Team Building Activities To Improve Teamwork

Those who are running businesses or have been working as employees know how hard it is to fit into a working environment, especially if you are a new recruit or have swapped to another team for a different project. You just can’t get fit into it; it takes time to get comfortable with people around you. Right! Sometimes it gets so difficult that either you or others have to quit the team. That’s where team building activities come into the scene.

These activities are focused on teamwork and strengthening the bonds between team members. They also improve collaboration, relieve workplace pressure, and help employees get comfortable with each other. If you also want to improve communication and strengthen the bond between team members, here are some team-building activities you can try.

Why Do Businesses Need Team Building Activities?

If you run a business, you can use team-building activities to build a positive work environment, which, of course, in turn leads to more productivity. These activities help improve overall communication between coworkers, build trust, boost morale, and improve worker engagement; as we all know, it can be hard to fit into a new working environment. These activities also develop crucial business skills like project management and collaboration, which are needed to increase worker satisfaction and better overall team performance.

Also, some team activities can help members feel more comfortable in a work environment and allow them to talk freely with others when working on the same project. Besides this, when your staff feel valued and connected, they get more motivated and try to do their best. Right! All this leads to higher output and more efficient problem-solving as they work together towards common goals.

Similarly, when you and your team are working on common, collaborative goals in a less formal way, the team can try to implement more creative solutions. This way, you improve not only your own but also your team’s ability to tackle tough problems together. You and your team can reduce inner conflict and workplace stress, as well as build a more harmonious atmosphere. It is like creating virtual neighbours just by building understanding with your team.

Best Team Building Activities To Improve Teamwork

There are different types of team-building activities for different environments, like for indoor office teams, physical team-building activities, and for remote teams, virtual team-building activities. Here will go through activities suited for different environments, so let’s start-

Physical team building activities

These kinds of team-building exercises involve physical movement to help employees be active.

Human Knot

It is a common team-building activity among businesses; it helps develop and enhance communication between employees. In this exercise, team members stand in a ring and try to reach across to hold hands with two different people. Now they work together to untangle into a single, continuous circle without letting go of each other’s hands.

It is one of the best exercises for small team groups as it requires perfect communication, as no player can shift or untangle alone without affecting the rest of the members. Also, Team members must communicate and strategize to step over, under, and around each other to solve the knot. This activity promotes communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

Obstacle and Ropes Courses

Obstacle courses and ropes courses are also a popular choice for team building. They help build trust, communication, and confidence among teammates as they participate in shared challenges and risk-taking. Most of these courses generally make teammates go through grounded obstacles, high ropes with zip lines, and team-based challenges that need teamwork and collaboration. These experiences help teams strengthen their bonds and build a more collaborative work environment.

These courses commonly include 2 types of courses: High Ropes Course and Low Ropes Course. The first one involves higher-up challenges like zip lines and balance beams. On the other hand, the other one features ground-based obstacles that require cooperation and coordination, such as the Mohawk Walk or Blindfold Maze.

Your teams usually start with low ropes activities that focus on basic cooperation and communication. In this, individual challenges and team support together give an excellent shared experience that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of you and your team.

Team-Building Activities for Remote Teams

Virtual Happy Hour or Coffee Chat

A virtual happy hour is becoming popular in the current office environment. It is a casual online event, usually done after work office hours or during breaks. This activity centers around drinks and socializing together to boost team morale and build connections. A virtual coffee chat is a similar informal online meeting but focuses on building professional relationships, knowledge exchange, and connections between remote or hybrid teams.

The choice depends on the desired atmosphere; happy hours are more informal social meetings, while coffee chats are a bit professional than happy hours for remote workers. It is a good exercise for building professional relationships, exchanging industry insights, and improving collaboration between teams. Mostly, users use video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams to have a virtual happy hour for easy communication and interaction.

Team Bucket List

A Team Bucket List is a shared list of common goals that team members want to achieve together. These types of team-building activities help build and nurture team bonding and work-life balance. This bucket list can include big adventures, personal growth activities, or professional development goals. Members can customize this list to the team’s interests and their capabilities. By creating and pursuing a team bucket list, businesses can show their commitment to the professional growth and well-being of their employees.

Also, creating a shared goal can excite the teams to work towards, creating a positive atmosphere and increasing team members’ interest in their work. It amplifies team relationships and creates lasting memories for them as they work towards a collective goal.

Culture Swap Sessions

In culture swap sessions, you are involved in a two-way sharing and learning process. It is usually done between individuals or groups from different cultures to form mutual understanding, respect, and empathy. These sessions can take many forms; you can do them both online or in person. This way, team members can share and learn about each other’s cultural backgrounds, traditions, and ways of life.

These sessions can also break down stereotypes, make team connections strong, and increase compassion by presenting perspectives of all members. You can do culture swaps through digital platforms, chatbots, and even local community or business events.

Community-based Team-building Activities

Employee Praise Shoutouts

Employee praise shoutouts are getting more and more popular nowadays. These shoutouts encourage employees to work closely together and do their best. Businesses use an employee praise system to create a platform where their employees feel valued for their work. This system can also be used to give shoutouts and rewards to top performers.

You can also consider these shoutouts as brief, informal expressions of appreciation for your employee’s achievements, their effort, and contributions. This will boost their morale, improve their engagement, and create a positive work environment. For effective shoutouts, they should be specific and highlight the action and positive impacts of the employees. This way, they can celebrate both significant and small wins and everyday efforts and feel genuinely valued.

Random Acts of Kindness

You can add a random acts of kindness task to your team-building activities. It is a fairly simple activity that generally includes actions like giving compliments, leaving encouraging notes, and helping colleagues. You can also prepare a list of random tasks and assign them to your team members based on task difficulty and their impact on society, as well as on the team.

This activity is an excellent option for forging a profound team with an interconnected mindset. Besides this, the acts of kindness activity can also improve company culture and team enthusiasm by occasionally rewarding them for their selfless acts.

Team-Building Activities for Hybrid Teams

Customized Accessories for Team Members

By providing customized Team-branded merch and accessories, you can show team members a sense of unity and belonging. It is a subtle yet effective way, as you feel more part of a team if you wear the same merch like a t-shirt or jacket. Besides this, you also add customized items, such as coffee mugs and computer accessories, to form a last connection and shared identity between members.

Share Origin Stories

It is another great team-building activity. In this, you can organize a session where your colleagues can share their origin and personal stories for better understanding and connection. They can also share why they joined this company and how they want to or will proceed in this field. These sessions can show their shared interests, common goals, or similarities such as hometowns or hobbies. This ultimately helps in building deeper connections and trust.

Conclusion:

Now we have reached the end of this post, there are so many activities that I wanted to cover and talk about the things regarding the team building, but unfortunately, we just can’t cover all that in one post. But I hope our little efforts will help you in building a harmonious team.

All the mentioned team-building games and activities do not require much skill to participate; members of tech, game, and communication skill levels can do these activities. So, why not give them a try?