Collaboration is essential for the success of any team or organization. One of the best ways to improve collaboration and teamwork is to organize team building activities. Getting together in a relaxed, fun atmosphere away from the office allows employees to work together, solve problems, and improve communication between team members more effectively.
Creating a collaborative team can be challenging, especially when diverse personalities and working preferences are involved. A breakdown in teamwork can negatively impact the workplace environment and productivity. A study found that 64 percent of employees who work collaboratively experience higher engagement levels, better success rates, and lower fatigue levels than their solitary counterparts.
This is where team building activities are invaluable. A Team building program provides an efficient method to enhance relationships and foster better teamwork among team members. Team exercises can break down barriers, encourage trust and mutual respect, and improve communication techniques—all vital aspects of strong collaboration.
This article explores some of the remarkable benefits of team building activities that can enhance collaboration and drive success within your team.
What Are Team Collaboration Activities?
Team collaboration activities are organized team building exercises to build more effective employee teamwork. These activities are designed to enhance problem-solving skills, creative thinking, and leadership skills in a fun and interactive way. Employees learn to communicate and exchange ideas by working together, thus promoting better understanding, team bonding, and cooperation.
Fun team building activities usually involve groups of individuals developing solutions to problems. Some of the best team building events to improve collaboration include the cardboard boat challenge, the great race, the domino effect, minute to win it, and the mini golf masters. These exercises are ideal for improving teamwork skills.
8 Team Collaboration Benefits
Good collaboration skills are the only way team members can work effectively together. Therefore, any organization—large or small—benefits from better synergy and strong cooperation among employees who work in teams. Employees learn to listen actively and express their thoughts clearly. It also fosters trust among team members as they realize the value of each other’s contributions and develop a sense of unity.
Here are eight benefits of organizing team building games to enhance cooperation among employees:
- Enhanced creativity: Team members can bounce ideas off each other, sparking creativity and generating new and innovative approaches to challenges.
- Shared knowledge and skills: Collaborating allows employees to share skills and expertise, helping the team collectively learn and grow.
- Improved problem solving: Collaborative teams are agile and can make better decisions faster.
- Increased efficiency: Smooth teamwork allows teams to delegate based on individual strengths, leading to better time management and higher overall efficiency.
- Better communication skills: Working in a collaborative environment enhances communication skills. Team members must articulate their ideas, actively listen, and provide constructive feedback.
- Strengthened relationships: Collaboration fosters a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect among team members. This can improve team morale, engagement, and overall job satisfaction.
- Increased adaptability: Collaborative teams are often more adaptable to change. They can adjust their strategies and approaches more readily due to the collective nature of decision-making.
- Reduced silos: Learning to work collaboratively breaks down departmental or hierarchical barriers within an organization, reducing the creation of isolated work silos. This promotes a more holistic approach to tasks.
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The Best Team Building Activities to Help Teams Work Together
FullTilt Team Development is a leader in the team building industry. We have developed the best team building events with the goal of improving synergy and teamwork skills. FullTilt’s team building exercises tick all the boxes regarding enhancing collaboration between team members.
Here are five team events to enhance collaboration regardless of the team size. You will learn specific outcomes for each event that can benefit your organization.
Cardboard Boat Challenge
The Cardboard Boat Challenge is an exciting team building activity that requires creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. This event encourages teams to work together to build a boat out of cardboard and other materials. Each team must design and construct a seaworthy vessel using basic materials like cardboard, duct tape, and common office materials.
The challenge tests each team’s ability to communicate, collaborate, and innovate in order to achieve success. At the end of the activity, each boat is tested on water, and only the best boats survive.
This challenge only requires access to a lake, the ocean, or a swimming pool. Therefore, it’s a great team building event for outdoor or indoor locations.
Cardboard Boat Build Challenge Outcomes
- Team-oriented and highly collaborative
- Promotes outside-the-box thinking
- Effective teamwork under pressure
- Improves team communication and leadership skills
The Great Race
The Great Race offered by FullTilt Teams is a dynamic and competitive team-building activity for employees to learn cooperation, synergy, and collaboration.
Inspired by the popular TV show “The Amazing Race,” the event combines elements of competition, physical activity, and teamwork. To win the great race, participants must complete a series of challenges and solve a list of clues strategically placed throughout unique and iconic locations in a city.
This exciting team building event is suitable for diverse locations and venues across North America. Our team building event facilitator can work with you to develop a customized event to combine strategic team activities. This event tests a team’s problem-solving, communication, and collaborative skills.
By encouraging participants to work together to surmount these challenges, “The Great Race” fosters teamwork, camaraderie, and a sense of achievement. At the same time, participants get to explore and appreciate new places.
