7 Out-of-the-Box Team Building Ideas
Team-building activities have been proven to improve company culture and create a stronger bond between employees. They also encourage collaboration, promote good communication, and build trust between team members. Most importantly, team-building exercises foster an attitude that common goals can be achieved if you work together.
Leading a creative team-building activity is a great way to break the ice and spark innovation. Here are some of our top out-of-the-box team-building ideas for businesses:
1. Business Simulations
A great way to see how employees handle certain situations in the workplace is by simulating realistic scenarios. Split the employees into two or more teams, depending on the number of staff participating in the activity. Next, ask a member of management to lead the exercise which involves coming up with imaginary business problems.
Gather all participants in a collaborative workspace, such as those available at Roam. Have the activity leader share the details of the activity, including the rules, goals, and deadline. After being given each scenario, teams should talk amongst themselves to determine the best solution. Whichever team offers the best solution receives a point and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
2. Storytelling
Storytelling exercises help employees get to know one another and their experience in the workplace. This activity is best suited for smaller groups of between 5 and 20 people. You’ll want to choose a quiet place to host the exercise to prevent disruptions. Roam offers meeting room rentals that can be reserved by businesses for half-day meetings, which would be perfect!
This activity requires participates to tell inspiring work-related stories. Have everyone sit around the table in front of a whiteboard divided into two sections. In one section, post sticky notes containing trigger words to initiate the storytelling, such as “work travel,” “project,” or “first day.” Ask each participant to choose a trigger word and tell their story.
As each participant tells their story, have other participants write down words that remind them of similar work stories. Add these sticky notes to the empty section of the whiteboard. In the end, the whiteboard should contain many words that signify interconnected stories.
3. Stranded on a Deserted Island
It’s an age-old question that can have many different answers – “What would you do if you were stuck on a deserted island?” Make this the topic of discussion during your next team-building exercise. Have the group sit in a circle to encourage face-to-face communication and give each person a slip of paper and a pen.
Next, ask each participant to write down what object they would choose to escape the island. Once everyone has their answer on paper, have them reveal the item and explain why they chose it. As a group, the team must create a plan on how to escape the deserted island using each object chosen. This activity promotes problem-solving and encourages employees to use their creative thinking skills.
4. Dare Jenga
Most of us have played a game of Jenga when we were young. Bring the game to the workplace to initiate a team-building and ice-breaking exercise. Start by writing a dare on each block, such as “wear your tie backward the rest of the day” or “do 10 pushups in the hallway.”
Have each participate take turns choosing a block. The person has the option to perform the dare that is written on the block to earn a point. If a person does not want to perform a dare, another employee can request to perform the dare and earn an extra point. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.
5. Show and Tell
Roam meeting room rentals in Atlanta are suitable for all types of activities, such as show and tell. Give everyone in the office a chance to brag about their accomplishments through a friendly show and tell exercise that encourages participants to feel good about all their hard work.
Ask each participant to bring in something to show to the rest of the team, such as a product that was recently completed, a laptop portraying a freshly updated website, or a list of new clients the business has recently secured. Ask each person to spend a few moments discussing their accomplishments and how they were achieved. Encourage employees to give credit to others that helped make the accomplishment possible.
6. Office Debates
While it may seem counterproductive to encourage an office debate during a team-building exercise, it can be advantageous. Engaging in a friendly and respectful argument can encourage cooperation, patience, and an understanding of different viewpoints. It may also help employees learn to calm heated situations that arise in real life.
Start by coming up with a few topics of discussion but make them light. For example, the topic might be about the best meal in the cafeteria, how long breaks should be, or should the office dress code be formal or casual. For each topic, have two opposing views speak their mind. Ask management or a few select employees to act as the judges and choose a winner.
7. Play Online Games
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect people across the U.S., the need for remote work is still significant. If your team is working from home, you can still conduct team-building exercises using online resources like co-op games.
Choose a game that everyone can participate in from their computer, such as ‘Overcooked! 2’, ‘Minecraft’, or ‘Don’t Starve Together’, all available on PC. Use the computers’ built-in microphones to chat while playing.
Try Team Building at Roam
Team building activities have quickly become an essential component of modern company culture. Having a team of employees that can effectively work together, communicate, and collaborate is key for the long-term success of a company. Roam makes it easy for employees to come together by providing fully-equipped meeting room and office space rentals. Reserve a coworking space in Atlanta at one of our seven convenient locations.