Team building is an essential component of your employee development.
It provides shared experiences that deepen the connections among employees. At the same time, it can build valuable skills, including problem-solving, communication, decision-making, and teamwork.
Team-building events can happen during the workday or after hours. Each one should have a strategic purpose that aligns with the needs of specific teams or the organization as a whole.
Some team-building activities are designed to be the sole focus of an employee event or outing. Others are used to kick off a day, a meeting, or an event.
Given the highly evolving state of workforces today, teams are defined differently. With employees working hybrid or remotely and full-time workers interacting with contractors, the notion of the team is different. That’s why teams need creative ways to forge connections, strengthen relationships and build skills together.
In this post, learn about why team-building activities are important. Peruse options for fun team-building activities for small groups and those for large groups.
Each activity listed includes the optimal number of participants and how long each will take. Detailed instructions show how to do the activity and the skills it will help develop.
Every team and every organization is different. Identifying the activities that will work for your team will help improve your employees’ relationships and performance.
Why are team-building activities important?
What can team-building events do for your organization? The benefits are significant. Here is a look at the top benefits and why they are important for team development and growth.
Understanding of differences
Each team member brings their lived experiences, work background, beliefs, and values to the workplace. These differences are of incredible value to an organization and provide unique perspectives and insights.
However, differences can also lead to misunderstanding and conflict. These disconnects can become more frequent when employers commit to more diverse workplaces.
By developing solid team-building activities, employers can help employees break the ice and get to know each other better. By fostering a deeper connection among coworkers, employers can help teams better understand, respect, and value differences.
Improving communication
To be effective, organizations need effective internal communications and team communication. When teammates understand each other and have non-work-related opportunities to strengthen communications skills, their in-work conversations will likely improve. Better communication leads to more idea-sharing and better workflows.
Building trust
Trust among coworkers is essential for a successful team. In trustful workspaces, employees can be their true selves and bring their full strengths and personalities to work.
When trust is absent, team members may hold back, limit participation, and keep ideas and observations to themselves. That lack of engagement represents a lost opportunity. It’s especially important to develop trust when you have a new team that’s just getting to know each other.
Boosting productivity
Team-building activities frequently are designed to help teams work together on a shared activity, problem, or question. They create a shared obligation to solve the challenge, often under a major time constraint.
These exercises help teammates to come together for a shared purpose. They can apply their best selves and talents to the problem at hand.
When this approach is used in regular work, teams become more productive, working together easily and achieving positive results.
Inspiring creativity
Team-building activities frequently require a spark of creativity to find ways to solve problems. Creative ideas from one coworker may ignite an even better idea from another. With team-building activities that encourage creativity, problem-solving necessary for work will have a similar dash of creativity.
Finding leaders
Often, team-building activities allow employees to show managers and other team leaders their leadership abilities. Managers should take note of employees who encourage others, take on leadership roles, or demonstrate innate leadership skills. The activity may be a way to uncover potential future leaders for the organization.
Connecting remote teams
With team members working in different modalities, team-building activities are a way to connect those who may feel disconnected. If your teams have many remote workers, team-building activities are a way to build a sense of community.
For workers who are not in the office every day, these activities can help them be more connected. They’ll feel more like a part of the team and have a stronger sense of belonging to the organization.
Improving interactions among departments
When more than one department, or the entire organization is involved, connections begin to emerge. Too often, workplaces today are siloed, with different company cultures prevalent in different departments.
Team-building activities that allow departments to engage together provides an opportunity for inter-departmental engagement. Veteran employees and new hires can forge relationships and connections that are beneficial in the long run.
Strengthening employee engagement
Employee engagement is an indication of how connected employees are to the organization and each other. It’s a reflection of how strongly employees believe in the company’s mission, vision, and values.
Team-building activities are a way to reinforce those values and mission and connect employees to them. With positive employee engagement comes better teams, positive customer relations, and increased employee retention.
Team-building activities for small groups
With smaller groups, team-building activities can give each participant more time, participation, and interaction with others. Small groups let you dig deeper while still having fun.
1. Two Truths and a Lie
Group size: 6-8
Time commitment: 30 minutes
This is a classic icebreaker in settings from the first days of college to volunteer group orientations. Its purpose is to help groups of colleagues get to know each other better. It’s an excellent activity when new people join an organization or new cross-departmental teams are formed.
