If your first reaction to hearing the phrase ‘team building’ is to cringe whilst remembering a particularly awkward icebreaker activity, then think again! Team building doesn’t have to be an exercise in corporate humiliation; it can be fun, relaxed and – most importantly – employee-led!
But what might your employees be interested in doing? If you’re struggling to come up with team building activity ideas that won’t have your employees desperately trying to think of a way to excuse themselves, then check out our list of 20 fun activities that will get you all out of the office, including ideas for nights out, sports challenges, charity events and more.
Why is team building important?
One thing that the COVID pandemic taught us is that nothing can replace in-person human interaction. Whilst remote working is very convenient, it’s still important to build close relationships in the workplace to boost employee morale, improve communication and collaboration skills, and create a distinct office culture. Otherwise, employees can feel very detached from their place of work and the people around them, leading to lower employee retention rates.
It’s a well-known fact that happier employees are more committed and productive, and as we’re fundamentally social creatures, nothing makes us happier than building genuine connections with others. However, team building activities have gained a negative reputation over the years due to “forced fun” and cringe-inducing icebreakers (e.g. two truths and a lie, dream dinner party guests, and the dreaded presentation about yourself).
So how do you try to build connections in your team in a more natural way? The key is to organise engaging activities that your employees actually enjoy by catering to their interests. Check out the 20 ideas listed below and ask your employees what they would like to do!
Days or nights out
Our first category includes casual days and nights out. These events are super easy and often cheap to organise, and you can keep them as easy-going as you want. Plus, evening activities can easily be arranged after work, so your employees won’t need to commit to a full day out.
1. Trip to a pub or bar
Perhaps the most laid-back option on this list is a simple trip to a local pub or bar after work. This doesn’t require a huge time commitment from your employees – which will be appreciated – and this is also a low-pressure activity that doesn’t require anyone to present anything or compete in a challenge. If you’ve got a few new starters at the moment, a relaxed drink or two could be an easy way to get everyone acquainted.
One thing to note is that you should be mindful of sober employees and not schedule too many team building exercises that revolve around drinking. Whilst no one is obligated to drink alcohol in a pub or bar, sober employees can still feel left out over time if all work-related events are linked to drinking. With this in mind, it’s best to add some sober team building activities to the social calendar too, which we’ll cover later in this list.
2. Immersive experiences
Going for drinks after work is a nice idea now and again, but if this is all you do for team building, employees may start to get a bit tired of it. If you’re looking to switch things up whilst still keeping your events relaxed and casual, why not try an immersive experience on one of your work nights out?
Immersive bar experiences like speakeasies and themed bars have exploded in popularity in recent years, with more and more people looking for unique, memorable nights out to shake up their usual routines. If you like to organise nights out with colleagues, booking an immersive bar experience could be a great way to do something a bit different and keep things fresh.
Here at Alcotraz, we have the perfect immersive experience for companies looking for a unique corporate team building event that employees will actually be excited about. Our venues are created with a speakeasy prison theme, with guests being encouraged to don prison jumpsuits and smuggle alcohol past the warden on the way to their cells. Once you’re inside, our talented “serving” inmates will create delicious cocktails based on the alcohol you smuggle in. Interested in booking an exciting new team building activity? Check out our website to see our locations across the UK, including London, Manchester, Bristol and more.
3. Book or film club
Is your office full of bookworms or movie buffs? Cater to their interests by arranging a company book club or film club with regular events. This will give employees the opportunity to explore their hobbies and interests with their colleagues, helping them form closer relationships and feel more connected with their workplace. Plus, unlike awkward icebreaker activities, a club devoted to a particular shared interest will help people make more easy, natural conversation, encouraging more organic connections.
4. Picnic or BBQ
Sunny days are unfortunately few and far between in the UK, so we have to make the most of them when they’re here. If the weather’s looking good, why not arrange a picnic or barbecue with the whole team? Either provide free food for your employees (which always goes down well) or encourage them to bring their favourite foods to all share together. This could also prompt conversations about different cultural foods and practices, which could help promote a welcoming, tolerant and inclusive office environment.
