Corporate team building activities build trust between members of a team and inspire a sense of bonding. Teams that can play together can often work together as well, and exercises that teach them to lean on each-other for support means better productivity in the workplace.
5 Excellent Corporate Team Building Activities
These activities can be adapted as needed depending on the space and time available.
1. Keep Them Afloat: Give each participant a balloon, and challenge them to keep them all in the air. Make it harder and harder, shouting out instruction: “Hand behind backs” or “All blue balloons on this side of the room – now!” You can also split the group into two teams, and require participants to keep three balloons apiece in the air.
Take turns, and each time a balloon touches the ground, call out a number, starting with “One”. When the tally reaches six, click the stopwatch and see how long the team lasted. Then the other team has six ‘strikes’ to go before time is called. Team with the best score wins a prize.
2. Picture Story: Have a story told in pictures pasted to cards. Pass one to each participant, and tell them not to show them to anyone. They can describe their picture to others, however. The goal is to line up in a row and have the story be in the correct order. This is a great communications activity.
3. Countdown to Ignition: Make a very large circle on the floor or ground, and lay out paper plates with the numbers from 1-20 in a random order. The numbers must be ‘pressed’ in order to defuse the ‘bomb’, and the clock is ticking. Only one person can be inside the circle at one time. Teams must figure out how to strategically place all members so they can run through the circle quickly, another entering as they are leaving after having stepped on their assigned number.
4. Tug-o-Warfare: A large metal ring with four ropes attached to the four points of the compass should be used for this exercise. Divide into four teams of close to equal strength, and mark a center point and four lines on the ground that are goals for each team to drag the ring over. This type of tug-o-war requires a lot of strategy as there is pulling going on in four directions, not only two. Rivalries and pacts will be made as cooperation may temporarily be required to achieve the goal.
5. Half-Pipe Alley: Set a marble on a piece of foam stuck high on the wall. Mark a point at floor level at the other end of the room, and pass out half- pipe lengths that reach the distance – then remove one. It is the teams’ job to get the marble from point A to point B. Points will be given based on how fast the marble reaches its destination – and sweeten the pot for the deletion of extra lengths of pipe. This makes the groups work together and brainstorm.
These corporate team building activities will build a stronger sense of unity, and make your group work together more efficiently.