Team building activities are a great way to get your employees to connect with each other, especially to get remote teams together. They can enhance creativity, develop and build skills and increase communication. They are great for ice breakers, the morning huddle, and work meetings. Here we share the best 8 quick team building activities that are easy and perfect for both large and small groups.
Why are Team-Building Exercises and Games Important?
Quick team-building exercises are important in the office because it builds trust, mitigate conflict and helps keep fellow employees engaged and help them focus, and improve communication. one of the key factors for any successful business is engaged employees. In fact, teams with highly engaged employees earn 2x the annual net income of companies with low engagement levels.
Team building games can also encourage friendships within the workplace. Research has shown that having a good friend at work can boost ones engagement level by up to 50%. So, next time you’re wondering whether quick team building activities are worth your investment, it’s a yes.
Here is our ultimate list of quick, fun, team building activities and ideas…
Simple Team Building Activities and Games
Our list is great for quick team building event activities for large groups as well as quick team building exercises for small teams. All the games listed can be done in teams of all sizes and are easily adaptable.
1. Two Truths and a Lie
This game is great if you are looking for ice breaking questions or if you just want your team to connect. Fantastic for building relationships and a fun activity all round. What’s great about two truths and a lie is that you don’t need any materials and is completely free! It gives your employee the chance to talk about their personal lives with the rest of the team and will more than likely break the ice.
The aim of this quick team building activity is to get participants to sit together in a group. One person will then stand up and makes three statements. Two of them are true and one of them is a lie. The team then have to work together and discuss which they think is the lie.
This is a great idea to get the team talking and is also a good opportunity to tell your team members a bit about yourself that they would have never of guessed! Making time to speak about your personal life in the office will lead to greater productivity and a happy workplace.
2. Egg Drop
Looking for something a bit messy? Well, then Egg Drop is sure to be your answer. This quick team building game is a classic activity and involves collaboration, problem solving and creativity.
The idea of the game is to bring your team together to design and build an egg carrier that can keep a whole uncooked egg intact when thrown off a 2-4 storey building. If you have a large team, then splitting the group into two teams also adds some competitive fun.
This can be kept relatively cheap, with the main materials supplied being straws, tape, rubber bands, balloons, newspapers, a piece of paper and wooden popsicle sticks. This quick team building activity usually lasts around 1.5 – 2 hours.
3. Blind Drawing
This team bonding game is the best for communication. The game sounds simple enough yet it very effective. It encourages your employees to work as a team and is a top idea. This is perfect for quick team building exercises for small groups as it requires you to partner up in teams of 2 and can be completed within 15 minutes.
The game is simple. Sit back to back with your partner. One of you is given a picture of an object whilst the other is given a sheet of paper and a pencil. The employee holding the picture has to describe the object to their partner without specifying directly what the image is of.
You have to use descriptive words that are non-related to the picture. For example, it the image was of a pair of glasses you could start off by saying ‘draw two evenly sized circles next to each other, leaving an inch between them’.
The person drawing will make their own interpretations and the final outcome is to see whether two members can effectively communicate together (not to mention fun and hilarious).
4. Escape Room
Escape rooms have become a huge craze over recent years. They are super fun, challenging and force you to communicate and work together. The perfect team-building exercise. No matter where you live, you’ll be able to find an escape room in your town or city.
The adventure begins when you are locked into a room (often with a pretty awesome theme). Your team then have to work together to find clues, puzzles and codes to complete the mission within the hour.
There are so many missions available; for example, a 1920’s theme where you have to find the blueprints, repair a spaceship on Mars to get home or break out of prison. This quick team building activity is definitely worth the investment and is a great team day out.
5. Keep the Balloons Up
This is a simple yet fun game to play in the office on a boring Friday afternoon. It will lift everyone’s spirits and is a great way to incorporate some light exercise into everyone’s day. It’s a game all your employees will love and all you need is some coloured balloons.
This quick team building game is great on a sunny day as it is meant to be played outside. Split your staff into teams and get them to blow up three times the amount of balloons than there is in each team (make sure each team has their own coloured balloons).
The aim of the game is easy; make sure none of the balloons touch the floor. If a balloon touches the floor, the team is out. This game is designed to encourage light-hearted competition and is a fantastic way to let off some steam. This will enable your co-workers to work closely together and will teach valuable lessons on how to handle customer problems.
6. Scavenger Hunt
This is a fun way to get your staff to work together and get out the office for the afternoon. Divide your employees into teams and give them a list of items they need to bring back or tasks they need to complete. The team to come back to the office first with all the items wins.
A scavenger hunt can be themed and can involve a variety of fun clues and twists along the way. You can stick to just retrieving items or you can have some fun and get them to take a selfie with a stranger for example.
This is a great way to get the team working together and is an opportunity to break up the groups and cliques. The employees will have to get their creative hats on and collaborate with each other if they want to stand a chance at winning the ultimate prize!! (Chocolate, wine and beer always go down a treat in our opinion).
7. Mine Field
This is another quick team building activity that is designed to be played outside. You’ll need some equipment for this, including several blindfolds and various handheld objects.
This outdoor team building game is perfect to play in the office car park. Place the objects you have collected sporadically across the car park. The objects can be items such as cones, bottles, chairs etc. Make your team pair up and get them to assign one player to wear the blindfold.
The second player must lead their teammate from one side of the car park to the other, without stepping on any of the objects. You are only allowed to use verbal instructions. This game is great for building trust, communication and effective listening.
8. The Barter Puzzle
This game relies heavily on problem-solving and leadership skills. Get the office into split into small, equal-sized groups of people and assign each of them a puzzle with the same difficulty. They must work together and the first team to finish their jigsaw puzzle is the winner.
You can mix things up a bit by mixing some of the puzzle pieces into the other group’s puzzle. You can then leave it to the teams to come up with a way to get those pieces they need to complete the puzzle. This will have to be done through negotiating, trading, exchanging team members etc.
The game will let you know who the natural team leaders are and who will stand back. However, everyone must work together to succeed.
Easy Team Building Activities Recap
So, that’s our top 8 quick team building activities that we have seen played at our team building venue in Staffordshire. Yarnfield Park is a national training venue with over 32 rooms available. Remember, team building activities can build rapport, connect the team, encourage engagement and creates a happy workforce. To recap, our top 8 quick team building activities are:
- Two truths and a lie
- Egg Drop
- Blind Drawing
- Escape Room
- Keep the Balloon Up
- Scavenger Hunt
- Mine Field
- The Barter Puzzle
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