Each participant takes a few minutes to write down two honest statements about themselves and one fabrication. Each person then shares their three statements. Other players need to guess which is the lie.
After revealing the actual lie, players can share a few brief words about the two truths. Often, players will share a lie that contains some kernels of truth and can convey the nuances with others.
2. Team lunch
Group size: 5-20
Time commitment: 90-120 minutes
A team lunch is always a good way to connect team members over a shared meal. They can be done to celebrate a special occasion, such as a completed project or goal achievement. They can also be used to welcome a new member or during the holidays (being mindful of cultural differences).
These lunches are an opportunity to set work aside and allow colleagues to interact with each other in informal, casual settings. It’s important that team lunches be an opportunity to get to know people as people, not to discuss work issues.
You can create strategic opportunities for engagement with work lunches. For example, you can arrange seating to ensure that those of the same department or job level don’t sit together. Alternatively, you can let the event flow without external influence.
3. One-Word Icebreaker
Group size: 4-5 per group, multiple groups
Time commitment: 30-60 minutes
The one-word icebreaker game is designed to generate honest feedback about a work issue. It can be used to open a larger conversation about a new policy, strategy, work environment aspect, or challenge.
It’s a way to provide an informal launch into what might be complex, difficult, or controversial work matters.
Within each group of four or five employees, each worker is asked to summarize the work issue in a single word. The small groups spend a few minutes discussing each response and deciding on one answer to represent their group.
The rest of the group can then come together and each small group will share their word. The result can be a way to address issues that employees may otherwise avoid.
4. Puzzle solving
Group size: 3-4
Time commitment: 30-60 minutes
Give each group of three or four people a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle to solve and put a timer on the activity. The goal should be that everyone contributes to the solving. When the task is concluded, have each team report out on how they tackled the puzzle. Also ask them to share the role each team member played in solving it.
Ask team members to share the strategy they devised to solve the puzzle. Ask each team to reflect on why they made the decisions they did in solving the puzzle.
The exercise is designed to help team members see the unique strengths and abilities each brings to a project. It also can provide an eye-opening conversation about competitiveness and collaboration.
5. Count to 20
Group size: 10-12
Time commitment: 5 minutes
The task here is simple. Have the participants sit in a circle and start the count from one to 20. Anyone can start and anyone can contribute. The challenge is that if two people share the same number at the same time, the count starts over.
You can add complexity by requiring each participant to contribute at least X number of times. The game helps team members by being aware of group dynamics and working together, all with little to no verbal communication.
6. The Human Knot
Group size: 6 or more (an even number is required)
Time commitment: 5-10 minutes
In the human knot, teams try to untangle themselves from each other.
Start with the entire team facing each other in a circle. Each person extends their right hand and joins hands with a person opposite them (but the person to their direct left or right). Repeat the procedure with the left hands.
The task is to unravel the knot that’s created so players reform the circle facing the same direction with hands joined. Players cannot release their hands. Players will need to turn, twist, and pass through each other while communicating clearly.
It can be a laughter-inducing exercise that stresses the importance of teamwork and communication.
7. Blind Retriever
Group size: 4 or more
Time commitment: 5-10 minutes
Separate your group into teams and position them together behind a starting line. One member then puts on a blindfold while someone places a random object in the room.
When the game begins, teammates must guide the blindfolded player to find the object before their opponents. The players giving instructions cannot go past the starting line and can only communicate verbally.
Rules should be provided that restrict the players from saying the name of the object or the specific location where it’s hidden. The first team whose player finds the object wins the game.
8. Minute to Win It
Group size: Varies
Time commitment: 5-20 minutes
This fun game is actually a series of exercises. It requires teams to innovate and be creative while communicating with each other to succeed.
Split the group into small teams. One person on each opposing team is tapped to be the scorekeeper. Once all the rounds are completed, teams compare scores and discuss strategies.
Each task must be completed within 60 seconds. The challenges can vary. Here are a few examples:
- Use chopsticks to move small beads from one bowl to another.
- Stack and then unstack a pyramid made of 36 plastic drinking cups.
- Keep a balloon in the air for the full minute. No team member can tap the balloon more than twice in a row.
