You might assume that smaller teams don’t need to bother with team building efforts. After all, it’s much easier for everyone to get to know one another, so you don’t have to worry about people from different teams in a large organisation never crossing paths. However, team building is about more than just facilitating meetings. It’s also an essential part of building resilient teams.
Team building will help to break down barriers and allow everyone to get to know one another outside of the workplace. This can help to improve communication, increase trust, and make collaboration more effective.
Planning team building sessions for small office groups is a great idea if you want to improve productivity. It can also help to reduce stress by making it easier for team members to resolve conflict or avoid it altogether. These are our top tips for creating unique team building experiences for small office groups.
Team building for remote teams
If your small office group is a remote and distributed team, there is a good chance that you’ve never all been in the same room together. This could be problematic if you are looking for ways to improve collaboration. It’s hard for remote team members to collaborate if they have never spent any meaningful time together.
You could give your team a speed introduction and bring everyone together for a problem solving escape room challenge. This is perfect for small groups as you can all go into the room together to face the challenges. This is particularly effective as you’ll get to see how everyone approaches problems and they are more likely to let their guard down and be themselves if they are having a lot of fun.
Team building for active teams
If you work in an office environment with an active bunch, the best way to bond could be with a physical challenge. A long-distance cycle ride will require everyone to train on the run-up to the event. They might cycle to work together, or they might hit the gym after work.
This is a highly effective team building activity as the focus is always on crossing the finish line together. It’s not about one person proving they are the best, so everyone will have to leave their ego behind and work together to make sure they all finish at the same time. This is also a great way to raise money for charity and to gain some positive PR for your company.
Team building for competitive teams
If there is a natural level of competition within your company, consider nurturing this with a challenge. A scavenger hunt is a great way to get everyone out of the usual office environment and get them solving problems in the real world. Split the team in two and make sure there is a prize for the winning team.
They should also be able to seek out extra points and bonus prizes for going above and beyond or for doing more difficult challenges. This approach helps to make team building activities feel less like a chore and more like something that everyone really wants to get involved with.
Team building for the creative teams
Those working in the creative sector will want to look for a creative team building exercise that allows everyone on the team to express themselves and share their unique vision of the world. Creative team building exercises could include an art class, pottery painting, creating a mural for your office or volunteer gardening within your community.
Creative team building is less about building rivalries or creating a competitive environment and more about giving everyone an opportunity to express themselves and get to know their teammates at the same time. Creative teams often have a higher number of introverts, so this can be an ideal way to break down barriers and improve communication.
Team building for multi-generational teams
When your office team includes multiple generations, it can be incredibly difficult to know what to do to bring them all together. Socialising can feel uncomfortable, and it can also be difficult to plan challenges like a quiz due to different frames of reference.
When you’re planning a team building day for multi-generational teams, consider puzzle solving challenges to help bridge the gap. This can help everyone to relate to one another better, as they’ll have a better idea about how they approach challenges.
An excellent team building challenge is the building challenge. The participants have a limited time to create the tallest, longest or strongest structure. It could also be a flying structure, or a protective structure capable of transporting an egg from a second floor window to the ground.
This is an incredibly fund way to get everyone talking and learning more about each other, without having to rely on finding common ground.
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