With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to present challenges for businesses across Australia, it’s increasingly important to find ways to keep your staff motivated and productive.

There are so many options out there for activities that bust boredom, build morale, improve communication and create a space for team members to bond and we’ve pulled together few of our favourite ideas.

Fact or Fiction

A fun ice breaker-type or team building activity where participants quickly learn a lot about each other very quickly. Each member shares two or three facts about themselves – but one of these is actually a lie. The others will need to bet on which one is the lie. This activity is more fun when the facts are as interesting and unusual as possible!

Team Trivia

Create your own deck of team question cards, for example, what is the strangest food you have ever eaten? What is something that amazes you? What is a trait you admire in others? What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done? Each person takes a card in turn and answers the question. This is a fast-paced way to make real connections.

Guess Who?

Create game cards related to the participants and organise a fun round of Guess Who. Participants are put into teams and each team draws a card listing 5 people. They have to describe what’s on the card to their teammates without saying the actual person’s name – the more correct guesses in the time, the higher the score.

Treasure Hunt

The range of the hunt is dependent on venue and team sizes, anything from a smaller garden treasure hunt to a city-wide scavenger hunt. There are plenty of great apps out there which can help with planning. It’s also fun to have the teams take photos at each treasure point. Link a hashtag to your hunt for sharing all the fun long after the hunt is done.

Replica Building

Grab some Lego, Play-dough or pop sticks and get creative. Each team or participant is given a set of the chosen building material and the challenge is to create a replica of a structure that has been made ahead of time. Add extra challenge points by only allowing members a 10-second peak at the structure. This is great for showcasing communication and fostering collaboration.

Is there anything to avoid in coming up with ideas for team building activities?

Yes, there are a few considerations which are sensible to take into account.

• Avoid excessive competition among individuals – The goal of team building is collaboration, team vs team – is excellent, but in some cases individual vs individual may not be appropriate.
• Try not to make people feel exposed – People perform better when they feel confident, so it is best to avoid activities which some may find embarrassing. For example, if members of your group are not physically fit then an athletic challenge may not be a good choice.
• Pushing people too far out of their comfort zones – Depending on your group, some people may relish the opportunity to jump into the spotlight and perform an air guitar solo or a karaoke piece, for others this situation may be highly stressful and actually induce anxiety. By tailoring your activity to your group your will get better outcomes.

With a little bit of effort it you can up the positive vibe, build momentum and plan successful and memorable team building activities for your next meeting or event.