A strong team can be one of the most important elements of a successful business. Learning how to communicate and cooperate lays the foundations for a healthy workplace.
Team building exercises are a great way to bring the workplace together and teach your employees how to work as one. However, no one wants to do the same old activities they’ve been doing for years. It’s time to spice it up a little bit and challenge your team.
Organising some more exciting workplace events and activities can help to strengthen your employee relations and performance.
Here are 16 of our favourite unusual team building ideas to get you started.
Blindfolded Food Tasting
There is no better way to test out the fear of the unknown than this unusual team building idea. A popular video trend on YouTube, blindfolded food tasting requires the subject to be fed food or liquids while blindfolded, then having to guess what it is. The choices can be as weird and wacky as you please, but make sure you check for any allergies before proceeding.
Flash Mobbing
A flash mob is defined as a group of people who randomly assemble in a public place, perform an act for a brief time, then disperse. Flash mobs are most commonly seen as dances, although if one or two of your co-workers possess two left feet, you can get creative and think of other ways to take this unusual team building idea to the streets.
Flash mobbing has been described by American corporate team-building firm TeamBonding as “the single most innovative and effective team-building event in the marketplace today”.
Photo: Dave Monk, Flickr
Sumo Wrestling
This next unusual team building idea is the only time when it’s acceptable to push your boss down and pin them to the ground. Step into a fat suit and let your inner wrestler emerge. Companies such as Perth Sumo Suit Hire provides everything you will need for a proper sumo battle, including the suits, helmets, gloves, mats and tarp. Suits come in various sizes to fit everyone.
Inflatable Games
Hire companies such as this don’t’t just stop at sumo suits. They also provide a wide range of inflatable games, including slides, basketball, jousting and a ball pit. Grab your team, set up a playground of games and enjoy a day of some healthy workplace competition.
Blindfold Driving
This next unusual team building idea is one for the brave. If you’ve mastered the sightless food tasting, it’s time to try blindfolded driving. If you are feeling like you particularly trust your work colleagues, gather everyone into a car, put a blindfold on the driver and away you go!
However, more often than not, the use of directional aid is forbidden, encouraging participants to use alternative solutions to solve the problems faced.
Chariot Racing
One of the more unusual team building ideas on the list, chariot racing will definitely bring the team together in an unexpected way. Teams are required to create and decorate their own racing chariots, with your co-workers substituting for real horses.
The ‘horses’ pull their chariot riders around an obstacle course, fighting for first place. To make it more interesting, the winning team could receive workplace perks, such as finishing early or receiving free lunch.
Outdoor Activities
Become one with nature again and step outside for some adventure sporting. Activities can include zip lining, tree climbing and white water rafting. For example, Trees Adventure offers tree top adventure rope experiences including obstacle courses and zip lining on flying foxes through the forest.
Additionally, the South West of Australia has a number of trees including the Gloucester Tree and Bicentennial Tree that allow you to climb right up to its highest branches.
Alternatively, your workplace may choose to go white water rafting. Paddling trips can be altered to suit skill levels, ranging from a relaxing ride with beautiful scenery to experiencing the thrilling rapids. Two-man canoes mean team mates must work together to ensure they don’t fall in before the end.
Circus Classes
Run away with the circus and learn the best party tricks around. Classes are available in acrobatics, trampolining, trapeze, silks, juggling, tight wire, unicycling and diablo.
No previous experience is required, and classes offer the perfect opportunity to learn a few new skills with your team.
Photo: Laura Bittner, Flickr
Alcohol Tasting and Cocktail Creating
This next unusual team building idea is one the whole workplace can enjoy. Perhaps you will choose a nice tour and tasting session through your region’s best wineries and breweries, or maybe you would prefer to learn how to make your own wonderful creations. Book into a cocktail making class and be the life of the party- or office!
Opposite Gender Day
If you have ever wanted to swap genders, now is your chance. Borrow your male or female counterpart’s attire and turn up to the office as someone else for the day. Make it more interesting by adopting the mannerisms and personalities as well. Photos are essential. Extra points for creativity!
Cooking Classes
Honour the many different cultures surrounding us today and take a cooking class in foreign cuisine. Classes can include cooking Indian, Italian, Thai, Moroccan, Jerusalem and French foods. The skills learnt by the team could even mean introducing a monthly cooking day in the office, displaying a different country and cuisine each round.
Messy Twister
This next unusual team building idea puts a fun twist on the classic game. Recommended to play outside, players dress in white (or any colour you choose) and cover each dot in corresponding paint colours. You may even end up with some artistic, unique clothing pieces too.
Water Skiing
Another different or unusual team building idea is to take advantage of the hotter months and head to the water. Or more specifically, on the water! Trial days are available to learn how to kneeboard, wakeboard or ski, or you can choose to have fun on inflatable tubing rides.
If you’re lucky enough to know someone with a boat, you could convince (or bribe!) them to take the whole team out for a waterski or boating day on the river. If you don’t want to use boats at all, cable ski parks are an alternative option.
Photo: Nicole Schreck, Instagram
Paintballing
Paint balling is the ultimate team building exercise. Separate into teams and go into live combat with a paintball gun as your weapon. This exercise encourages working together as a team to provide strategies and unity, making for the ultimate battle of the workplace.
Take to the Skies
This next unusual team building idea is one for the thrill seekers. Book in, prepare yourself, and have a go at bungee jumping, or if you’re particularly brave, skydiving. Bungee jumping and skydiving offer the perfect opportunity to overcome fears, even better accomplished in a group environment.
If you’re not ready to face the dizzying heights of skydiving just yet, indoor sky diving is available to recreate and simulate the experience.
Go Karting
If you feel the need for speed, go karting is for you- and your team! Book in a group go-karting session and create some friendly competition as you race around the track. Some go karting venues even accommodate for corporate events and team building. Go karting is an exciting activity that the office can talk about for years to come.
In Summary
There are so many interesting, exciting and unusual team building ideas and activities available for the workplace, which can help your team to work together and form a strong unit. We’ve written six more in our post, 6 team building ideas for great staff engagement that you may want to read as well.
I trust that you find these 16 activities interesting and perhaps challenging to your team. Give one a go, and best of luck!
About Nicole Schreck
Nicole Schreck is a student at Curtin University in Western Australia, completing a degree in Mass Communications and specialising in Journalism and Web Media. Nicole also has a keen interest in photography and film-making, and intends to combine all of her skills when she enters the workforce.
Nicole runs her own blog and YouTube channel, and has experience in radio work, newspaper writing, travel blogging and content marketing.
