According to teambuilding.com, team-building activities bring drastic changes in employee productivity. Let’s understand this via the statistics below.

1. Covid-19 has increased virtual team-building activities for employees of more than 2500 companies worldwide.

2. As per the Gallup article, employees feeling alone or isolated affects 21% of their productivity.

3. According to a 2006 Harvard study, having understanding & familiarity with team members improves the overall organizational performance.

4. As per the Gallup prediction, workplace activities reduce safety incidents by 40% and the turnover rate by 27%. It increases productivity by 12%.

5. Increased socialization among team members through activities enhances the communication patterns by more than 50%.

30 Team Building Activities For Employees

Here is the list of top activities practiced by various organizations for team building.

1. Blind Drawing

How to Play:

Blind drawing is not only the best activity for developing leadership, and interpretation but also increases communication skills. This exercise consumes 10 to 15 minutes. It requires the 2 participants or a multiple of it, a paper, pen, and pictures to accomplish the activity. You need to make groups of two participants and then sit in a back-to-back position. Here, one person gets the image, and another receives a pen & paper. The person holding the picture enacts it where the other participant needs to draw it on paper by making a guess. A person with an image cannot say what’s in the picture. It also checks how the communication is traveling from one individual to another.

Number of participants: 2
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

2. Rapid Fire

How to Play:

Rapid-fire is the most effective Team building exercise to bring employees together. You ask random questions from team members that they need to answer in seconds. There is a buzzer in the end that makes noise when your time is up. These random questions speak about your personality, likes/dislikes, choices, and decision-making skills. Such ice breaker questions enable the teams to know each other well. Overall, it boosts team engagement, and collaboration & this activity takes almost 5 minutes to 15 minutes to complete. You are free to ask the most basic questions like, ‘if you were an animal, what would you be?’ ‘Choose one – Sunrise or Sunset.’ etc. The rapid-fire activity also tests your presence of mind and how spontaneous you are in communicating with others.

Number of participants: 2
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

3. Housie Game

How to Play:

Housie game is the most played tambola game and is known by the name bingo among Indians. It requires printed tickets having number squares on them purchased at the start of the game by participants. The house caller randomly chooses numbers & declares them. The player who marks all numbers first wins the game called a full house. It requires a team size of 3 to 150 people & time taken is around 74 to 90 minutes. As per one of the 2009 studies by Frank Siebdrat, virtual teams outperform physical teams after receiving enough communication and support through team-building activities.

Number of participants: 3 to 10,  50 to 100, or even more
Duration: 45 to 90 Min

4. Team Pot Lunch

How to Play:

Who doesn’t love food when the company covers the expenses? Team pot lunches have proven to be one of the best Team Building Activities Outdoor. But how does it help? It helps to build strong interpersonal relationships through communication and interaction while eating. It also boosts the team’s morale and builds relationships among teammates. Team pot lunch usually takes 1 to 2 hours with a group of at least 4 participants. It’s the best cost-effective method to strengthen team relationships.

Number of participants: Min 4 people
Duration: 1 to 2 hours

5. Roles Reversal

How to Play:

A role reversal activity is like a role-play that’s often hard to design and involves enacting a particular scenario. The only distinction is that you have to play the role of the opposite person rather than yours. Most of the time, the script is provided to the participants, and other times, they are asked to perform it on the spot. As a result, it enhances your communication skills and critical thinking. In addition, it gives you real-time exposure to various scenarios, accommodates sudden changes, and helps you gain empathy by looking at things from others’ perspectives.

Number of participants: 2 people
Duration: More than 1 hour

6. Positive Feedback

How to Play:

Each team individual receives positive feedback from other team members in the positive feedback activity. Also, It strengthens their confidence & builds teamwork, and helps them see themselves from another perspective. The person receiving the feedback is not allowed to speak through the entire session. He can not give explanations, interrupt, or give justifications for his input from others. A facilitator is a part of the activity to ensure that all rules are followed accordingly. The entire action takes around 1 to 2 hours to complete based on participants.

