Well we know that an “It’s A Knockout Event” is the most fun for corporate team-building, right? Well, OK there are other ways to build teams even if they are a passé…

Your team is the cornerstone of your business success, but you have to motivate them in order to maximize long-term productivity. Team-building activities are some of the most effective and accessible ways to improve productivity at your company. With regular practice, these training sessions will teach your employees to apply essential rules of accomplishment that will help them excel and serve your organization as a whole.

Today’s post is from guest blogger Dunya Carter. (» Source)

Building with Toys
This game is perfect for building teamwork, an important ingredient in productivity. First, acquire a few sets of Lego bricks or other toy building blocks. Have a team leader or a business manager create something with the blocks, then show this to the rest of the group. Tell the groups to copy this object on their own using the blocks within a certain time limit. Alternatively, you could have single team members examine the object then tell the rest of the team what needs to be done, then repeat with the other members. This activity works with groups of any size, but small teams will be more likely to work on communication throughout the process. Afterwards, start a discussion about who contributed the most to the project, who emerged as leaders and how they decided to build the object collectively.

Egg Drop Troop
The egg drop has long been a favourite engineering activity in schools, but it can also be a powerful way to build team spirit and increase productivity. Divide your participants into two teams, and instruct each team to design and build an egg container that will prevent breakage after being dropped from a second-story window or the height of your choosing. After each team finishes, bring them together and find out whose egg survives the fall. Everybody is guaranteed to enjoy coming together to complete this challenge.

Complete the Puzzle
Obtain a jigsaw puzzle with a number of pieces that matches the time frame you have in mind. Give this puzzle to a team of employees to assemble together, and time how long it takes until completion. After they finish the puzzle once, shuffle the pieces and have them complete it again, timing them again as well. Repeat the process a third time, and so on as many times as desired. Once the session is over, compare the team’s completion times to one another. Show the team how their first completion took significantly longer than their last to impress on them how teams evolve to form a natural organization for the benefit of everyone. As each member becomes aware of his or her role in the process, productivity will improve. This activity also illustrates the importance of practice in getting better and faster at accomplishing anything.

Paintball
This is an exciting option for adventurous groups, but be sure to discuss safety aspects of the sport before getting started. First, divide the group into teams and choose a method of play. Two common options are all-out battle and capture the flag. Either choice will bolster a sense of teamwork and teach and motivate employees to work together to accomplish more for the company.

Blind Traveller
Divide your group into pairs, then have one partner in each pair blindfold the other. Each blindfolded person should be led through an obstacle course by his or her partner. Time each pair, discuss who completed the course most quickly and address the importance of communicating with each other. Next, switch things around by having the pairs traverse the course without blindfolds. Finally, talk about how more can be accomplished when everyone on the team can see what needs to be done. This is powerful for showing the value of vision and direction in teams.

The above activities are all fast options for pumping up productivity at your company. For best results, schedule team-building sessions on a regular basis. With time, you can expect to see increased drive and smarter teamwork for a productivity boost that pays off.