Don’t wait until warmer weather (especially in the Midwest) to develop meaningful working relationships within your organization. As a new generation captures key leadership positions, greater emphasis is placed on collaboration in the workplace. Working as individuals can only get the company so far. By working in teams, individuals can put their brains together to solve complex problems, exchange original ideas, and improve their overall work.  Are you adapting your indoor team-building activities to suit these different set of behaviors, values and demands?

Below are four indoor team building activities you can begin right away to foster internal bonding within your organization.

1. Scavenger Hunts. This is a classic team-building activity that encourages employees to work together in small groups to not only problem-solve, but also have some fun along the way.
   • Break employees into small groups. Large groups are less personal and would likely distract any employees that are working while the hunt is going on.
   • Create a list of tasks or items for team members to complete or find around the office building. Try to come up with more tasks/items than a team would be able to finish in the provided time frame to ensure the teams are constantly moving and do not have to end their hunt early.
   • Set a time limit. Try to keep the hunt between 15-30 minutes to be respectful of schedules.
   • Set clear rules to ensure all teams understand the directions given, then begin the hunt.
   • Celebrate! After, provide refreshments or snacks for the participating teams.
     
     
2. PowerPoint Karaoke. This is a non-traditional team-building activity that would be best suited for teams that appreciate humor and embrace their extroverted side. 
   • Prior to meeting with the employees, search online for random PowerPoint projects that are around 10-15 slides long and save them in an accessible location.
   • Bring your employees into a conference room/meeting space that has a projector.
   • Each participant must give a 3 to 5-minute presentation on a PowerPoint that they have never seen before, where they’ll have to interpret random graphs, pictures, data, information, etc., to the group. There is no singing involved!
   • Have employees volunteer to play the game.
     
     
3. Blind Draw. This activity aims to improve team’s communication skills and will have all team members channeling their “inner artist,” even though art skills are not required. 
   • The facilitator creates a list of items that each group will pick from.
   • Provide each team with a flipchart/whiteboard or some sort of drawing platform.
   • Divide up the group into 4-6 employees each. 
   • Each team will have one “artist.” The designated artist will be separated from the group as the other members of the team pick an item that was provided by the activity facilitator.
   • The artist will stand on one side of the drawing platform while the team stands on the other, where they cannot see what the artist is drawing.
   • For three minutes, the team will only be able to provide instructions on how to draw the item without explicitly saying what the item is.
   • After three minutes, the artist from each team in the room will reveal their drawing. The team whose drawing is the closest to the actual item picked will win the round.
   • Repeat the activity with as many rounds as desired (recommended time is around 30 minutes).
     
     
4. Three Truths and a Lie. This activity is commonly used as an easy ice breaker and can help teams get to know one another better. Although lying isn’t typically encouraged, in this game, it is!
   • This game is ideal for 10-15 employees. If there’s more, feel free to split them up.
   • Have each member of the group introduce themselves, and then have them state three true statements about themselves and one lie. The group will have to guess the lie.
   • The “truths” do not have to be personal, revealing statements. The truths can be as simple as sharing something unique about you, hobbies, key interests, etc.
   • The “lies” could be over-the-top or if a team member wanted to strategize, they could make their lie sound like a truth. This may throw off the other employees even more.
   • Go around the circle until everyone has had their turn.

Indoor team building activities are a fun way to build camaraderie, increase productivity and the sense of company identity. Focus on creating shared memories and finding common ground—it’s sure to make a big difference, and at Society, we’re all about that.

Read ‘Tips for Welcoming New Employees’ to learn more about the on-boarding process and how to increase productivity within your organization.

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