A very important part of running a business, is having a team that work together cohesively and cooperatively. As many leaders can attest to, it’s a lot easier said than done. Here are 14 fun team building activities that will encourage better teamwork.
This list includes a mix of free and cheap activities, as well as some that can be done within your office and others outside. Depending on your budget and the weather, choose the most appropriate fun team building activities to trial with your employees.
14 Fun Team Building Activities
Find your match
Hand out 3 cards to every employee. Ask them to write down their favourite movie on one, their favourite music style on another, and the month they were born on the third.
Then ask everyone to walk around and find their closest movie match, followed by music match, etc.
2 truths and 1 lie
This is one of my favourite fun team building activities that I have ever done. Get your team in a circle. Then ask everyone to take turns stating 3 ‘facts’ about themselves, one of which is made up. The game is to try and guess which is the lie.
Hide and seek
Just like the kids game, but now for adults. Take turns going around the workplace and hiding, whilst the rest of the team have to find you.
Bring a plate
Arrange a lunch one day, where everyone brings a plate of food in. To make it more fun, ask them to bring a plate which is common from their family heritage, or food that starts with the same letter as their first name (Peter = Potato, Sally = Sandwich, etc)
Charity day
Find out what your team could do for a local charity. It could be work in their soup kitchen, or shake a can on the sidewalk. Arrange a day for the whole team to go do something charitable.
Board games
Bring a few board games into the office, and have a competition afternoon or evening. This works really well with takeaway pizza and drinks!
Orienteering
Going on an orienteering walk is quite an achievement. You need to split teams into carrying compass, map and guiding. A number of companies offer this as a service.
Bring a pet day
Ask team members to take turns bring in their pet for a day. Check with them, to ensure their pets are social and toilet trained, of course.
Neighbourhood walk
Arrange a time when the whole team can go for a neighborhood walk, around the area near your workplace. It’s a great way to discover little places you have never noticed before.
Karaoke night
Find a local karaoke place, and arrange a team evening over a few drinks. You’ll all get to make fools of yourselves in front of one another.
Weekly bake
Take turns having the team bring in a cake or baked goodies they have made from home. Perhaps make it a Friday morning ritual each week? Not too frequent, or people will be stressed, and everyone will feel too full!
Team Yoga
Arrange for a yoga teacher to come in to the workplace (f you have room) or go to their yoga centre, and have a team yoga session.
Dress up day
Just like when you were in school, have a dress up day with a theme. Maybe it could be denim day, or bright shirt day? You could even raise some money for charity.
Art class
Arrange for a local artist to visit your workplace, and run an art class. It could be drawing, painting, clay or any other form of creative expression – it’s more the team work and fun than the end results.
Summary
There you have it – my favourite 14 fun team building activities that you and your colleagues should enjoy trying out. Team building like this improves employee engagement, builds resilience in individuals and most importantly, encourages team building and team work.
Enjoy the experience, have a laugh and remember not to take things too seriously!