- Place a mug three feet away. Each player must toss a crumpled piece of paper towards the cup and the team with the most successful tosses wins.
- In this ideal virtual activity, display a long paragraph on a screen everyone can see. Players must use chopsticks to type the paragraph as accurately as possible. Once complete, each player posts their paragraph.
9. Building a Story
Group size: 8-12
Time commitment: 30 minutes
This activity encourages active listening, creativity, and collaboration. Start with a small group seated in a circle. The first player begins a story but finishes with an incomplete sentence.
For example, the story may start with, “Mary was feeling creative and wanted to find the ideal location for inspiration. She decided to drive to …” The next person in the circle continues by completing the sentence and leaving their own.
The process continues until each person has contributed. A scribe may be appointed to take down the story and recite it at the end.
You can ask the participants to discuss what was challenging about the story and what they learned from participating.
10. Form the Order
Group size: Fewer than 20
Time commitment: 30 minutes
This activity helps demonstrate teamwork and the importance of non-verbal communication. There can be multiple rounds of the activity.
Players are instructed to line themselves up based on criteria. Options can include age, height, shoe size, tenure at the organization, or birthday. The challenge is that there can be no communication during each round.
When complete, have people articulate their birthday, age, or other identifier to see how accurate the group was.
11. Blind Drawing
Group size: Varies, in teams of 2
Time commitment: 10-15 minutes
Similar to Pictionary, this is a popular activity that can be done quickly. It’s an effective exercise to teach leadership and communication skills. It’s also a way to get your team out of their comfort zone and practice active listening and collaboration.
Split your team into groups of two and give one player a picture and the other paper and pencils.
The person with the picture needs to describe what’s in the picture without saying what’s in the picture. You can even put the words on the picture that are not allowed to be said. Have the players sit back-to-back so the describer cannot see what is being drawn.
The team that draws the most accurate picture wins the exercise. You may also want to leave enough time so that each team member takes on both roles.
12. Flip It Over
Group size: 6-10
Time commitment: 20 minutes
Ask the group to stand on top of a tarp or large tablecloth. The purpose of the activity is for the participants to flip the tarp or tablecloth over. However, participants can only use their feet and their feet cannot move off the fabric or touch the ground.
This group exercise requires teamwork and coordination to be effective at problem-solving. Everyone must be included to complete the challenge. You can add difficulty by forbidding the team from using verbal interactions during the task.
13. Penny for Your Thoughts
Group size: 5-7
Time commitment: 35 minutes
This game puts a personal spin on an icebreaker. It’s simple to set up and can be used for larger groups if broken into the smaller segments.
Each small group is given a container with pennies or other coins. Taking turns, the participants take a coin from the container and announce the year. The participant who pulled the coin will share a personal anecdote about something that happened to them during that year.
This exercise allows participants to get to know each other personally and strengthen team relationships. It can create stronger bonds among teammates as participants share anecdotes.
The activity can also provide perspective on generational differences. Depending on the year, participants may have been in 9th grade, started their first job, or had their first grandchild.
14. The Compliment Circle
Group size: 6-12
Time commitment: 5-30 minutes
There are several variations on this exercise that can be used. The goal is to ensure that everyone has a chance to express gratitude toward a coworker and to hear gratitude as well.
A quick version is to ask everyone to stand in a circle and spend five minutes sharing compliments with a coworker. These can be brief kudos for a job well done or praise for an attitude or achievement. The challenge in this structure is that not everyone may hear good words about themselves.
An alternative is to have each person compliment the person on their left. That way, everyone can express a compliment and hear one, too.
15. Brainstorming session
Group size: 6-12
Time commitment: 1-2 hours
Occasionally, it’s OK to have a team-building activity that’s work-related. A brainstorming session is an excellent way to spur your team’s creativity, collaboration, and strategic thinking.
An effective brainstorming session is much less about the day-to-day work and more about big-picture thinking. A strategic session with representatives from various teams allows exposure to different perspectives on the business.
The simplest structure is to ask each person to come to the session with three to five ideas. Have participants post their ideas on an idea board. Small groups can organize the ideas into themes and present them to the larger group for discussion.
Fist to Five is another approach. After everyone provides brainstorming ideas, present each one to the group. People then hold up a fist or up to five fingers.