Number of participants: Min 8 to 12
Duration: 1 to 2 hours

7. Volunteer

How to Play:

Volunteering for a specific initiative or any other cause for community service is one of the Best Team building activities for employees. Also, It helps create a team bond and gives you a positive feeling and relief for doing something good for others. According to one of the 2016 surveys from Deloitte, EVP – Employer-Supported Volunteer Programs creates a favorable impact on the team and company. It brings a higher level of commitment to tasks, creates an excellent public image, and helps to build leadership skills.

8. Human Knot

How to Play:

The motive of the Human Knot activity is to enhance your time management and also problem-solving skills when you have a large number of employees. Form a group of 6 to 12 and ask them to make a circle where all the participants face each other. Ask everybody to extend their right hands and hold anybody’s hand during the process. After this, ask them to lift their left hand and grab any hand from the same circle. Let them untangle this knot in a set time. The first person to untangle it wins the game. The overall time taken by this activity is around 20 to 30 minutes. It requires 8 to 16 participants, and no props or tools are needed to perform this activity.

Number of participants: 8 to 16
Duration: 20 to 30 minutes

9. Truth And Dare

How to Play:

Truth and dare are pretty much widespread among youngsters. It’s also one of the most played games after office hours, so why not conduct it during office activities? In this game, everybody sits in a circular position generally. A pointed compass or a bottle is rotated, and the minute it stops, the two people sitting at the two edges of the bottle get to play the game. One asks, and the other replies by choosing truth or dare. If you choose truth, you are asked a question, and you have to answer it honestly. If you choose dare, you are given tasks like ‘go and take a number from a stranger, sing a song, do a funny dance, etc.’ It builds awareness, better communication, and a strong team bond.

Number of participants: 8 to 12
Duration: 15 to 30 minutes

10. Scavenger Hunt

How to Play:

Scavenger Hunt creates teamwork, problem-solving, team bonding, strategic planning, & companionship, the creative thinking skills among the employees. You need 8 to 12 participants, a pen, paper, mobile, and more than 1 hour to perform this activity. Divide the participants into four or more groups, and also assign every group with a list of fun tasks like quizzes, taking selfies with strangers, and other challenges. Each assignment holds a unique point value. Ask them to complete this list within a specified time.

Number of participants: 8 to 12
Duration: more than 1 hour

11. DJ Night/Dance Party

How to Play:

What’s better to get off the office stress through a DJ party organized by the company? It is explicitly conducted for each team individually or for all the groups together. You listen to music and dance to its rhythm with some cocktails. It’s a way to cherish your target achievements and have fun from a hectic schedule. You also get to know your team well and have some chit chats and memorable laughter moments. You are allowed to dress as per your wish, although you need to maintain your boundaries and keep in mind that the party is from a professional end.

Number of participants: 12 to 100+
Duration: 3 to 5 Hours

12. Brainstorming Session

How to Play:

The brainstorming sessions enable discussions about the company’s bigger goals rather than daily individual achievements. It’s one of the best ways to brainstorm and present yourself with refreshing ideas to replace the tedious practices of the company. Talk about KPIs, marketing strategies, areas needing scope for improvement, and also new ideas to enhance the company’s brand image & productivity. Employees use an idea board to present their thoughts ahead of time and ask the other employees to input their opinions. ‘Fist to five’ is also a great way to brainstorm things. Here, people come up with solutions to a problem, and also the fist symbol represents their disagreement with the provided key. The number of fingers raised represents your high-level agreement with the answer.

13. Dress Code Theme on Every Friday

  StartupHR Toolkit Team (Mix Match Day) – Location: @Mumbai Coworking 

How to Play:

The themed activity allows wearing the dress of either your own choice or according to the theme every Friday. The dress code is more casual to your comfort zone, like t-shirts, pajamas, shorts, etc. It increases employee productivity and morale. Also, such awesome activities give employees a sense of belonging to the company, make them feel comfortable, and urge them to stay with your company for the long term.

