Team Building Games to Boost Employee Morale

Operating a business relies a great deal on successful teamwork. This task gets even more difficult the bigger your staff gets. It’s important for your team to know each other not only on a professional level, but also a personal level. Introducing team building games will help your employees connect and learn more about each other, like the way they work and solve problems, or even how they have fun. Incorporating team building games into your business’s weekly schedule is a great way to encourage teamwork and boost the overall morale in the workplace.

Here at A Courteous Communications we consider ourselves more like a family than coworkers. Some of our virtual receptionists have even been with us for more than 25 years! This is largely in part to all of the team building and bonding activities we do in and out of the workplace. We have compiled 5 of our favorite team building games that will have you and your staff well on its way to being a more unified and productive team.

5 Team Building Games And How They Can Benefit Your Company

1.) Truth And Lies

This team building game is a great ‘get to know you’ activity. Start by giving each team member four slips of paper. Instruct them to write down three truths and one lie about themselves (make sure the lies are not too obvious, ie. “I have traveled to the moon”). Next, have each person read their truths and lie out loud in a random order. When everyone is finished, the team should vote on which statements they feel are lies.

Purpose: It’s important for you staff to get to know one another in order to work as an effective team. This game helps to encourage better communication in the office, as well as lets your staff get to know one another better in a comfortable and light hearted setting. This ice-breaker will most definitely create a lot of laughter and is a great activity to take a recess with during a long meeting.

2.) Create a Collaborative Work Culture Journal

This team building activity is an ongoing project. In the break room or common area, place a large blank journal or book that each team member can contribute to. Leave pens, markers, tape, stickers and other items that your team can use to write and draw with in the book. Encourage them to write down accomplishments they achieved at work, ask questions to one another, draw pictures, share inspirational quotes or funny stories that happened to them at work.

Purpose: By sharing one another’s accomplishments, work related insights or even funny stories or pictures, you’re boosting employee morale which can lead to a more unified team. Your staff is creating a kind of living history book of your business’s culture and each member is equally able to contribute. Not only will this activity encourage collaboration and creativity, it will also give you and your team something to look back on and see all that you have accomplished.

3.) Scavenger Hunt

Divide your staff into equal groups and send them on a scavenger hunt. This hunt can take place in just your office building or you can send them to places near your workplace. Set a time limit and give them clues and puzzles to solve to find the next item on their list. The ultimate goal of this game is to be the first group back with the most items. Get as creative as you wish with this fun game! Make your scavenger hunt themed or have the groups take photos at each clue location to share at the end.

Purpose: This fun team building exercise forces your staff to work together as a team. This scavenger hunt will also motivate creativity when having to solve clues or riddles. This can also help your team become more familiar with the office space, especially if you work in a bigger building. For inspiration or fun ideas for your scavenger hunt check out this pinterest board.

4.) Show And Tell

Who says show and tell has to end after grade school? This simple team building activity allows each staff member to be the center of attention as they present to the rest of the group. The show and tell item can be a physical object or can be a brief speech about something that interests the individual staff member. Do it a few times a week during lunch followed by a brief question and answer session . Not only does this give each member a chance to be the star of the day, but also allows them to practice their presentation and Q&A skills.

Purpose: A lot of people are eager to share interesting and fun things about themselves, but not all team members may be this extroverted. This team building game will give each member of your staff a chance to be the star of the day and at the same time allow them to practice their presentation and Q&A skills. It is also an opportunity to allow your team to get to know more about one another.

5.) One Question

Divide your staff into smaller groups and present each group with a typical scenario that happens often in your business, like hiring a new employee. In this scenario, have each member of the group come up with just one question they would ask to determine if they would hire this candidate or not. When everyone has come up with their “perfect” question, discuss them all as a group and vote on which question everyone thinks is the best.

Purpose: This team building exercise will help your staff understand how each other thinks and operates- they may be surprised at how different or how similar their questions are. It is also a great way to learn what each team member considers to be important and necessary traits of a successful and effective worker. “One Question” will also allow your staff to debate and challenge one another on which question they feel is the most effective and give each member of the team a chance to defend their argument. This is a good learning exercise to get your team in the habit of working together as a team for future projects that need solutions.

Create A Unified and Productive Workplace With These Fun Team Building Games!

Regularly practicing different team building activities can provide many benefits for your staff and your business as a whole. These exercises will work as icebreakers for your team to help them get to know one another better and create a more friendly work environment.  At the same time, they will help enhance the capabilities of each individual staff member including sparking creativity, enhancing communication skills, strengthening problem solving abilities and building trust and confidence. Team building games can greatly boost your overall office and employee morale and lead to more productive, happy and confident employees.

*** 

Volunteering Can Also Be A Great Team Building Activity! 

Here at A Courteous Communications we regularly practice team building exercises and activities in our office. However, our favorite and most rewarding way to bond is through volunteering. Our team of virtual receptionists volunteer their time on numerous occasions throughout the year to help out local charities and outreach groups in our community. Check out our post 5 Creative Ways to Encourage Employee Volunteering to find some creative ways to get your staff in the habit of giving back. Volunteering can have so many positive benefits for both your staff, business and community.

Check out our facebook page to see our virtual receptionist team in action giving back and to learn about the different charities and organization we support!