Team building activities are a great way to increase synergy in your workplace. They help develop communication; teach problem solving, decision making, or planning; or can be used just to break the ice. But these useful activities can become less effective if they have been overdone. Here are a few creative and modern team building activities to shake up your work routine.
Admiration
Everyone is to think of a person that they admire (famous, historical, or otherwise). Have everyone share their person and why they look up to them. This activity teaches everyone what each other values and can bring people together when they see that they admire some of the same people.
Storytelling
Hand out pictures that, when in order, tell a story. People may not show their picture to anyone else. Have people describe their pictures to each other and allow them to work out the order. People should share how they figured out how to put the story together. This activity focuses on communication and understanding others.
Early Bird/Second Mouse
“The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”–Stephen Wright. Divide into two teams (early birds, second mice), allowing the groups to decide which they would like to be. Give the teams 5-10 minutes to prepare a one-minute presentation about why being the “early bird” or “second mouse” is a better strategy for work or life. After this, have a discussion between the groups. This activity teaches about adaptability versus consistency and how different personalities may work better with different strategy.
Host employee “lunch and learns”
Allow employees to bond over lunch by providing outside speakers or an employee with a special interest or hobby to share what they know and are interested in. This encourages team building and extra interaction between employees.
Volunteer Together
Encourage your employees to volunteer together. Pick a charitable organization or allow interested employees to choose. Working together in this volunteer situation is another great way to create better working relationships and stronger teams.