Number of participants: 8 to 50
Duration: more than 1 hour

14. What’s My Name

How to Play:

What’s My Name? Well, not Sheela, lol! The activity is all about knowing and interacting with the employees you haven’t talked to before. It enables you to have self-awareness about how you stereotype & perceive others based on their unique traits. This team-building activity requires 20 to 25 employees and takes almost 20 to 30 minutes. Before participating, get ready with sticky ones, a pen, or post-it notes. To play this activity, you need to write down the name of a cartoon character, celebrity, or other famous personalities on a sticky note. Then, stick it to the head of the person who resembles it the most without him knowing what’s written on that note. Next, ask them to take a room tour and interact with people by asking and answering questions. Again, treat each other stereotypically with what’s written on the headnote of that individual.

Number of participants: 20 to 25
Duration: 20 to 30 minutes

15. Open Mic/ Standup Comedy

How to Play:

Standup comedy helps to make a professional office environment more fun and light. The entire motive is to bring some hours of joy and entertainment, leading to professional skills. Each team member comes forward and does a standup comedy by cracking jokes or sharing something funny based on their real-life incident. It gives birth to creativity, better communication, motivation, and innovation. In addition, Harvard’s business review article revealed that fun workplace activities increase dedication and loyalty toward work.

Number of participants: 8 to 50
Duration: 15 to 30 minutes

16. Pottery Your Skills

How to Play:

Pottery your skills is a type of professional development performed as a Team building activities for employees. According to the ‘quantum workplace,’ Also, the engaged employees choose to have tutoring from either teammates or managers rather than taking it from the L&D department. Each employee teaches the skills they possess to their teammates. and also It is one of the most valuable techniques to know your team well and create a healthy bond. Examples of performing it are swing dance sessions, pottery classes, tennis lessons, etc.

Number of participants: 5 to 12
Duration: 5 to 15 minutes per performance

17. Treasure Hunt

How to Play:

4 to 8 teams are formed based on the total participants in the treasure hunt activity. Each group has at least four members. Here, a clue is given at first, which leads to another clue until you reach the destination. Then, all the teams need to find the treasure point and get there within a set allocated time. The team that finds the treasure first is declared the winner of the game. The best part about treasure hunting is that employees from different departments form the group. So, this activity boosts interaction, team planning, and team bonding.

Number of participants: 4 to 8
Duration: 20 to 30 minutes

18. Water Balloon Dodgeball

How to Play:

Water balloon dodgeball is like a fresh wave of air from daily work stress, enhancing employee enthusiasm and teamwork. You need more than 20 employees to play this game and the total time taken by it is around half an hour. Take along the tools like water cones, two buckets, and water balloons to play the game. Use cones to draw a rectangular-shaped field with a partition in between. Put the bucket carrying the water balloons on each side of the section. Set the time limit and divide players equally inside of the cell. Each team needs to throw water balloons at the opposite team members, and once the target hits, that person gets removed from the group. The group left with the highest teammates wins the game.

Number of participants: 8 to 20
Duration: 15 to 30 minutes

19. Karaoke

How to Play:

Karaoke team building activities challenge the participants to showcase trust, teamwork, creativity, cooperation, and collaboration using the songs & music. Each team must design their unique song lyrics, genre, and theme like Rock n Roll, The Blues, Rap, etc. It takes almost 30 min to 2 hours to complete this activity. You need to practice the song well before the event with your teammates. People practice through instruments to maintain the natural flow of lyrics. It works like a charm to bring out some of the most hilarious, funny, and surprisingly awesome songs.

Number of participants: 2 to 4
Duration: 30 min to 2 hours

20. Department Sport Tournament

How to Play:

Sports tournaments reminded me of my school days! What’s better than reviving these old memories and learning from them through office events? Companies conduct sports tournaments where one department competes with the other department. Companies bring them closer through fun and mess. Various sports activities take place often after office hours or on weekends. It includes volleyball, hockey, cricket, football, sack race, skipping races, spoon race, tug of war, shot put throw, etc. The time taken by each of them varies according to the game.

