11 Fun Team Building Activities to Improve Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is a measure of employee motivation, productivity and satisfaction with their jobs. Improving employee engagement is a critical factor towards the success of any organization because it leads to better employee retention rates, increased productivity, and a stronger work culture.
An excellent way of improving employee engagement is by having fun team building activities. Great team building activities can create an environment that fosters better collaboration, communication and trust within the workplace while also improving morale.
Team building activities come in many forms, from physical challenges, to group games, to training sessions that focus on communication skills. Here is our list of 11 fun team building activities that improve employee engagement and boost morale in the workplace. By experimenting with these ideas, you can create a more positive environment for your employees to get them more engaged with each other and the organization.
1. Online Office Olympics
Online office Olympics is an excellent activity for improving employee engagement because it improves employee collaboration and problem-solving, and is a lot of fun to do! In online office Olympics, employees work in teams to compete against each other in a variety of challenging and engaging games.
Online office Olympics improves employee engagement because it brings out a sense of competition that motivates employees to put in more effort to do well as a team, while the variety of events encourages them to communicate and collaborate with each other, which helps build stronger team relationships.
There are a number of ways you can organize an online office Olympics event on your own including these 17 office Olympics game ideas. Or, you can use an online team building platform such as this online office Olympics event, that is hosted by an expert game host.
2. Escape Rooms
Escape Rooms are a popular team building activity that involve teams of employees solving puzzles and clues together in order to “escape” from a room. This is another great way to improve employee engagement because working as a team towards a common goal fosters better communication and collaboration in the workplace. This allows team members to build stronger relationships as they work together. Escape rooms also get teams to think creatively since they have to "escape" within a certain amount of time.
There are a wide variety of escape rooms available, from physical on-site venues to virtual escape rooms. You can look for local escape room companies in your area, or even create your own virtual escape room using online resources to help.
3. Charades
Charades is a classic game that is easy to play and great for employee engagement. This team building activity encourages employee communication, collaboration, and develops problem-solving skills as teams build trust in each other in order to guess the clues. It’s a fun way to drive employee engagement and lighten the mood of any office environment, especially when there are prizes involved!
To play charades in the office, first start by selecting a theme such as movies, TV shows or popular books. Next, write down each category on a piece of paper, separate your group into 2 or more teams, and then have each team act out whatever is on their list.
4. Office Scavenger Hunt
Office scavenger hunts are an excellent way to get employees to engage with each other while also improving employee morale. This is a great activity for employee engagement because it encourages collaboration since employees have to work together as a team to find all the items on the list. You can spice up the competitiveness of the game by having teams race against each other to see who can find all their items first.
Scavenger hunts are versatile as they can be done both virtually and in-person. To create your own office scavenger hunt, use online resources to help you find the best team building scavenger hunt ideas. You can also use online team building platforms that offer virtual scavenger hunt games, which are fun and engaging but are fully hosted and so require a minimal amount of planning work from you.
5. Workplace Wellness Challenge
Workplace wellness challenges are a great and time-tested way to bring wellness to the office while building employee engagement. Wellness challenges usually involve employees working together to reach a goal in an array of physical activities such as running, walking, biking or swimming. This not only builds engagement by getting employees to work and communicate better, but it has the added benefit of promoting exercise and good health.
To organize your company's employee wellness challenge select the range of activities included and the duration of the event, which is usually a week or month. Make the event fun and even more engaging by encouraging employees to share their progress and motivate each other. This fosters camaraderie in a fun and healthy way.
6. Office Trivia
Trivia is a longtime classic and popular team building activity. Teams work together to answer trivia questions, which fosters employee communication, trust, and often more than a little competition. This is great for employee engagement because teams are forced to cooperate and think quickly in order to answer questions and win. Trivia is a great team building activity because it allows employees to relax and bond.
To organize an office trivia event, start by splitting employees into teams of four or five people, then put together a list of general trivia questions. Make this event even more engaging during the holiday season by having seasonal trivia questions, such as Halloween, Winter, or Summer trivia. If you'd rather focus on participating in the event than organizing it, then you can find fully hosted online events such as this Trivia Night Smackdown, which provides an expert game host and takes care of everything for you.
