4 team building activities that will boost employee morale
Lack of productivity can be a business killer. If your employees are feeling unhappy at work, not only will they not deliver their best, but they might also start to look elsewhere. This makes engaging your employees and keeping morale high vital for success in the workplace.
But team building activities don’t have to be outdated — not to mention, not very fun — and you don’t need to resort to dreaded trust fall exercises. Here are four unique team building activities sure to give your employees a great time, boost employee morale, get them using key skills and ensure they come back to the workplace feeling refreshed and even more secure as a team, ready to go the extra mile for your business.
1. Encourage communication and teamwork with laser tag
When you think “laser tag”, you might think of a kid’s birthday party in a small dark room with flashing lights, but this isn’t how modern laser tag works. Laser tag for adults is an immersive experience with hi-spec weapons in an enormous woodland battleground — and no aliens in sight. Not only does this give your employees a healthy workout that’ll get those endorphins flowing, but it also requires the use of key skills. To successfully plan offensive tactics and spot colleagues as they evade the rival team, you’ll need to communicate and listen carefully — two skills that are vital in any business. As a bonus, and unlike its sister sport paintball, you won’t have to worry about sore bruises the next day, as laser tag is an entirely non-contact sport!
2. Take your employees on a scavenger hunt
A scavenger hunt may seem like a pastime that only children can enjoy, but there’s no reason why adults can’t benefit too. A scavenger hunt is easy and cost-effective to organise but provides lots of fun. Get your employees involved in advance of the hunt by asking them for suggestions for items to find and on the day itself, split your staff into teams. Your employees will have to talk to each other and delegate as they decide who should search for what. Why not also encourage a little healthy rivalry by offering a reward to the first team to find their items? It’s sure to incentivise them to work together even harder and can even boost employee morale.
3. Create a united front by locking employees up in an escape room
This doesn’t mean locking your employees up and throwing away the key. Escape rooms have experienced a boom in popularity recently, with new centres popping up all around the country — and, indeed, the world. While often thought to be the perfect day out for groups of friends, escape rooms are increasingly being marketed towards businesses as a fun team building activity.
The premise is simple — your employees are “locked” in a room and given a set period to escape. Your team will need to solve clues and puzzles to find the next piece of the puzzle, with the goal being to escape before time runs out. In this scenario, the saying that “two heads are better than one” rings true. To successfully escape, your team will have to communicate and work together — if each member of your team attempts to go it alone, it’ll end in disaster. This makes an escape room a great activity — your team will thrive on the feeling of accomplishment of solving puzzles and getting out together, resulting in bringing them closer together and making them better able to cooperate with each other in the workplace. With various themes available too, such as horror-themed escape rooms, there’s something for everyone.
4. Go volunteering as a team
Volunteering is a perfect team building activity for a number of reasons. Volunteering makes us feel good because we know we’re contributing to something bigger than ourselves. While more of us might like to volunteer on a regular basis, the truth is that with work, family and other commitments, it can be difficult to find the time. Why not take advantage of the opportunity to do your bit by integrating volunteering into your team building initiatives? Evidence shows that any act of kindness can boost happiness, meaning it can have a pretty solid impact on employee morale too. Volunteering as a team, whether it’s visiting people within the community or helping to tidy up the environment, can bring your team together and help them feel connected.
As you can see from this list, team building activities don’t have to be familiar and dull. Instead, you can opt for team building activities that are genuinely enjoyable for your staff, reinforce vital skills and ultimately, improve productivity and employee morale.