Number of participants: 8 to 20
Duration: 30 min to 2 hours

21. Mine Field or Land Mines

How to Play:
Another name for one of the best Team Building Activities For Employees is ‘Mine craft.’ In this activity, different colored little dots are set on the floor in a 4×4, 5×5, or 6-pack grid. Set the one dot for all the teammates to start the game & every other member line up behind it. A random pattern is created on the head of the coach & you need to guess that pattern by tapping on the right dot. You can move sideways, backward, and forward but can’t skip. Coach stops you in between for the wrong pattern drawn, and you rejoin the line from the back. It continues till the member guesses the correct pattern.

Number of participants: Min 2 to 8
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

22. Toss, Run and Catch

How to Play:
In this one of the small fun activities for employees, you raise the cloth high in the air as soon as the buzzer starts. Then, you run for a few distances and catch the same cloth from the other point. But, again, make sure not to drop the cloth as you would lose the game.

Number of participants: Min 2 to 8
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

23. Hula Hoop Activities

How to Play:
Hula hoops are among the most interesting Team Building Activities For Employees. Under this activity, you must form a team of 7-20 people. Although, it can be played with 4 to 5 members as well. All you need is to stand in a row holding their hands tightly. Then, at ready, steady go, the first person hits the hula hoop from his upper to lower part and helps the other person pass it from his body. Hands should not be broken while performing this activity.

Number of participants: Min 4 to 20
Duration: 30 Min

24. Bust the Balloon

How to Play:
A team of 5 to 10 people is tied with balloons on their legs. All the participants are left open on the ground to play the game in this one of the exciting team engagement activities. You need to save the balloon tied to your leg and try to break the balloon of other teammates. The one left with his balloons at the end wins the game.

Number of participants: Min 5 to 10
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

25. Human Tunnel

How to Play:
In this one of the mind-blowing team engagement activities, a tunnel-shaped route through the leg is formed by 7 to 15 people in a straight line. One of the teammates goes to cross that tunnel passing all the legs to the other side & takes the prop to the starting point. The team who does it faster wins the game.

Number of participants: Min 7 to 15
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

26. Caterpillar Race

How to Play:
One of the small fun activities for employees primarily focuses on management & strategy building. For example, a caterpillar is formed using a balloon between 4 to 6 people that stand in a queue. The first person rushes to get the balloon from one side and passes it behind the members to return to the other side. It teaches about time management & if the strategy of forming a caterpillar is terrible, you get bad results.

Number of participants: Min 4 to 6
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

27. Communication Channel

How to Play:
One of the most effective Team Building Activities For Employees is checking how the communication is delivered from one part of the system to another. In this activity, more than 20 people can participate. Each stands facing straight, forming a large column. The first member turns back and receives the communication from the coach through gestures & no talking. He then enacts the same actions to the second team member, and the second member enacts it for the third, and so on. If the last member of the team enacts the same thing received by the first member, then we are good at keeping the communication across the department clear. Otherwise, it isn’t good.

Number of participants: Min 10 to 20
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

28. Water Relay Race

How to Play:
There are multiple fun games for employees, but this one creates complete interest. All the team members stand in a row. The first member fills the glass with water from the bucket beside him. He then transfers the water from his glass to the second member’s glass. And this continues till the last member. The team that fills the bucket beside the last team member fast is declared the winner. It checks your presence of mind & problem handling skills.

Number of participants: Min 7 to 15
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

29. Blindfold Communication

How to Play:
The player is blindfolded in these small fun activities for employees. First, he needs to cross the pyramid on the ground by listening to the instructions provided by the team members. Then, the team shows the route to the blindfolded person. It is one of the most effective team engagement activities, and it is best to judge the player’s listening skills and the teammates’ guidance skills.

Number of participants: Min 2 to 5
Duration: 10 to 15 Min

30. Tug of War

How to Play:
In this game, two teams of 8 to 20 people participate. First, they face each other on each side of the rope. Then, each team tries to pull the rope towards their side, letting the other team lose control of the rope and fall. The team that thrives in doing this wins the game. Playing this game requires a lot of focus, physical strength, and mental stamina. Moreover, it isn’t achieved without equal team contribution.

Number of participants: Min 8 to 20
Duration: 10 to 30 Min