HR MANAGEMENT - Team Building Ideas for the Workplace

Team Building Ideas for the Workplace

by Lori Soard, Demand Media

Team building activities can help bond co-workers, create better understanding and reduce conflicts in the workplace. Team building events can include in-office seminars conducted by management or an outside consultant or adventure trips. These activities help build relationships among workers and management.

Survival Scenario

Teaching a team to work together to survive can bring into focus the strengths of individual members. Combine workers into groups of 12. Give team members the scenario that their plane has just crashed on a deserted island and they are the only survivors. The team should then look at the skills of individual members, assign roles and decide how to find food, water and shelter.

"What If" Role Playing

Forcing employees to look at tough ethical issues can help set a tone for the office and let everyone know what is expected. Divide employees into teams with a manager overseeing each team. The manager should assign roles. One person is going to be the witness, another the friend of the witness, another the thief, another the friend of the thief and one the boss. Tell them that the witness has seen the thief steal cash from the deposit envelope and put it in his pocket. The witness should consult with the others to figure out how to handle the situation.

I Have Amnesia

In this team building activity, co-workers will get to know each other better. Ask employees to sit in a circle. Each person should take turns being the amnesiac and must pretend to not remember anything about his life. He must ask questions to discover his past, and co-workers can answer them. For example, he might ask if he is married, what his favorite food is and where he grew up. Allow each person a few minutes and then move on to the next player.

Round Robin Story Building

This activity can help communication and brainstorming, as well as create a fun environment that will get everyone laughing. Start by setting ground rules, or your story could get off track. The leader begins with "Last night, I heard the loudest .,.." The next person adds a few words, and the story goes around the group with each person adding on, changing the story and creating something different. The leader should take notes and summarize the story at the end to see what the team has created together.