Forbes explains that team building is one of the most important investments to make for any organisation.

Effective team building builds trust, encourages communication, fosters collaboration, and helps management mitigate conflict, which are all important, especially for large companies with dozens of employees. Team building activities can help you better engage your employees and create a happier workplace, which all contribute to good company culture and a boosted bottom line.

If you’re planning a company team building event soon, make sure to check out VenueScanner’s hacks for arranging the perfect office event, and read on to learn about five activities you can use for your company.

Networking Bingo

Sometimes the hardest part of a teambuilding event is breaking the ice, which often involves a number of activities to get employees to let go of the awkwardness in the room. One great way to do this is to organise a structured networking activity, such as networking bingo.

Networking bingo is similar to the popular 90-ball version of the game, explained in full by Foxy Bingo. Like the traditional game, employees playing networking bingo are given cards with the easily recognisable three lines of nine boxes. However, instead of numbers, the boxes hold a description of a specific characteristic, such as “nickname ends with the letter E,” “owns a dog or cat,” or “plays an outdoor sport”. The participants must find co-workers that fit the characteristics listed in their card to fill up the grid with their names. The first person who finishes the card wins the game, but everyone finishes the round with more acquaintances and stories to share.

Hero, Highlight, Hardship

Once the ice-breakers are finished, a great way to get your team to bond with each other is to play more personal games that let them get to know each other’s stories and personalities. One way to do so is an activity called Hero, Highlight, Hardship, where everyone takes turns to share three things: a hero who has made an impact on them personally; a major highlight of their life thus far and; a hardship that helped mold them to the person they are today. Fitsmallbusiness shares that these insights don’t need to be work-related, and serve to strengthen existing bonds or forge new ones.

Human Knot

Another simple activity to foster teamwork and communication is a game called Human Knot. In this activity, employees stand in a circle facing each other and put their right hand out. Each person grabs a random person’s right hand with his or her own before repeating the same with the left. The group must then untangle the resulting knot of arms without letting go of their hands. This allows employees to practice leadership, cooperation, and communication to achieve a common goal. For larger groups, split employees into two teams to add a competitive factor.

Air band battles

If you’ve ever seen Jimmy Fallon’s famous lip sync battles, then you have an idea of how silly and fun air band battles can be. Slip your office up into teams composed of singers, guitarists, drummers, bassists, and keyboardists to perform to your office’s favorite hits. Larger groups can incorporate marketing officers that can be in charge of promotions leading up to the big office teambuilding event. The air band battles can be the finale of your teambuilding day, and winners can be chosen through voting.

Community service

Last but not least, a great way to foster camaraderie and encourage bonding is to give opportunities for your employees to give back to the community together. Find an activity that reflects to your company’s values and piques the interest of your employees, and set aside a few hours or a day to letting your employees participate.

Business2Community suggests that this effective and widespread strategy is used by many companies. For instance, employees at the Cheesecake Factory are invited to bring their families to help feed the homeless in Los Angeles, while employees of Washington’s Equinox Law Group often participate in Habitat for Humanity building projects. Such activities not only help other people, they also build character and fellowship among employees and their families.

Do you have other suggestions for an awesome team building event? Share them through your comments!

Looking to book a venue for your team building? Search Team Away Day Venues