A fist represents no interest in pursuing the idea while five fingers indicate it’s a great idea. With small groups, you can ask each person to explain their ranking.
16. One Question
Group size: 4-20
Time commitment: 45-60 minutes
Imagine that your pet dog can understand and speak English. Or that an alien arrives from another planet. The organization needs a new CEO and can only ask candidates a single query.
That’s the spirit of One Question. It teaches smaller teams to collaborate and agree on a single question to ask in a given situation. Employees must also negotiate, persuade, compromise, and work together to develop the singular question.
Divide the group into teams, giving them the scenario and a few minutes to decide on their ideal question. Each group will present their question to the rest of the team and the process they took to develop it.
17. Shredded
Group size: 6-15
Time commitment: 60 minutes
The food competition TV series “Chopped” gives contestants a basket with an odd assortment of ingredients. The chefs have a limited amount of time to build a dish incorporating all the ingredients.
Shredded is the office version of “Chopped.” Divide the group into teams and give them their basket of “ingredients.” You can mix the participants up or have teams compete together.
For example, you could give the sales team the task of selling a new product consisting of dog food, confetti, and headphones. The marketing team will need to create a social media campaign around the same, or a separate random set of items. The HR team might be asked to create a benefits package of razor blades, ice cream, and lawn sprinklers.
This activity does not need to declare a winner but instead can encourage creativity, teamwork, and outside-the-box thinking. When done well, the laughter is plentiful.
18. Survivor
Group size: 4-6
Time commitment: 30 minutes
Another activity inspired by a hit reality show, Survivor takes its cue from the popular program that strands contestants on an island. Here, the participants will be stranded in a challenging locale, such as a desert island, deep woods, or frozen tundra. The task is to select from a provided list of ten items the five they would bring with them.
After considering the list, small teams must agree on the items to bring. The imaginary list can include things like a flint, matches, knife, fishing or hunting gear, rope, bedding, or seeds.
The exercise encourages team members to problem-solve and work together to survive. You can add a personal element at the end by asking each participant what one personal item they would bring.
19. The Common Factor
Group size: 4-6, in multiples
Time commitment: 5 minutes, day-long
This quick icebreaker is a fun way to help people build rapport with their colleagues, overcome bias, and humanize their coworkers. It can be used at the starter of a longer meeting, retreat, or group event.
The task is simple: Find one thing the entire group has in common. It could be a shared affinity for boating, the “Game of Thrones” series, or the music of Adele.
The twist is that the group needs to take on the persona and stereotype of their shared interest for the remainder of the meeting. They should be encouraged to use lingo from their common interest.
For example, one group has discovered a shared affinity for European soccer. Throughout the day, they can reference their favorite teams, hooligans, tournaments, and favorite players. The stereotypical rabid nature of fandom should be on display at various times.
At the end of the day, ask the teams to share their common interest and the destructive nature of stereotyping and passing judgment. Individuals also can be asked to share one way they are different from the stereotype.
20. Minefield
Group size: 10-14, even number required
Time commitment: 20-30 minutes
In a large, open space, place soft objects such as balloons, cups, or toys across the floor. These are the mines that players must avoid.
Form teams of two and instruct one person to wear a blindfold. Have teams start at the same place. The goal is to make it to the finish line without hitting a mine.
The non-blindfolded player must instruct their teammate where to go. The blindfolded player cannot speak. If they step on a mine, they need to start over.
If time permits, you can play the game twice with players swapping their roles.
This activity helps build trust, teamwork, and communication among colleagues. It’s an activity that’s effective for forging collaboration among employees who are reluctant to do so.
21. Whodunit
Group size: 5-10
Time commitment: 20-30 minutes
How well do you know your colleagues? This is a great team activity to learn something unique about each participating coworkers.
Ask each participant to write on a sheet of paper one interesting thing they’ve done. Maybe they skydived, or toured with a musical act after college, or had a small part in a movie.
Have each participant place their paper in a container. Members take turns taking a paper from the container and reading it aloud. It’s up to everyone to guess who did what.
With smaller groups, you can ask each person to state why they think their choice would have done the activity. That way, the person who actually did the activity will need to try to persuade colleagues it was someone else.
Once everyone has shared their guess, the person who submitted the experience can reveal themselves and share a little about it.
