Six Team Building Ideas and Activities for the Office
6 Team Building Ideas & Activities for the Workplace
It was a real eye-opener last month discovering how much choice there is for companies when it comes to team building activities around Ireland. We had great fun talking to some of the innovative, creative minds who are pushing the boundaries the length and breadth of the country, thinking up new ways on how corporate teams can gel, learn and grow together.However, we’re realists here at Celtic Careers, and aware that some companies might find it hard to round up the troops for a weekend or even full day excursion, due to operating hours, size or budgets. It all sounds great in theory, but the spend and flexibility might just not be there to justify a team building activity outside the office.Thankfully, for leaders and employers, there are alternatives when it comes to looking after the health of your team. Today, we’d like to talk about some ways you can bring team building in-house and make it a cornerstone of day-to-day life in your company.
The Benefits of Team Building in your Office
Cost – As you will see from our suggestions below, team building in the office generally doesn’t cost a great deal. All you will need will be some space in your office, an idea, and well, your fantastic team ready to rock n’ roll. Depending on the game, some props may need to be bought at a small cost.Easy to organize – Gathering your team together in the office should be fun and easy to organize. You can make it a regular fixture of the office every month and set aside time every Friday to try a new activity. Introduce a suggestion box into your office and encourage your team to add suggestions for your monthly team building showdown.Fun in the workplace – While we’re sure that your team enjoy working for your company, they may see the place they inhabit for 8-9 hours every day solely as a place of work. Bringing a fun activity into the office will bring a freshness to how your employees see their workplace and how they connect with other team members. Additionally, it will bring a freshness to their work and have a positive effect on productivity and creativity across the whole team.
Our 6 Team Building Ideas for the Office to get you Started
1. An Afternoon of Board GamesBoard games entertain and bring people together through competitive and cooperative game play. Depending on the game, this might be a great way for your team to practice essential cognitive skills together and improve their tactical awareness. It’s likely that most of your team will have at least one board game lying dormant at home awaiting to be woken in the name of team building. Alternating the game played each time will add to the fun, and give the person who owns the game responsibility for explaining the rules of the game and getting everybody involved. This will build confidence and allow one team member each time to take the mantle of leading the board game sessions.2. Book ClubBooks offer a window of opportunity to learn and grow. Aren’t great teams always learning and growing? Here's a team building ideas for the office: ask one of your team to propose a book each month and then corner off some time for a team brew and book chats. A very affordable and lovely way to sit down as a team that will spark healthy debate and fuel creativity. Have a flick through Pinterest here if you're struggling for book ideas.3. Charades or Catchphrase via Google Hangouts or SkypeA great team bonding exercise especially if some of the team are working remotely or in another office. Tools like Google Hangouts and Skype provide such secure connections and interactive interfaces nowadays that this might be a great way to regroup once in awhile and have some fun. Here is a word generator for catchphrase and charades to get you started.4. ZoomA great one for open-plan offices where there might a bit more space. Zoom is a picture book by Istan Bonyai, featuring 30 sequential pictures that form a narrative. Print off the pictures and use this game to get your team communicating and solving a problem together. Each picture conveys a story that will help in solving the problem. More on how to get started here.5. A Company Bake-offA company bake-off can be a great way to use a shared interest as a way of bonding your team together. Remember the suggestion box? Well, now is the time to encourage your team to start popping in their suggestions for different types of cuisine that will have the whole team bonding and trading notes over their love of food and cooking. See Yummly for recipe ideas.6. Community ServiceOkay, you might have to gather the troops and leave the office for this one, but you won’t be straying too far if you can find a worthwhile initiative in your locality. Our advice would be to search for a community initiative that appeals to your team or reflects your company’s core values. The feel-good factor from making this a regular occurrence, will spread throughout your team and benefit the community that your business exists in.We’d love to hear some of the different games that you play in the office during downtime. Tweet us or let us know your team building ideas on LinkedIn and we will share them out.