Take a look around your office. Notice anything? The drooping shoulders, hanging of heads and lots of yawning… Yep, it’s that time of the year when your team needs a pick me up. Summer has come and gone, the days are getting shorter, and the nights are drawing in. The trouble is, the mere mention of ‘team building’ and you’re faced with audible groans of disdain as your team fears the worst – ‘trust falls’, cringeworthy games and terrible tea (we won’t even mention the biscuits…)
We feel you.
However, you’ll also know that team building days can be a great way to help your team bond with one another, reduce stress and get to know each other outside of the office environment.
But what have we got to do with team building days, we hear you ask?
The Little Gin and Rum Company have been lucky enough to be invited along to many a team building day and have seen some really creative ideas – from quirky activities for remote teams, outdoor events and large or small in-house team days that really do boost morale and strengthen those all-important co-worker bonds.
Having seen so many varied, successful team events we’ve put our collective heads together and come up with a list of our top-rated team days that won’t break the budget:
1. Virtual or in-person Escape Rooms
Escape rooms are such a great way to foster communication and collaboration with your team as they use their collective brainpower to solve clues and riddles to work their way out of the room. Lasting about an hour, Escape rooms can be done in-person or online.
The Little Gin & Rum Company recently partnered up with SCRAMM Escape Rooms to offer gin and rum tasting after teams have escaped! It’s a great way to calm those post escape room nerves…
2. Ready, Steady, Cook!
Remember that show?! Turns out it makes an excellent team building game! Two teams, (red tomatoes and green peppers, obviously!) are given a bag of the same ingredients and 20 minutes on the clock to make a meal using the ingredients bought. The two meals are then judged and the best tasting meal wins.
It’s faced pace, fun and encourages problem solving, collaboration and communication as each team strives to decide and cook their meal.
3. Virtual or in-person Gin & Rum Tasting
Naturally we couldn’t leave this one off the list! We’ve been to a huge number of team building days and networking events where gin and rum tasting has been used as a way to develop rapport between team members and clients – informal, fun and with a shot or two of gin and rum, what’s not to love? We do also offer non-alcoholic tasting sessions so everyone can join in!
There are typically five stages to our tasting experience and it lasts around an hour so can fit in perfectly as an addition to any plans – not to mention, we come to you!
4. Painting Class
This is a fab, low budget idea that can really help build team rapport. Depending on the crowd, choose a subject to paint or draw (still life might be more appropriate for some offices versus life drawing!) and set individuals up with a canvas, paints and pencils. Give your team a time limit, then ask each individual to share their creation at the end with the team.
This game works especially well if a member of the senior team is chosen as a subject – Hilarity guaranteed!
5. Puzzle Race
You thought puzzles were only for your nan on a Sunday afternoon as she watches the Eastenders omnibus, right? WRONG! Split your team into 3 or 4 smaller teams, grab the same puzzle for each team and set a timer. The first team to complete their puzzle wins.
It’s guaranteed to bring out the competitor in everyone – not to mention ensure the teams work together and collaborate to solve the puzzle as quickly as they can.
6. The Egg Drop Challenge
You must have played this one at school!? Break large teams into smaller groups and challenge them to build a container that will protect an egg from cracking or breaking from a high fall using an array of materials you supply (think cardboard, newspaper, lolly sticks, tapes, cotton wool and the like).
It’s budget friendly, fun and incorporates critical thinking and problem solving into your team activity. You can make this as simple or complex as you want depending on the amount of time you have for the session.
7. Speed Dating
Okay, so speed dating at work might sound a bit weird – but we’re not talking in any romantic sense here! If you have a large, disparate team that you’re organising a team building event for, this exercise encourages team members to build connections with those they might not usually speak to, fosters communication in an informal and fun way, and ultimately gets your team talking!
Simply organise two rows of chairs opposite one another, set some fact-finding questions to help prompt conversation, start a timer to switch seats every few minutes and let your team get dating!
There are many innovative, budget friendly and fun ways to get your team communicating, problem solving and building important relationships in the workplace. If you’d like to discuss how the Little Gin & Rum Company can support your team building or networking event with a twist (of lime!), then get in touch with us today – our packages are flexible to suit your budget and needs.
