Team building activities are usually one of two things: a total waste of time when people complain that they could be doing other things, or, they can be a ton of fun and actually bring people together. Of course, when bringing coworkers together for a group activity, you’re going to go for the latter. However, this isn’t always easy to do.
We all know how beneficial group activities can be for teaching employees to work well with one another, so planning these activities is a must. Here are a few activities that will not only help employees learn to work together, but also will be enjoyable.
“Nostalgia”
Have each employee bring in a childhood picture of themselves. Post the photos up on a board in a common area. Provide blank pieces of paper, tape, and a pen for people to guess who is who. When your allotted time/day is up, reveal who is who and see who guessed right.
Conversation Jenga
This would ideally be better for a smaller office, or to do with just a team. Get a set of Jenga blocks and write a question such as “Where would you like to travel?” or “What skill would you like to learn?” on each one of the blocks. These questions can be whatever you’d like. Then play the game of Jenga, requiring each player to answer the question on the block that they pull.
Battle of the Airbands
Divide your group into teams. Each team will choose, rehearse, and perform a lip synced version of whatever work-friendly song they like. If you are giving them more than one day, you should definitely encourage employees to dress up! Then let each team perform and have a set of judges from a different department decide on a winner.
Back to Back Drawing
Put people into pairs and have them sit back to back. One person will be given a picture of a simple object, such as a balloon or a computer and the other will be given a blank piece of paper and a pen. The team member with the picture will have to describe to their partner how to draw the object, without revealing what it is or giving any clues. Give each team a few minutes to work together, and see what the drawing comes out as.
Take a class or go outside of the office for an activity.
Employees will generally enjoy this more, since it gets them away from their desks. Reach out to local community centers, adult education centers, or anywhere else you might think that would offer classes. These can be really fun and gives employees a chance to learn a new skill. For example, the SnapSuites employees took a cooking class at Eataly Boston.
Whatever you decide to do with your team, just make sure that your employees enjoy themselves!