From the FTSE 100 to the most exciting new startups, we help organisations maximise teambuilding. Rather than just focusing on the fun, we’ve curated 50 intriguing team building ideas for your next session.
1. Bring in the Actors
Get playful with scenarios by bringing in a few people to play the role. Timothée Chalamet might not be available, but we are.
2. Plan it Out (timeline of the year ahead or 1/2/5 years)
Simply getting time to plan, project and pitch ideas for the future is a hugely valuable moment for the team. Combine with a more frivolous activity to balance brain power.
3. Go Team by Team (put everyone in their actual teams)
Teambuilding sessions might be more geared towards cross-team bonding but don’t underestimate just simply giving teams time together away from their desks.
4. Do the Work Together
Sometimes, clearing the backlog with some debriefing and thinking about how we’re working beats an afternoon in an escape room while the inbox piles up.
5. Volunteer
There are organised activities out there that’ll have you building prosthetic hands or assembling a bike for people who really need them.
6. Do Your Bit for Charity
A bit closer to home. Why not make it all about the charity your organisation cares most deeply about?
7. 360° Feedback Digest
Feedback is essential for our improvement, so taking time to absorb the analysis of 360° feedback, as a team, is a game-changer.
8. Check the Pulse
Our AMP tool makes it easy to get a clear picture of an organisation’s pulse and scale of ambition. Using stunning reports with easy-to-understand data, teams can discuss, debate, and decide how to move forward.
9. Flip the Script
An unplanned team day (yes, that’s right) that starts with a mysterious QR code, a brief, a budget, and a deadline.
10. Ambitions and Asks
Blend targets with support needed and get the commitment of support. “Jenny’s saying she’s going to hit these numbers and needs support with more leads. Will we give her that support?” YES!
11. Synergise
Get ideas using a Delphic process and synergise them until there’s a winner.
12. Hear from an Exceptional Guest Speaker
Athlete. Doctors. Explorers. Business has so much to learn from the stories, approaches and mindsets of leaders with a very different set of goals.
13. Go Upside Down
Rather than leaving the teambuilding to a team leader or exec, let the junior team or a new hire drive the agenda, supported by the wider/senior team.
14. Take to the Park
Green spaces, smiling faces. One of the best venues. Picnic, games, contests… and no battle with any air conditioning unit.
15. Get Value from Your Values
Theme the day around the company values and plan activities that align.
16. Photo Challenge
A list of shots to take from the sensible (‘one photo for each of our values’) to the silly (‘every team member in a different hat’)…
17. Moan Zone
Call it what you like, it’s a chance to add frustrations and problems to a virtual or physical board with Post-it notes. Use carefully.
18. Problems into Commitments
A bold approach in which some of the ‘things we hear people complain about’ are anonymously shared and groups flip the problem statements into commitments within their control. “We always hear from X team last minute…” becomes “I will proactively seek updates from X team and commit to sharing feedback with the team leader.”
19. Jigsaw Feedback
Flipcharts for any and all topics/departments/ processes where feedback is desired. Participants roam around the flipcharts to discuss and write their additional comments. Top tip: suggest a tick, star, or sticker on comments participants agree with.
20. Tackle a Real Problem
Why invent a scenario to tackle when company life has so many juicy problems to get a team or organisation stuck into for an afternoon?
21. Write a Book
Now that’s memorable. Writing a book together not only demands true teamwork but also produces a lasting item that can be distributed within the organisation and beyond.
22. Uninterrupted Listening
Break into pairs, trios, or small groups, and set a timer for 5–7 minutes. During that time, one member talks on the predefined topic (current challenges, career ambition, journey so far, etc.) completely uninterrupted. No questions, comments, or jibes. Instead, their peers practice listening skills and summarise what they’ve heard, rather than giving advice.
23. Write a Magazine
Like the book, a magazine takes real collaboration and a pinch of creativity to bring it all together. Experience the wow factor of having pages designed by the end of the day.
24. Write an Office Coffee Table Book
If a leadership book or magazine isn’t quite the vibe, a coffee table book might be. Think ‘how we do things’ that sits in reception or in your department with loads of great photography.
25. Make a Film
We’ve all got cameras in our pockets, so why not set a challenge to channel the inner Spielberg and direct and shoot a film? It could be about the unique value proposition of the team… a company value…
26. Hire Somewhere Spectacular
There are no end of venues to try. Some really functional. Some airy and bright. Some with more digital functionality than Iron Man. Some fancier than Buckingham Palace. (Almost.)
27. Have an Offsite Onsite
Why try harder than using the space everyone knows how to rock up to? It might be possible to re-purpose rooms or spaces to make it work. Just don’t get dragged back to the desk…
28. Meet at a Secret Location
A set of clues or code to crack to discover the venue. Fastest team wins.
29. Codebreaker
In what’s colloquially known as a “Jerome’s Briefcase” activity, there’s an incredible amount of tension, focus, competitiveness and hilarity that can come simply from a locked briefcase, the promise of a prize inside, and a code to crack.
30. Dragon’s Den
A known format, but what about putting genuine potential funding on the table? Stacks of cash are optional.
31. The Apprentice
Two teams, one business challenge, except no one at risk of being fired.
32. Kitting Out the Office
Furniture to build? Pictures to put up? Moving office? It might not replace dedicated teambuilding time, but it can still be an opportunity to bring a team together with a feasible challenge.
33. Embrace Virtual
If the team can’t come together in person, tools like Miro, Monday, or another communication tool of choice can bolster the feeling of being connected.
34. Invite the Team for Dinner
Some light facilitation between courses through some discussion prompts and the team will end up contributing more than they consume.
35. Go a bit Psycho(metric)
Whether you have your own psychometric tests completed or want our recommendation (SOVA, since you asked), this analysis can provide enough discussion points for a whole team building. Tip: Use reports that give a ‘whole team’ overview of styles/traits and bring teams together to discuss and strategise.
36. Goalsetting
If not already a seamless part of the calendar, pick up a goalsetting framework (we like OKRs) and get dreaming about what could be achieved.
37. Showcase or Create Marketing
If bringing the team or organisation together, it’s a great opportunity to tease the launch of an upcoming marketing campaign or spend some time creating content (see ‘Write a Book/Magazine’).
38. Deliver Presentations on Your Competitors
A great excuse to snoop on your industry neighbours. Teams do their research and come ready to present with all their charts, props and even costumes.
39. Make Work Play
Time to get the LEGO out? Who can represent the company values in Play Dough?
40. Dive into Leadership Styles
The obvious yet underestimated topic for leadership teambuilding.
41. Innovate
One (or several) new viable product(s) by the end of the day? Challenge accepted.
Tried & Tested Activities
They aren’t going to solve the company’s big challenges but they sure are fun.
42. VR Escape Room
Virtual room, real teamwork.
43. Archery Tag
Some of our team hated it, actually.
44. Laser Tag
Even better outdoors.
45. Paddleboarding
Conveniently, there’s a pub on the river.
46. Art Gallery
For the creative types or those who could be.
47. Camping
Remove the home comforts.
48. Climbing
What’s your next big peak?
49. Magilitation Magic facilitation
Yep, that’s a thing.
50. Hire a Cinema Screen
For smaller teams, some cinemas have a smaller private screen on which you can display your own films or content.
This article features in the July issue of our quarterly publication Imagine Magazine. Get your free copy and dive into more insights on the topic of Brighter Teams.