7. Paint and Sip
Paint and sip team building activities are a great way to get employees engaged with each other while also having fun. Painting classes encourage employee communication as they are collaborative social events where team members can relax and share in the creative process of painting a masterpiece. These events are also excellent morale-boosting activities because they allow employees to break away from their regular work routine and participate in a team building activity that is out of the ordinary and very enjoyable.
Paint and sip team building activities can be organized as either in-person or virtual team building events, depending on where your team is located. If you are organizing the event, you can find art supplies like canvases, paints, and brushes at local art stores or online shopping. There are lots of online resources to help show you everything you need to successfully host a team paint night event.
If you would rather have an expert organize and host the event for you, there are online platforms such as this virtual paint night event which are facilitated by professional art instructors who will make this a fun and engaging activity. They will even supply your team with all the art materials needed ahead of time.
8. Company Sports League
Organizing a company sports league is a great way to get everybody moving and having fun while building up employee engagement. Getting employees to work and compete with each other fosters team collaboration, communication, and trust. This is an excellent way to get employees out of their comfort zone and out of their usual work roles.
To organize your own company sports league, start by first identifying which sports your employees are interested in. Once the sport is selected, put together a committee to work out details like game schedules, how often games are played, and if there's a playoff system to determine an eventual winner. You can also reach out to local sports leagues if you're looking for hands-on help setting it up. There are also lots of online resources that provide helpful tips on how to create a successful company sports league.
Company sports leagues are a great engagement activity that help build employee morale and collaboration. They are a fun way for employees to develop teamwork skills while also exercising and enjoying some friendly competition.
9. Office Karaoke
Karaoke is admittedly not for everyone, but if you have a more adventurous company culture then this is a great activity to develop employee communication, collaboration, and have an old-fashioned good time! Getting employees to come together and sing their favorite karaoke songs will encourage them to bond, relax and get to know each other better, which will drive engagement upwards.
There are lots of ways to organize an office karaoke event. One way is to start by setting up a karaoke machine in the office and then use an online platform like Singa for access to their karaoke software and song library. You'll probably want to figure out ahead of time which songs and genres your employees prefer so you can get everything set up and give everyone the best stage to show off their singing talents!
10. Cooking and Food Prep Class
Cooking and food prep classes are a great social activity that allow employees to learn new skills together. Cooking classes are practical and fun activities that get employees excited to learn something useful they can use right away while socializing with co-workers and getting to know them on a more intimate level.
To organize this event you first want to choose a theme, such as Italian cuisine or Mexican recipes. Unless there's somebody on your team willing to teach the class, you'll want to reach out to local cooking instructors or local chefs to have them come teach the class. If your team is mostly made up of remote employees then a virtual event like this virtual charcuterie class will likely work well for you.
The main things you want to keep in mind with cooking or food prep classes are whether there are any food allergies or types of food that team members can't consume, and ensuring the ingredients are readily available to everyone.
11. Corporate Retreat
Corporate retreats take your team away from the office for a day or week-long immersion experience, which can dramatically improve employee engagement. During corporate retreats employees have an opportunity to step away from work and participate in any number of team building activities. This can range from fun things like tugs-of-war or scavenger hunts, to more meaningful things like conversations on business development and corporate culture. This period of time provides a great opportunity to improve engagement as employees are able to relax and get to know their co-workers.
To plan a corporate retreat, start by selecting a destination that will be fun and interesting for everyone. Then identify activities your employees are interested in and create an engaging schedule of events for the retreat. It's important to focus on activities that are fun and relaxing, and also those that help build relationships between employees. There are lots of helpful online resources that provide tips on how to plan a successful corporate retreat.
Conclusion
Team building activities that drive employee engagement are a great way of building up employee morale, collaboration, and trust in the workplace. By implementing things like team building activities, sports leagues, karaoke nights, cooking classes, or corporate retreats, you can improve employee engagement while helping develop closer working relationships and improving employee satisfaction.
The employee engagement activities listed in this article are just the beginning of what's possible to create a more engaging workplace. With some creative thinking, planning, and effort, you can create a wide variety of fun activities that help improve team dynamics, employee morale, and retention.
So get out there and get creative. Don't be afraid to try something new. Your employees and organization will thank you!
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6 Reasons Why Employee Engagement is Essential for Business Success
6 Virtual Team Building Activities To Keep Large Remote Teams Connected
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