Team Building Exercises for Your Next Corporate Event

Are you looking for ways to build an unbreakable bond with your work team? Then you may want to consider scheduling a retreat packed with team-building exercises. According to Dr. John Murphy and Dr. Scott Tanenbaum, research shows strong workplace dynamics lead to better problem solving, increased potential for innovation, smarter risk-taking, fewer mistakes, and fewer instances of employee burnout. Team building exercises often earn a negative reputation for seeming boring: but your team can form an unbreakable bond through a swath of innovative exercises that can encourage enhanced productivity in the workplace.

When your employees feel comfortable voicing their opinions with their co-workers, sharing the urge to share unique ideas seems less intimidating. When workers from different backgrounds and perspectives participate in the brainstorming session, there’s a greater chance that even the less feasible ideas can transform into amazing ones.

Knowles Hospitality wants to be your company’s melting pot for further success and advancement. With an experienced event planning team, your next corporate retreat will produce measurable results. Traditional team-building exercises or ones with expected outcomes won’t do the trick. Below are some of our best team-building exercises that will yield positive outcomes.

1.      Back-to-Back Drawing

It may sound silly at the initial glance, but back-to-back drawing is a great way to make your employees practice communication skills by thinking outside of the box. This activity forces your employees to get creative and practice effective communication. In this activity, your team will need paper, pens or markers, and a stack of simple pictures. Place two chairs back-to-back and have two employees take a seat. One employee will hold the paper and markers while the other holds the piece of paper with the simple picture on it.

Next, set a timer for two minutes. The employee holding the picture will have to describe the image to their partner without revealing the image. At the end of the exercise, every employee team will vote on the best-drawn picture; the team with the highest score will win.

2.      The Egg Drop

The Egg Drop is a nail-biting way to enforce collaboration and creativity. All you’ll need is a carton of eggs, some newspaper, balloons, bubble wrap, and some tape. After dividing your employees into groups of four, have the teams use these materials to build a vessel that will protect the egg from a series of drops. The “egg drop” can occur from a stairwell or a window.

After placing tarps or a blanket on the ground to protect from any messes, allocate 20 minutes for the teams to strategize how to protect the egg. Once the time limit ends, have each team take the egg carriers to one level and continue to increase the height of the drop until one team is the winner.

3.      Count Off

Who knew a countdown could be so entertaining? In this activity, employees will sit in a circle and begin to count to 20. Anyone can begin by yelling out “1,” but if more than one person shouts a number, the team must start over from the beginning. Ideally, everyone will say a different number or maybe even figure out a pattern of who says each specific number. No additional conversations can occur during the game, forcing everyone to rely on intuition and a strong group dynamic. Collaboration is the key to finishing the activity, so everyone must remain engaged to reach a common goal.

4.      Take Personality Tests

Personality tests are an intriguing way for employees to learn more about their unique habits and approach to solving complex issues. Popular personality tests among employers are Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Eysenck Personality Inventory. If your company divides employees into workgroups, teams, or departments, have each group take the personality tests. Upon completion of the tests, have everyone discuss their results.

See if anyone has the same personality type and ask each team to discuss their results. Check if anyone has the same personality type and ask each team to share their results. Give everyone a few questions to explore such as:

• “How do the personalities of your group members change how you’ll work with them?”
• “How did the personality tests affirm or deny your beliefs about your co-workers’ mentality?”

These questions force your teams to reflect upon how their team functions and how they can better understand their co-workers to be more productive in the workplace.

5.       Paper Plane Contest

Get ready for a blast from the past as you return your team to their childhoods by hosting a paper airplane contest! Through compromise and collaboration, each team must attempt to construct the best paper airplane design that will send their paper airplane the furthest distance. All you need is a long hallway or open space, tape to mark the finish line, measuring tape, and construction paper. Proving especially effective after activities that require more serious critical thinking and intense focus, building paper airplanes is a fun way to get everyone to work together on their feet.

Team-Building Events with Knowles Hospitality

Let Knowles Hospitality be the catalyst for your company’s productivity. With a team of expert event planners, the Manor and Pleasantdale Chateau can serve as the ideal spot for your next corporate retreat. With an engaging array of recommendations for team-building activities, your employees will continue to perfect their communication, critical thinking, and collaboration skills.

 

To learn more about hosting your company’s next team-building retreat with Knowles Hospitality, dial (973) 731- 2360 today.