5. Escape room
Looking for an alcohol-free activity that everyone can enjoy? Escape rooms are extremely popular at the moment, and for good reason. These immersive activities get people stuck into engrossing problem-solving games that make the minutes quickly fly by, and there are so many different themes to choose from – including zombie apocalypse, haunted mansions, bank heists, murder mysteries, Ancient Egyptian tombs, and much more.
Plus, escape rooms make a particularly good team building activity because of the focus on working together to solve difficult puzzles. So, not only will this activity strengthen employee relationships, but it will also teach them how to work better with each other, which can be applied to their in-office interactions.
6. Pub quiz
Who doesn’t love a pub quiz? Get your team working together to win prizes by testing their knowledge, whether you prefer a music quiz, sports quiz, or classic general knowledge. If you’re conscious of arranging too many socials in the local pub, you could also look elsewhere in the community for trivia nights, or host your own!
7. Bowling
Another classic alcohol-free activity is bowling. This is a pretty universally liked activity that’s a safe fallback if you can’t agree on what to do, and it strikes (no pun intended) a perfect balance between competition and easy-going fun. Serious bowlers will enjoy showing off their skills and competing to become the best in the office, and those who tend to throw the bowling balls straight into the gutter will have a lot of fun laughing at each other’s mistakes (all in good fun, of course).
Outdoor activities
If laid-back activities don’t get your team interested, or if you’ve already planned quite a few low-key events in the past, maybe it’s time to try something a little more adventurous. Outdoor challenge-based activities are not only great fun – especially on gorgeous summer days – but they’re also a brilliant exercise for building confidence and collaboration skills. So, if you’re keen to improve how your team works together to solve problems, why not try one of the team building activities below?
8. Sports day
Bring back some positive school memories (we hope) by encouraging your team to take part in a sports day. Depending on the size of your company, you can arrange multiple events for employees to take part in, including classics like tug of war, 100m sprint, relay races, hurdles and long jump. If your employees relish challenges and competitions, split them into teams and see who can win the most “medals”. Or, keep things casual and light-hearted with silly games like potato sack races, three-legged races and egg-and-spoon races.
9. Egg drop challenge
You don’t need a fancy company retreat or huge team building budget to create an engaging challenge that gets your team working together. If you want to build collaboration skills, a simple egg drop exercise could be all you need to encourage your employees to work together to solve an interesting challenge.
With the egg drop challenge, you’ll split your employees into teams before giving each team a raw egg to protect. Then, each team will have a certain amount of time to build a protective contraption around their egg, using common materials like newspaper, foam, bubble wrap, sellotape, strings and pipe cleaners. The team that can drop their egg from the highest height without cracking it wins.
10. Catapult building challenge
Another simple challenge you can set up with basic office materials is the catapult building challenge. The objective is simple: build a catapult in a short amount of time that can launch small items like eggs, water balloons or bottle caps the furthest, or hit a target accurately. Make sure you set up this challenge outside to get a large, open space for catapulting!
Like with the egg drop challenge, each team can only use simple materials like lollipop sticks, rubber bands, and plastic spoons and cups. This encourages creativity and problem-solving skills.
11. Scavenger hunt
If building things isn’t something your team is interested in, an alternative problem-solving collaborative exercise is a scavenger hunt. With just a bit of preparation, you can create a fun, memorable day out filled with finding clues and solving puzzles on the go. Split your employees into teams to focus on collaboration skills, or make it an individual scavenger hunt with a prize for the winner to encourage healthy competition.
12. Paintball
On the other hand, if you’d prefer to not set up your own activities, choosing a ready-made day out like paintballing could be a great alternative. Paintball is ideal for those who love fast-paced, high-intensity competitive activities, so if you think your team would enjoy this, why not float this idea in your next big meeting? However, paintball isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so don’t just spring it on your team without checking their opinions first.