22. The Marshmallow Challenge
Group size: 4-20 in groups of 4
Time commitment: 20-30 minutes
Divide the group into teams of four people. Their mission revolves around 20 sticks of spaghetti, one marshmallow, one yard of string, and tape.
The winning team is that which creates the tallest freestanding structure. While it can appear to be a whimsical exercise, it also builds teamwork, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
You may need a yardstick or measuring stick to declare a winner. After the judging is complete, ask each team to evaluate what worked and what did not. The winners can each get a box of spaghetti and a package of marshmallows.
23. Paper Chains
Group size: 6 or more
Time commitment: 5-10 minutes
This is a team-building competition similar to the Marshmallow Challenge. Divide the participants into teams of equal sizes and have each identify a leader.
All the leaders are asked to leave the room where they are explained the rules. The purpose is to build the longest paper chain possible in 3 minutes. The only supplies are the paper, tape, and scissors provided.
Players can only use their dominant hand and no talking is permitted once the game begins.
The leaders re-enter the room and have 30 seconds to explain the rules to their teams. Teams then have three minutes to complete the challenge.
The leader, while not participating, has to communicate effectively, clearly, and quickly to their teammates. Those teammates must then use non-verbal communication and teamwork to solve the challenge.
24. Book clubs
Group size: 6-16
Time commitment: One hour
A shared reading experience does not need to evoke memories of high school English class. Book clubs are a great way to explore books related to leadership, current events, or popular titles. You can even suggest books around many months like Black History Month or Women’s History Month.
Book clubs allow colleagues to come together to share ideas, insights, and interpretations. Participation can be optional and allows those who love reading an opportunity to experience and reflect on books together.
There are many available resources online with questions and discussion topics for book clubs to use.
25. Sneak a Peek
Group size: 10-20
Time commitment: 25-30 minutes
Using popsicle sticks, Legos, straws, or Jenga blocks, the facilitator builds a structure that’s used in the exercise. The structure is hidden from all the participating teams, comprising two to eight members each.
One member of each team is invited to come and sneak a peek at the construct for about ten seconds. They are then sent back to their team and given 30 seconds to tell their team how to build the structure.
The teams start building the structure while a second team member is invited to sneak a peek. They are then also given 30 seconds to instruct their team.
The process continues until one team successfully replicates the structure.
This exercise has several valuable lessons to learn.
For one, each team member is essential to the team’s success. Every person will need to accurately recall and share details of the structure. They will also each help build the structure.
It’s an excellent exercise for building collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Team-building activities for larger groups
The larger the group, the larger the complexity to create effective team-building exercises. While they may be more complex to launch, activities for larger groups can be just as effective at team bonding.
Here are some great ideas for enhancing company culture for large groups.
26. Hackathon
Group size: Any
Time commitment: Any, usually a full day
Hackathons are especially popular in the tech space, particularly among software developers. However, the concept can be applied to teams of any size or the entire organization.
The idea is to drop all other work for the day and focus on one challenge, problem, idea, or initiative. The special project is the primary focus.
Hack teams can be organized by department or by constructed groups with expertise from multiple areas. Putting an engineer, marketing employee, HR rep, salesperson, and consultant together can lead to dynamic outcomes.
The theme of the hack does not need to be a significant, earth-shattering issue. The key factor is that it is something that will benefit the organization. Themes could be reinventing onboarding programs, assessing company value statements, or reconsidering website customer content.
27. Healthy Together initiative
Group size: Unlimited
Time commitment: Ongoing
Getting healthy together helps to foster positive company culture and wellness. There can be added benefits to the organization, too, with a healthier workplace and fewer absences.
The shared, unified purpose of healthier living can forge new relationships and a positive employee experience. The activities can vary, but could include healthy eating, daily lunchtime walks, or group exercise classes.
Participants can even choose to set a group goal and track participation and progress for each. The participants who are the most active can be awarded a prize.
28. Teach a new skill
Group size: Any
Time commitment: 1-2 hours
Learning something new together helps with team development, employee engagement, and relationship-building. Bringing teams together in person or virtually to learn a new skill can be great fun and connect coworkers in new ways.
This activity should not be about learning how to build a PowerPoint presentation or use a new Zoom feature. It should be about something fun and engaging. A cooking class, cocktail workshop, home garden, or tea blending class can be an enjoyable shared experience.
