Some take to teamwork like fish to water. Others feel drained by being in the company of other people. Successful managers leverage this fact.

Closeup portrait of a group of business people laughingTeam building activities are great for increasing a company’s efficiency and productivity. It also raises the morale of its employees. However, some employees don’t like team building activities and think that they are counterproductive and raise tensions between coworkers. Therefore, it is important to choose the right team building activities and execute them properly. Below you can find some of the most popular team building activities.

  • Office Trivia: For this activity, you need 20-30 questions related to your company. For example; “How many offices does your company have in the US?” “How many employees does your company have in total?” “How many floors are there in the office building?” “How many people work in Human Resources department?” “What is the name of the CEO/CFO/CIO?” You can come up with questions similar to these and ask them to your coworkers to test their knowledge about their workplace.
  • Icebreaker Questions: What better way to get to know people than to ask off-the-wall questions or questions related to things you might have in common? Find a resource online like Teambuilding.com which has a great set of icebreaker questions if you don’t have office trivia questions on hand! You can also come up with similar questions to ask your coworkers in order to test their knowledge about your workplace or the city where you live.
  • A Truth and A Lie: This is a great activity to play if people are meeting each other for the first time. First, each person has to stand up and introduce themselves. Afterwards, each person has to make two statements about themselves. One statement has to be a truth and the other one has to be a lie. The point is to convince others that your lie is actually a truth. Then, others in the room will make an open discussion to guess which of your statement the real truth is. This exercise helps to get to know others in the group better and encourages open communication.
  • Volunteering Activities: You need to get out of the office to volunteer but this activity is both fulfilling and great for bonding. Activities can be tree planting, teaching at underprivileged schools, raising money with food sale, organizing a youth sports game, taking care of animals in shelters and etc. By giving back to the community, you can feel good for doing good, have fun, bond with your coworkers and develop your leadership skills.
  • Scavenger Hunt: You need to set a theme and series of clues around this theme so that someone can finish this activity and win the prize. Also, it is best to separate everyone in groups of 2 or 3 to encourage bonding and allow people to get to know each other better. This activity requires you to collaborate as well as trust your teammates. If you don’t work with your team, it is very hard for you to finish this game.