No matter the size of your business, you should consider making team-building part of your company culture. The time spent away from the office is shown to improve communication, boost morale, and promote creativity and collaboration.

• Better communication: Team building requires employees to communicate successfully and work together to achieve a common goal.
• Improved employee morale: When employees’ feel their thoughts and ideas are being considered, it helps build a better connection across all levels of the organization and increases morale. It also breaks down barriers between leadership and employees.
• Promotes creativity and collaborative problem solving: If your employees can work together and think outside the box when dealing with a challenge, they will build connections that can benefit your organization in the future.
• Fun for all (with the right activity): Team building can be fun, as long as the selected activity does not put any employees at a disadvantage or makes them feel embarrassed in any way. Read this Forbes article to make sure you understand the potential downsides of team building.

Here are five easy and inexpensive team-building ideas for your business.

 

1. Scavenger Hunt

 

This is a great option for multiple small groups. Depending on your work environment, you can have the hunt onsite or at a nearby location like a shopping center. Tasks can include taking a selfie with a stranger (possibly dressed in specific attire – like a hat) or photographing an object in the office or neighborhood. Make a list, set a deadline for task completion, and whatever team completes the most items on the list first wins.

 

2. Possibilities Game

 

The idea behind this game is for team members to talk and come up with potential new uses for common office items like a stapler or letter opener. Then, a member of the team must present the new use to the larger group without speaking, while others guess what’s being presented.

 

3. Truth or Lie?

 

Each person secretly writes down two truths and one lie about himself/herself. The objective is for the lie to be believable rather than over the top. Then you go around the group and share your tales, trying to determine which is real and which is not for each employee. It’s the perfect opportunity for your team members to learn more about one another.

Another variation on this game is “Who Is It?, where employees write down a fact about themselves, put it in a box and then draw out the facts and attempt to figure out to whom it applies in the group. The team with the most accurate guesses wins. You can also deduct points for wrong guesses.

 

4. Best Moments

 

Ask your team members to think about the best moments from their lives. This can be something achieved on their own (like running a marathon), an event or accomplishment they’ve shared with others (like a personal or professional achievement or event), or an exciting life adventure (like hang-gliding, getting married or taking part in a friend’s or relative’s wedding in an exotic locale, whatever).

After a couple of minutes, ask everyone to consider what 30 seconds in life they would want to relive if given the opportunity. This allows individuals to look back on their lives and share some moments with co-workers who may not know them well. Your facilitator can ask everyone why they chose that particular event and moment.

 

5. Escape Room

 

You can take your team off-site to a venue designed just for this purpose, or you can hire a firm to come in and create an escape room, murder mystery, or other themed event at your worksite. The concept presents your team members with puzzles they must solve in order to “find the key” or otherwise escape the venue. If they reach the time limit for the game, they are set free whether they have found the key or not. Escape rooms are popular for team building because they require workers to collaborate to find the exit or solve the mystery.

These are just a few ideas to help get you started. Whatever activities you choose, team building can help you foster a highly motivated, positive corporate environment that pays off big in the end.