Consider coming up with a list of possible skills to build and surveying your employees to see which are the most popular.
29. Laser Tag
Group size: 10 or more
Time commitment: 1-2 hours
Laser tag is a fun, team-oriented competition that can add laughs, strategy, and camaraderie. It’s a great way to relieve some stress while building team relationships and communication.
Laser tag can be played indoors or outdoors, depending on what facilities are nearby. It’s a good alternative to paintball, which can lead to more injuries.
In laser tags, teams are formed and pitted against each other. There are multiple game modes available, such as capture the flag or team victory.
Each player is given a laser “weapon” and a sensor to wear, typically on the chest or head. Players aim weapons at the “enemy” and try to “kill” them by striking the sensor with their light beam.
Teams score points and win depending on the type of game being played.
30. What Do We Have in Common
Group size: 20-50
Time commitment: 40-60 minutes
This activity provides a way to share commonalities among large groups of colleagues. It can be done in person or via a virtual team building activity. It’s an ideal way to connect personally with colleagues in large organizations.
Members are asked to seek out five to ten commonalities among other participants. The commonalities can be on any topic.
Facilitators may want to offer some suggestions to get the engagement started. Among the possible ideas are favorite local restaurant, color, or pizza topping. Other possibilities are favorite sports team or Olympic sport, favorite movie or music genre.
The fun comes from the surprises of discovering someone who shares a fondness for Indian food or Star Trek. Allow a few minutes for people to commiserate on their commonalities.
32. Ongoing tournaments
Group size: 10 or more
Time commitment: Ongoing for weeks, months, or years
Team-building games don’t need to have a time limit. It can be fun to organize ongoing competitions, which can happen after work or during lunch. Ongoing tournaments can consist of nearly any competitive game, from Scrabble or cribbage to croquet or cornhole.
You can even establish multiple types of tournaments depending on whether there is enough interest in a particular competition. Games can take place indoors, such as chess, or outdoors, such as HORSE in basketball.
Try to select activities where a round can be completed in one or two sessions. You don’t want to choose tournaments where the play seeps too much into work time.
33. Office trivia
Group size: 20 or more
Time commitment: 20-30 minutes
This variation on a trivia game is designed to share information, history, and insights about the company itself. It’s also a cost-effective way to build relationships among team members and foster creative thinking.
Start by breaking participants into teams. You’ll ask all participants prepared questions about the organization, the industry, or a theme. Teams submit answers within a short time period, and the winning team is the one with the most correct responses.
If doing the event in person, you can add some theatricality to the occasion. For example, post questions on a large whiteboard or viewscreen and use a microphone.
34. 3-Question Mingle
Group size: 10 or more
Time commitment: 5-10 minutes
This quick icebreaker builds communication and active listening skills and can be used by groups of any size. Each participant is asked to write down three open-ended questions on separate sticky notes.
You can provide sample questions like, “What is your dream job and why?” Another suggestion could be, “What was your favorite job ever?”
Once everyone has written down their questions, they find a partner. Each person asks the other one of the three questions. After each person has asked and answered three questions, ask about what they learned about each other during the exercise.
35. Scavenger hunt
Group size: 20 or more
Time commitment: 1-2 hours
This fun adventure activity is a great way to build teams and leadership skills. It takes a bit of organization, brainstorming, and planning but is worth the effort when teams commit and participate fully.
The purpose is for teams to search within a predefined area for a list of items. Teams can either physically collect and return items or take a picture of each one found.
Teams will start from the same location and a clue as to the first object. Once that object is found, they are given another clue to launch their search for the next item. As an alternative, all teams can be given a list of all the items at the start and have to find the most to win.
Team building is an essential component of employee engagement and positive company culture. The options for team-building activities are endless: escape rooms, workday karaoke, egg drops, board games, the list goes on. Finding the right activities to develop important skills requires knowledge of the needs and strengths of teams.
At Gusto, we help companies in multiple industries and of all sizes strengthen their employee development. Our all-in-one HR platform is used by more than 300,000 businesses to manage job postings, recruitment, and onboarding. Our talent management services help businesses strengthen their teams and develop employees.
Learn more about how Gusto can help your teams become stronger, more collaborative, and more product by contacting us today.