10 Popular Team-Building Activities: 4 Types of Team Building

Team building is the process of engaging a group of people in activities that encourage socializing or collaboration toward a common goal. In the business world, team-building exercises are used to strengthen relationships and the team dynamic, which will carry over into their work and enhance the business.

During team-building exercises, employees can work in pairs, small groups, large groups, or with the entire team to accomplish a task for bragging rights or a prize. Popular team-building activities include escape rooms, magic shows, potlucks, board games, karaoke, trivia, and scavenger hunts.

Team building is important because it fosters a sense of collaboration that trickles over into daily work life, making it easier for team members to work together to complete specific work tasks and projects. Team building can drastically improve the performance of the business because they help:

• Build relationships. Team-building activities help build stronger relationships between team members since they can socialize, get creative, and work together to solve fun challenges rather than stressful work problems. These relationships are the building blocks to a great team—teams that enjoy a lot of team bonding are more likely to have better communication and the drive to collaborate in the office.
• Define roles. Collaborative team-building exercises offer a valuable way to identify strengths within the group, like members who excel at following directions, problem-solving, taking charge, verbalizing instructions, or creative thinking. Teams who engage in team-building activities can take these lessons learned during the exercises and apply them to their work dynamic.
• Develop skills. Effective team-building exercises can help groups hone particular skills that apply in the workplace—for instance, communication skills, patience, rapid decision-making, leadership skills, and creative problem-solving.
• Increase employee satisfaction. Team-building exercises can serve as a welcome break from work tasks, whether the activities are held at the office during work hours or on a work retreat. By engaging in a fun activity, employees can unwind from work stress and use it as a chance to refuel.

There are four main types of team-building activities:

1. 1. Indoor. Indoor activities can occur in the office or as part of indoor office parties and are usually located in a conference room, lobby, or open area without furniture. Indoor activities can include trivia, guessing games, board games, or work-related tasks.
2. 2. Outdoor. Outdoor activities occur at a public location, like a park or at the beach. Outdoor team-building games include relay races, physical tasks, and other friendly competitions, which can be boisterous, messy, and require a large amount of space.
3. 3. Location-specific. There are several team-building exercises where group members will gather at a specific location to participate. Location-specific activities include local volunteering, group meals, or entertainment venues.
4. 4. Virtual. There are many team-building activities for remote teams that can take place over video chat or recorded video. Some virtual team-building activities will incorporate local elements by sending things through the mail to participants, like paint-by-number art sets or puzzles. Common virtual activities include trivia, magic shows, escape rooms, or talent shows.

Here are some popular and fun team-building activities to try:

1. 1. Blind retriever. This team-building activity can help foster a sense of trust between colleagues. Break the group into pairs. Ask one person in each pair to put on a blindfold and have the other party guide their partner through a maze of obstacles using only verbal commands to see which team can complete the course first.
2. 2. Board games. Break out the board games for a simple, familiar way to have endlessly customizable fun in a team. Bring in some traditional board games, use a virtual board game client, try out building blocks, have everyone bring in different jigsaw puzzles, or set up a simple game of drawing-based charades on a whiteboard or a piece of paper that teams pass around.
3. 3. Egg drop. The egg drop is a problem-solving activity, ideal for indoor or outdoor bonding. Break the group into small teams to compete to create a device out of office supplies that will protect a raw egg from cracking when dropped from a particular height—the team with the most intact egg wins.
4. 4. Escape room. Escape rooms are small areas that are set up with puzzles or clues to encourage groups to work together to “escape.” You can create your own room at the office or, if your budget permits, bring the staff to a professional escape room. Remote teams also have the option to participate in virtual escape rooms. You can pay to participate in pre-established escape rooms or create your own experience using online resources.
5. 5. Karaoke. Karaoke nights, in which individuals or groups perform songs for a crowd, are a classic way to help your team bond. You can learn about different employees’ music tastes and bond over favorite songs—whether in person or over a video call.
6. 6. Potluck. Potlucks, where employees bring in foods for a communal meal, are an especially popular activity for company culture since they can be regularly scheduled during lunch hour. Potlucks are a great way to learn about different employees’ backgrounds and interests, as everyone bonds over a shared meal. Potlucks can be an excellent way to engage introverts in team-building events since the activity doesn’t require intense performance outside of their comfort zone.
7. 7. Scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts are flexible activities that teams can do in an office, outdoors, or throughout a city. Break the group into teams and give them a list of particular tasks with a specific time limit—items to find, activities to complete, and pictures to take—the first team to finish wins.
8. 8. Show and tell. A great low-prep icebreaker game is to have each member share a picture or random object related to their life or interests. This activity offers a fun and interesting way to learn about each other outside of work and is great in person or remotely.
9. 9. Trivia. Trivia is a fun way to engage an entire group in knowledge-based activities, either in person or over a video call. Design questions around a particular topic—whether related to work, the world, or even a particular person in the office—and have teams compete to get the most questions right. Model the game after a specific game show to make it extra fun.
10. 10. Volunteering. Volunteering is a great way to engage employees in a meaningful and memorable activity. Select a local volunteering venue—like a food bank or clothing drive—or find a virtual volunteering opportunity that staff can do wherever they are.

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