case, you can schedule your tour and learn about the wine-making process, taste some of the finest wine tours in the US, and enjoy the stunning views of the valley.
4. Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are opportunities to assign leadership roles and strategize different approaches. The items can double as prizes, and you can hide them around the office or in important locations in your community.
5. Trivia
Give your team the opportunity to show off their knowledge with a trivia night. The trivia can be about the company, your industry, or be completely unrelated. This is a fun way to discover people’s hobbies or special interests. You can also learn a lot about specific themes together.
6. Field Day
A field day is a great option for teams that enjoy physical activity. You can get matching shirts, plan a variety of different contests, and declare a winner at the end. Just keep in mind that you may have employees who either can’t or won’t want to participate in these types of competitions.
7. Game Night
Whether you like to play video games or board games, a game night is an excellent way to get people to share their favorite pastimes. Just about everyone played board games as a kid. You can enjoy blasts from the past or pull out a fun new board game no one has heard of. Playing through different games with different structures and rulesets can highlight different team strengths.
8. Yoga and Meditation
The workplace is a source of considerable stress for a lot of people, so why not offer some activities that can help employees manage that stress in a healthy way? Yoga can be gentle enough for everyone to enjoy yet still engaging for those who want a challenge. You can visit a local studio or set up a space in the office. Meditation is another healthy habit everyone can benefit from. You may even be so inspired by the workshop that you set up a permanent meditation room for breaks.
To really make these activities beneficial, try not to ask employees to stay late or show up on a weekend, especially if the event isn’t paid. For best results, hold these events during the day, when everyone’s already present. It’s not always easy to get people to work together, but finding fun activities can help alleviate a lot of the friction, and you’ll likely be very pleased with the results.
