If you own a business or work as a manager, then you know how important it is to foster a sense of teamwork and camaraderie within a group. It’s essential to keep everyone in the loop and motivated enough to accomplish project goals. One way to do that, for better or for worse, is through team-building exercises.
The mere mention of a mandatory team-building activity often elicits groans from employees and team members. But if done right, it can foster trust within the company, help your employees learn about each other, and have fun in the process. Even something as unconventional as a haunted house experience can have positive effects on employee morale.
If you’re looking for a fun game or activity for the office, here are a few to get you started.
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Board games
One cheap and easy way to have fun without leaving the office is to organize a board game tournament. This setup is best for small teams, but you can still involve the entire office if you assign each employee to a team. If you want, the winner of each game can then move on to a championship game. A few board games you can try include Jenga or even card games such as UNO.
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Trivia night
Another great way to stimulate your team’s competitive spirit is to organize an office trivia game. You can pit your company’s different departments against each other or randomly assign everyone to a team. Don’t forget to buy prizes to make it a real challenge.
You can either write your own questions or hire someone to host the game for you. The usual format is to have multiple categories, with five to six items per category. The team that gets the most points at the end of the game wins.
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Scavenger hunt
If you’re looking for a fun outdoor activity, a scavenger hunt is always a popular option. You can book a large outdoor area like a park during the summer or have an urban hunt around the city. Smaller companies can organize one by themselves, but if you have dozens or even hundreds of employees, you might want to hire a professional service instead.
Your team members will enjoy the opportunity to spend some time outdoors and exercise their brains and brawn. Just don’t forget to take photos and videos so you’ll have something to share at the next company town hall meeting.
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Bake-off
If you work in a food service establishment, one way to blow off some steam while allowing everyone to use their skills is to organize a bake-off. Divide your team into two groups and challenge them to create the best dish based on the assigned category.
You could make them create a new type of pizza, bake a cake, and more. To make things more interesting, you can even introduce twists such as limiting the ingredients they can use or choosing a flavor or theme.
These are just some games and exercises you can do for your team-building day. The goal is to improve camaraderie and teamwork within your company, so whichever activity you choose, it’s important to remember to keep things professional and to have fun.