There lies great teamwork behind the success of any organization. If you’re thinking of ways to get your team together, there are a lot of options. Team-building activities are one of them and it’s instrumental in making the team members excited about working together.
This article talks about some team building activities that are sure to help employers and managers inculcate team spirit among their people.
Significance of Teamwork
Teamwork enables people to complete their tasks efficiently and effectively in a more streamlined manner. While they work together, each team member is obliged to help others reach their goals. Teamwork, being the key to cultivating a collaborative environment, allows individuals to develop deeper insights into projects assigned to them. Working as a team allows employees to see the successes and the failures of others, and provides them with a supportive environment. It can also enable them to develop strategies and compete against one another in the future.
Teamwork and Team Building Activities
We have collated some activities that are effective at strengthening the bond between team members and making the work enjoyable. They are categorized into the following four types.
* Outdoor Activities
* Activities for Remote Teams
* Activities during Meetings
* Activities for Workdays
Outdoor Activities
Activity: Make a Coat of Arm for the Company
How to play:
You will need enough pen, paper, and markers.
Divide the employees into teams.
Ask them to make a coat arm.
Every coat arm should include, the recent achievement of the company, the values of the company, and the future.
The manager can choose the best and publish it!
Activity: Office Trivia
How to Play:
Choose an open space outside the workspace.
Come up with 20-25 questions and answers specific to your workspace and test your team’s knowledge.
Questions can be like "What color are the kitchen tiles?" "How many people are in the IT department?" "How many windows are there in the entire office?" "What brand are the computer monitors?" "What month of the year is most common for birthdays among our employees?"
The manager can announce the winning team.
The managers can find the most observant team-member too!
Activity: Community Service
How to Play:
This activity should be entirely out of the work environment.
Provide two to three hours out of the workday to plan this activity.
Make a few holiday programs like beach clean-up, serving the underprivileged, or some projects that benefit society.
The managers can find an activity that suits the company and reflects the company's values.
Doing some good work together will bring your team closer.
Activities for Online Platforms
Activity: Who works here?
How to play:
This is a fun activity that assures team bonding.
Before doing the activity, make sure the internet is stable and collect photographs of the “work-from-home” space of your team.
Now it’s time for the rest of the team to guess who works in such a workspace.
The manager can be the facilitator which makes the game more interesting.
This activity will help the team know each other better and eventually build a better bond.
Activity: Company Trivia Quiz
How to play:
Organize a trivia quiz to entertain your teammates with questions based on your company.
Divide the teams and play it.
This quiz is perfect for larger meetings, such as all-hands and town halls, or quarterly meetings.
Some sample trivia questions are “How many people are currently working at our company?”, “Where does our company name come from?”, “What was the original color of our logo?”.
Activity: Catchphrase
How to play:
Since this is a classic game, make sure the rules are known to everyone. Like, the video should be on/the actions should be clear, etc.
Divide the whole team into two groups.
You can also use an online Catchphrase ideas generator that will provide word prompts for the activity.
Add points and finally declare the winner.
You can even share the pictures of the winning team members to appreciate them.
Activities During Meetings
Activity: Crack the Puzzle
How to play:
You can use a real puzzle to play the game. Get one from Amazon!
Divide the crowd into groups and set a timer to finish the task.
See that everyone contributes to finish the task.
The manager can find amazing leaders, good teamwork, etc. and announce them with a title and appreciate them.
Ask the winning team their secret mantra!
Let everyone contribute and think at the same time.
Activity: The Compliment Circle
How to play:
This is a simple activity to encourage each other.
Give a few minutes to the team to complement each other.
It is always good if the manager starts first by appreciating a pitch, or an early work submission, or some great team leader.
You can also ask the employees to start by appreciating the one who stands to the right side and then it goes on.
Managers can acknowledge them in between at relevant instances.
Activity: "Brag a bit”
How to play:
Take time after the meetings to help the team to brag a bit!
The employees can brag about their accomplishments.
This will surely help the whole company to be aware of what is happening around them.
Which team is working on what! By adding some bragging to it, the team can connect better to the accomplishments and works going on in the company!
Managers can find creative content here!
Activities During Workdays
Activity: Personality Test
How to play:
Managers can set some time aside for the employees from the hectic work to have a personality test!
You can choose any kind of personality test, but the idea is to create a bond and get the employees to know each other.
By doing this personality test, one gets to know the different characteristics of their teammates.
Also, a good manager can set minded/people with similar qualities to work together!
The best team gives the best!
Activity: A Scavenger Hunt
Creating a Scavenger Hunt for your employees is always a great activity for the whole company to know the workspace and the workforce.
How to play:
Get started by setting teams.
Each team can create a set of questions and get the rest of the team to come up with the answers by the end of the day.
Encourage team members to work together on it and get the answers.
This is a great way to know about the company, what it is working on, who is who, etc.
Activity: Untangle a “Human Knot”
How to play:
Explain what to do clearly and arrange adequate space for the activity.
Set a “Human Knot” alarm for your company!
Soon the alarm is on all the employees should form a chain and squeeze themselves into a circle and form a knot.
NOTE: Everyone’s hands should be interlocked
Now ask the team to untangle themselves without breaking the chain.
Make it even more challenging by not allowing people to talk and setting a timer.
Eventually, your team will be solving problems and building great bonds.
Conclusion
Managers should be aware that building great teams is quintessential to the company's growth. Though it can be done in various ways, one of the simplest and most effective ways is team building activities. We hope the activities listed in this article will help you build a strong-bounded team.