Do your employees look dull and in need of a break? It’s time to give them one. We all know the importance of employee engagement and motivation. It brings a new wave of energy that motivates them to work more efficiently. It is high time that you start preferring your employees’ health, well-being, and mood because that’s precisely what will drive business to your company.
Although you cannot give them too much freedom to take you for a ride, you can still combine work and play. In fact, studies show that activity-based work can have a significant impact on workplace productivity and satisfaction.
Incredibly fun activities that your employees will love
You might think that all team-building activities are fun. But that’s not the case. You need to understand that every employee has unique interests and preferences. While you cannot please all, you have to come up with activities that almost all the employees will love, and here are a few of them.
1. Outdoor sports
If you are concerned about your employees’ health along with fun, outdoor sports is the best option you have. There can’t be anything better for team building than having your employees play as a team. You can conduct any team sports activity such as basketball, baseball, or football. For instance, if you have a backyard on your company property, you can contact a basketball court contractor to build a classic basketball court within the premises or any other court according to your employees’ preference.
An on-premise court is not a necessity. It is just that having your own court will allow your employees to take the essential breaks when required. However, having a private court is not something that every business can afford. You can also conduct the activities at local parks or community centers.
2. Brainstorming sessions
Brainstorming sessions can energize your employees, especially right before a meeting. A meeting place requires the complete attention of all participants. Hence, a brainstorming session before a meeting will help everyone to focus.
You can go about brainstorming in several ways. For instance, you can ask everyone to participate individually or make teams. Similarly, you can give an agenda for brainstorming, or you can have a puzzle in place. The idea is to get the work done and then discuss it for team building. If you have made teams, you can ask how the team went about the agenda and developed the strategy to solve it.
3. Trivia
Trivia is not just for places like bars or family gatherings, you can also use it to engage your employees. It can be the perfect way to host your new employees and get them familiar with the others. You can go to a local destination where a trivia night is conducted, or you can bring a host to the office.
If not the host, you yourself can conduct a trivia night. All you need to do is segregate your employees into different teams (or let them play as individuals) and create questions that are not related to their daily work. Also, have a prize for the winner to ensure optimal participation from everyone.
4. Cook-off
Want to help your employees improve creativity, team-playing, and leadership skills? Cook-offs can help you do just that. You can conduct this culinary activity at your office’s cafeteria. You can hire a chef to run and monitor the activity or do it yourself.
Divide the employees into small teams, pick a food category, and ask them to prepare a dish. However, having a category is optional. Ensure that you ask the groups to register their dish so that there is variety in the end. Once the cook-off is complete, you can have all the employees sit together and enjoy the dishes prepared. You can also have them vote for the best dish and announce the winner accordingly.
5. Scavenger hunt
You can organize a scavenger hunt in your office, or you can take your employees outdoors for that. If you are planning something big, you can take help from a vendor who provides the services. You can then engage the teams in different challenges and take pictures throughout the session. Once the session ends and everyone regroups, you can surprise them with a slideshow of the images you have clicked.
Organizing such fun activities frequently will help your employees get motivated. The motivation will further impact the engagement and what they invest in the work. When you succeed and have your employees work as a team, it will bring a culture of openness to your workplace. Such a culture can then promote your employee branding and drive more productivity. Hence, it will ultimately help your business grow, a win-win for all.