Team building is crucial for the success of any organization. Many companies in today’s world are bending towards a more team based culture at their workplace. There are indeed tremendous benefits of teamwork and it has proven to be a highly successful corporate strategy. But, what makes teamwork effective? Can it be easily implemented?  Unfortunately, teamwork can go haywire if proper team building strategies are not used. 

Putting together a group of people and asking them to share their ideas or to solve problems isn’t enough. Having appropriate team building strategies are required to ensure effective teamwork at your workplace.

One of the biggest issues with Workspee tasks is that they can become boring and mundane.  The whole idea of teamwork collapses if the team members are not engaged or simply not interested in doing the task. Therefore, many famous multinational organizations such Google, Yahoo, Apple, Ford etc., use a vast array of team building activities to keep their employees more engaged and focused. The use of these activities allows the team members to become more actively involved in the group projects. It allows the team members to think outside the box and gives room for critical thinking. All of these factors lead towards better problem solving and improves employee engagement and productivity.

Workspee can serve as a great tool for effective team building by giving a mutually shared platform where employees can be given various tasks that help in promoting effective collaboration and teamwork.

Here are some team building activities that are commonly used by companies all over the world:

Hands on activities and games:

Who says games are only for children? We are never too old to enjoy playing games and have fun doing hands on activities, are we?

 Studies have shown that companies that have a greater number of engaged employees are more likely to earn 2.5 times more revenue than companies with a lower level of engaged employees. And what better way to keep your employees engaged than using games and hands on activities. This strategy sparks excitement in the employees and adds the fun element to the job. When your job becomes exciting you naturally become more productive; you look forward to coming to work every day and you try to give your best at what you do. Intelligently designed activities and games broaden the horizon for the employees, improving their critical thinking skills. 

Read More About How Workspee Can Help Promote Creativity in Your Organization

Does Group Collaboration necessarily promote creativity?

Many big shot companies reportedly use games as a team building strategy for improved collaboration and problem solving at their workplace. Some of these games and activities include Scavenger hunt, The Egg drop, Minefield, Zoom, and Two Truths and a lie.

• Scavenger hunt:  Reportedly used by companies such as Disney, Kraft and Volvo, scavenger hunt is a classic team building game that improves team coordination and strategizing skills of the employees. To play this game, employees are divided into small teams and each team is provided with a set of clues. Using those clues, the teams are supposed to find different objects hidden at various places. The team that finds those objects first wins, and is given a prize. The latter motivates the employees to think more critically and analytically.
• The Egg drop: Another classic team building activity that has been used by companies for ages. In this activity, employees are divided into team and each team is further divided into two groups. Each group is then provided with certain tools and materials and an egg. Using those materials, they are supposed to make a package that will not let the egg break when dropped from a certain height. This activity enhances the problem solving as well as creative skills of the employees. 

• Minefield: The objective of this game to improve collaboration by building trust and improving communication between the employees. It also enhances the concentration level of the employees. This game can be played in either duos or in groups. Different items or ‘mines’ are scattered all over the floor and one person from the team is supposed to walk across the room blindfolded without stepping on those items with the help of verbal directions given by his partner. 

• Zoom: Based on the books ‘zoom’ and ‘Re-zoom’ by Istvan Banyai, Zoom is a popular activity conducted in workshops and trainings. This game is ideal for improving analytical and observation skills of the employees along with building a strong comradery within teams. In this game, the participants are divided into groups and each group is provided with a set of different pictures. The groups are supposed to string the pictures together and make a story out of them. The group that completes the story first is declared as the winner.

• Two truths and a lie: A very popular ice breaking and ‘getting to know you’ activity, two truths and a lie is commonly used by companies in staff meetings and workshops. For the activity, participants are asked to come forward individually and tell two truths and one lie about themselves. Other participants then have to guess which of these information is a lie and what are the truths. This activity is ideal for breaking barriers between the employees and gives them a chance to get to know each other better. 

Virtual activities and Collaboration software:

Not all employees can be physically gathered together under one roof. If your company has multiple offices that spread widely, managing remote teams requires virtual assistance through web games or a team building software. Workspee is one such software that is designed for team building and effective communication. It brings employees together on one platform where they can have virtual meetings and participate in online team building training sessions. 

Virtual team building is used by many popular organizations to enhance team performance at their workplaces. Some of the commonly used virtual team building apps and software are: The Go Game, Let’s Roam, Team Building USA, Catalyst team building, Summit team building and the Escape game. All of these online channels have multiple in built in or custom designed activities that are targeted towards improving collaboration, productivity, critical thinking, and analytical, strategizing and problem solving skills of the employees. They also improve communication between the employees, bringing them closer and making them comfortable with each other.

Team building activities are extremely important to make sure that your employees are working up to their full potential. Also, these activities massively improve collaboration, teamwork, communication and problem solving.