13. Outdoor yoga
On the other end of the scale, we have relaxing outdoor activities like outdoor yoga and mindfulness. If you’re already into practising yoga and mindfulness yourself, this is a relaxing event you could host yourself, or you could hire a professional to lead the session for you. You can even find puppy yoga and goat yoga classes if you want to combine mindfulness with a bit of animal therapy.
Whilst more challenging, competitive activities can be fantastic for improving teamwork and problem-solving skills, more relaxing exercises like yoga are also extremely important, especially considering the prevalence of issues such as workplace stress, burnout and anxiety. Hosting mindfulness events for your team will give them the tools to better manage their stress levels and feel more balanced, and can also create a company culture of openness and understanding when it comes to mental health problems.
14. Mini golf
A great middle-ground option between competitive outdoor activities and fun, relaxing days out is a round of mini golf or crazy golf. With this activity, you get the team building benefits of friendly competition and a relaxed social atmosphere, as it’s easy for employees to chat and joke with each other between their turns.
Philanthropy
Our next team building activity ideas all centre around charity and philanthropy. In addition to making individuals feel good and giving them a sense of purpose, charity events are brilliant for corporate team building because they give employees a shared focus, which is vital for creating a cohesive, committed team. Plus, if some of your employees have only recently moved to the area, getting involved in charity events can help give them more of a connection to the local community, helping them put down roots and feel more secure.
As well as hosting various charity events, it’s a great idea to work closely with specific charitable organisations as a company, and potentially establish a partnership with a charity that aligns with your core business values. Again, this will give a shared sense of purpose and community to your employees, which is essential for team building, employee satisfaction and employee retention!
15. Volunteering
Want to get involved with charities in your local area? Why not reach out to a local charity and see if they need more volunteers? Your employees can also suggest local charities that they’re passionate about and want to work with, helping them build a sense of purpose and closer relationships with their fellow volunteer teammates at the same time.
Nowadays, many companies offer volunteering days as a company perk, as this shows prospective employees that they care about their impact on the local community. So, not only can you improve the morale of your existing employees, but you can also attract top talent by establishing clear company values!
16. Random acts of kindness
Random acts of kindness like giving someone a compliment or paying for their coffee are simple ways to brighten up someone’s day – and they’re so easy to do! To encourage a more positive office environment, set your employees a challenge to complete the most acts of kindness throughout the week.
17. Litter picking
If being environmentally friendly is one of your company’s core values, organising a litter picking event for your team is a great way to truly show you care – and this is another opportunity for your employees to work together towards a shared goal. Reach out to a local environmental charity or your local council to see if they’d like some help at a local river, park or beach.
18. Tree planting
While you’re reaching out to local environmental charities, you can also check if they support activities like tree planting. This is particularly relevant if your environmental goals focus on issues like deforestation and carbon emissions, and is another way for your employees to feel like they’re working together towards a common goal and making a real difference to their community.
19. Christmas gift donations
As the season of giving, Christmas is the perfect time to think of ways for your business to give back to the community. Every year, homeless charities organise a huge Christmas campaign to give homeless people festive hampers, warm meals and in-person support during this period, and various children’s charities focus on gathering gift donations to ensure all children have presents to open on Christmas Day. Partnering with one of these charities at Christmastime is the perfect way to get your employees working together for a fantastic cause, either through gathering gift donations or volunteering at homeless shelters and youth centres.
20. Sponsored walks/hikes
Running marathons, climbing mountains and skydiving are all incredible ways that people raise money for charities, but if you’re running a business, it’s a pretty difficult task to encourage your employees to all jump out of a plane together! An easier way to get people involved in raising money for a chosen charity is to organise a sponsored walk or hike. However, make sure to consider the abilities of everyone on your team so that everyone can safely take part if they want to.
So there you have it! All 20 of these team building activity ideas are guaranteed to get your employees working together, solving problems and building genuine relationships. Share this list with your team to find out which team building exercises they’re most interested in!
If you’re looking for a unique night out for your next team building event, get in touch with us at Alcotraz to arrange a visit near you. Get ready to smuggle your “contraband” into your cell and have an amazing time sipping delicious cocktails – just don’t let the Warden catch you!