The Great Race Outcomes
- Highly collaborative to promote healthy teamwork
- Working in high-pressure situations to make good decisions
- Time management and planning
- Enhance communication skills and critical thinking in effective teams
The Domino Effect Challenge
The Domino Effect Challenge is an effective activity to encourage team bonding and improve collaboration between team members. The fun event centers around creating an innovative machine to perform a simple task. However, the machine must work in an intricate and elegant manner. At its core, this activity promotes collaboration, effective communication, and a united pursuit of a shared objective.
This team-building exercise draws parallels to the classic “Mouse Trap” game but is tailored for adults. It also integrates the following business concepts to benefit the entire team:
- Planning
- Goal setting
- Strategy
- Execution
The event provides practical insights with skills that are transferable to the workplace. Team members learn how each individual’s actions impact the entire team. This teaches the importance of considering how decisions affect other team members.
The Domino Effect challenges participants to think strategically, work harmoniously, and understand the consequences of their actions in a larger context.
The indoor team-building event is suitable for teams of varying sizes.
The Domino Effect Outcomes
- Improve problem-solving and strategic thinking skills
- Open dialog, active listening, and better teamwork
- Innovative thinking and strategic planning
- Learning the importance of cooperation within a larger context
Minute to Win It
The “Minute to Win It” is a fun activity designed to enhance cooperation skills, promote friendly competition, and stimulate innovative problem-solving. Teams engage in a series of lively and fast-paced fun games. This requires them to hone their collaborative efforts and quick decision-making skills to complete tasks within a time limit.
In this activity, participants engage in various entertaining tasks that demand effective teamwork under time pressure. The challenges encourage participants to think creatively and work with concerted action to achieve each task’s objectives.
Here is a selection of challenges included in the Minute to Win It event:
- Blindfolded Maze: Participants navigate an obstacle course while blindfolded, relying solely on verbal instructions from teammates.
- Stack Attack: To complete the task, teams construct a pyramid using cups and then swiftly dismantle it. The speed at which this task must be accomplished adds an element of urgency and excitement to the challenge.
- Face the Cookie: During this fun event, participants get a cookie from the forehead to their mouth. However, they can only use facial expressions to move the cookie.
- Penny Hose: In this challenging event, participants must retrieve a penny from the end of a pantyhose leg. The challenge is that they can only use one hand.
- Junk in the Trunk: Each team member has a tissue box filled with ping pong balls attached to their waist. They must shake, jump, wiggle, and use any other movement to empty the box.
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Additionally, the “Minute to Win It” activity carries a philanthropic dimension. At the end of the interactive games, items are donated to a local charitable organization. This event promotes empathy, boosts employee engagement, and strengthens company culture.
In essence, “Minute to Win It” provides an engaging platform for teams to collaborate, communicate, and tackle challenges while contributing to a charitable cause.
Minute to Win It Outcomes
- Enhanced team cohesion
- Quick and creative problem-solving skills
- Adapt and learn resilience in challenging situations
- Strategic thinking
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The Mini Golf Masters
The “Mini Golf Masters” team-building event by FullTilt helps strengthen interpersonal relationships and improve employee satisfaction. The fun game combines healthy competition with collaborative teamwork for a rewarding experience. Team participants must work closely to design and construct their mini-golf courses. This process encourages collaboration and strategic thinking among team members.
Each hole in the mini-golf course offers a chance for competition and serves a charitable purpose. Participants contribute to their community by donating non-perishable food items to a local charity.
Our facilitators can make the event as challenging as you require by increasing the difficulty level of the type of items built. The event can also be adapted for anyone with limited physical ability.
This dual focus on team interaction and charitable giving adds depth and meaning to the event, creating a memorable and impactful team-building experience.
“The Mini Golf Masters” offers a refreshing blend of team collaboration, creative expression, friendly competition, and philanthropic spirit. The event stimulates participants mentally and socially, delivering comprehensive and impactful team-building endeavors. It leaves a lasting impression on the participants and the community they support.
The Mini Golf Masters Outcomes
- Building relationships on a deeper level
- Strengthens communication skills
- Helps team members learn the importance of collaboration, teamwork, and collective endeavor
- Align the event with the mission, values, and goals your company promotes
Team Building and Collaboration — In Conclusion
In conclusion, team-building activities are crucial in enhancing collaboration among team members. These activities bring individuals closer together and encourage them to work together cohesively to improve their communication and teamwork skills.
Furthermore, fun team building events help nurture personal relationships and foster a sense of camaraderie among team members. This sense of interconnectedness leads to stronger teamwork and better cooperation. It also fosters an environment where ideas and opinions can be shared freely, leading to innovative thinking and problem-solving.
Are you looking for a team building activity that encourages collaboration, communication, and problem-solving while contributing to a charitable cause?
Contact FullTilt today to organize an engaging and meaningful team-building event.
Our facilitators are here to ensure you get the most out of your experience with fun and interactive activities designed to bring your team closer together.