Team building events, I love them! Not only can they be really fun but they can truly be effective in opening up communication between team members and bringing them closer overall.
Sometimes we get so caught up with work that we realize we don’t really know the people who are working for us. Some people are introverts, others are extroverts, some don’t get along (those are the bad situations), and some used to get along but now have fallen into some sort of disagreement so there’s a lack of respect.
Whatever the situation would be a team-building event can be a good remedy to not only help bring your team closer together but also show them that you are appreciative of them by taking them to do something fun.
Now when I speak of team-building events I’m not talking about a happy hour after work. No, that will not be effective that will just keep the cliques that exist within the office together, instead of getting people to engage with someone new while working on their communication and trust skills.
Remember in order for your business to grow and be successful you need a strong team that gets along and respects one another.
If you’re struggling to have this, or if you’re one of the lucky ones and already have this but want to improve on it while providing something fun for everyone to do, I’m here to help you out.
I’m going to share six of my favourite team-building events you and your employees can plan for this year and on.
Some of these events I have actually done so I can definitely vouch for their effectiveness. If you don’t know who I am already my name is Marli Espinales, internet marketing director for Clicc Media Inc where we help dentists and other service-based businesses grow online and make more money through our web design and online marketing services.
So if you are in need of SEO, social media marketing, video creation, Web Design, or anything else make sure to click our contact link in the description below so we can get a conversation started today! Now getting into our list, the first team bonding event you can plan is yoga. Yes, you heard right yoga.
This was one of our first events we did a few years back and we absolutely loved it, not only was it a great workout but what we really enjoyed was watching people who normally don’t speak up slowly begin to find her leadership voice.
Our corporate yoga event was a mix of individual poses and team-building poses and when it came to those team poses we were forced to mix our different personalities to come together and find a solution to how to best you know execute those poses.
Just look at this plank here, everyone had to hold their weight to make it happen literally and figuratively. There were ones where we were just with a partner which is great to put two individuals who normally don’t talk to each other work together, and then there are poses that require teams of four or more and poses for the entire group.
You know not only were we forced to rely on our own strengths but also trust on the strengths of others.
Idea number two might be a toughy for some but it can ultimately be fun and that is an improv workshop. Trust me I get it. When I think improv, I think stage, lights, and get immediate stage fright without even having to be there! But it’s a great way to bring people out of their shells.
Comedy and improv events are fun and they’re interactive experiences that it’s gonna have your employees laughing out loud non-stop while teaching them useful communication and soft skills like focus and trust.
Number three has become very popular throughout these past years and that is escape rooms. This is a great opportunity with people who are clashing together to learn how to work together once more or people who don’t know much about one another, work together to learn how to interact with each other.
Escape rooms are a great bonding activity that requires leadership skills, teamwork, logic, and patience. You can go to an escape room facility or you can actually hire companies to come to your workplace and turn them into a team-building escape room challenge.
The fourth idea is another one that I also participated in a few years back which is kayaking.
Since we live in Florida we have easy access to many Springs, lakes, and beaches, so there’s a big body of water near you I’m sure you’ll be able to do this.
This one here, this one was hilarious to do and nothing says “let’s work together” quite like trying not to end up in the water.
We did a tour around Key Biscayne where we each partnered up with someone else to manoeuvre a two-person kayak. This will really test you and your partner’s communication skills, patience, and especially listening skills because trust me when I say that if you don’t hone in on these particular skills you’re gonna end up crashing into trees, falling off your kayak, or literally going in circles as the rest of the group leaves you behind.
This can be especially interesting when you put two type-A personalities and alphas together who naturally like to take charge and are used to people doing what they say.
So it’s a great exercise to grow these listening skills because at the end of the day they must find a balance to keep the kayak straight and moving forward at a quick pace. The fifth team-building event you can plan out this year is a cooking class.
Not only do you have the opportunity to eat some yummy food at the end, but in order to get to the yummy food, you have to focus listen and learn how to follow instructions very carefully. This can be a partnered event too and the wonderful thing about this event is not only do you get to learn how to cook but throughout the cooking process, your employees have the ability to strike up conversations and get to know each other a lot better.
Google “team building online cooking classes” or “corporate cooking classes” and you’ll be able to find options in your areas to help you set this up today.
Number six is a beautiful one and that is volunteering at a soup kitchen or helping build a home through Habitat for Humanity. At an event like this, you are forced to let go of your own selfishness and inhibitions to focus on the well-being of others. It can help bring upon a new perspective and possibly help coworkers let go of petty arguments and misunderstandings by coming together to focus on the greater good.
Skill-based volunteering is a great way to also stretch your employee’s expertise in certain areas by challenging to find new solutions to problems. If you and your team love to give back and would like to do more of this than just once a year I’ve also created another video that you can check out right here where I go over five community service ideas you and your practice can participate in.
Now whether you implement any of the team-building ideas in this video or any of your own, you should have a clear goal in mind as to why you’re putting together this event for your team. Remember it is not about going to a happy hour to get drunk on a company’s dime. It’s about helping resolve issues that are creating a difficult work environment to help people come out of their shells, to improve communication amongst one another as well as respect, and finally to have fun.
