Which types of exercises are the best for team building?

In the US 89% of employers think their staff leave them for jobs with better pay, but in reality only 12% actually do. The same study found that employees that were engaged and felt that they had an active role in their work group were 87% less likely to leave their companies than disengaged employees. As much as we sometimes wish they did, statistic don’t lie; and when you consider that organizations with highly engaged employees have double the net income of organizations that don’t, you could say that it (literally) pays to use team building activities. But which exercises are the best? Which will test you and get the best out of your team? Well, luckily for you we have complied a list of the types of exercises that are the best for team building.

Outdoor activities

The best way to test a team is to take them out of their comfort zone. By taking a group of employees out of their office you can see how they operate in a new environment. You may find that someone who is quiet in the office feels comfortable in the outdoors and becomes a leader. Sailing is a very team/group orientated activity, each member of the team as important as the other, plus if the weather is right it will make for a very pleasant afternoon.

Obviously the warmer months are preferable, particularly if you live in a cooler city. Docklands Sailing School offers packages for Melbourne but if you Google ‘Group Sailing *insert city*’ you will find that most major docks and harbors offer group sailing.

Physical activities

Physical activity is key to a healthy mind and healthy minds are key to a functional workplace. It may be difficult to get your team excited at the prospect of running around outdoors or doing push ups at 6am but if you have them voluntarily doing so it should be easy. Run a workplace boot camp, or something of a ‘biggest loser’ (maybe use a different title) with a prize.

Free coffee for a year, free lunch every Friday for 6 months, a new desk or a weekend getaway; these are some prizes that are commonly used. Make the competition known around the office and create a leader-board so that the whole office can get involved. The spirit of competition is infectious and the results will be visible. Boot camps are very popular, you may even consider contacting a personal trainer just to take your employees on scheduled afternoons or mornings, and this is great because it incorporates the same ideas behind the outdoor group activities too.

If this type of thing doesn’t appeal, starting a sports team with employees may also be worth considering. A fun competition like mixed soccer or netball team means that while it is lighthearted competition each team member needs to show up or risk letting the rest of the team down.

Crime/puzzle solving activities

Rather than taking a group out of their comfort zone and testing them physically, puzzle-solving activities make for a great way to build team ties and feelings of group engagement. The idea being that the group needs to work together to solve a riddle or clue in order to move forward in the game and ‘win’.

There are several roles for players in such games. Some may fall into logical problem solving, others may come from a more obscure train of thought and some might have little to do with the actual problem solving but just keep the group on track and moving forward. Something like the increasingly popular ‘Escape Rooms’ are a good puzzle solving team-building exercise.

They will involve a scenario that the group needs to escape from in a certain amount of time using a series of clues. Strike escape rooms have such rooms in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Such venues will usually accommodate for about a dozen group members and provide catering.

Team building will do exactly that; build your team’s confidence, engagement and ability to work together. Obviously some groups are an exception but most groups will thrive in a new environment and relish in the opportunity to work outside their comfort zone. If you have an example of a group exercise that has worked for you get in contact with us, we’d love to hear about it!