Team-Building Your Team Won't Hate

In almost any of line of work, you're going to be working with other people. Throughout my career, I've seen plenty of instances where the morale where I worked was great because of the upbeat, fun atmosphere that existed, and a lot of that had to do with unique team-building activities that took place. Not only that, but one of the best parts about team-building activities is that they can be pretty cost-efficient, so you can't go wrong.

With that said, are you looking to boost your team morale or just help your team grow in general? If so, here are some great ideas for team-building exercises that you can use to help bring your team closer together.

1. What's Your Hobby? It's only natural that people within the same company will have similar interests. No matter what the hobby is that people share within the workplace, set up some sort of workshop for a little bit of time, either during work hours or afterward. For example, if many of your coworkers are into art and all that it has to offer, why not go over and check out a local gallery together? For the sports fans, go grab lunch at a local sports bar and catch a game.
2. Encourage Charitable Activities: Volunteering can be a fantastic team-building activity that can really go a long way. Whether it's having a food drive to help out those who are hungry, helping to build homes for families in need, or even just having a bake sale at the office to help raise money for a local charity, it can go a long way in both helping those in need and building the team's relationship as a whole. Working together is key!
3. How About Family Time? One great team-building idea is to host some sort of event that involves everyone's families. Let's be honest - people have busy schedules, and there's no denying that. With that said, with events that take place outside of work hours, there will always be people who don't show, either because they would rather have their significant other with them or they have other obligations at the time with them. Having a lunch or dinner, for example, to which families are invited is always a great team-building activity.
4. Team Lunches: Whether it's out or catered, team lunches can go a long way in boosting team productivity and morale. Sure, these can't happen every week because of the expense, but they're good to have every so often. At these team lunches, it's great to touch base with everyone and make sure that everyone is on the same page with one another.
5. What's Around You? In many companies, there will be many different departments, and you won't always be sure of how every other department within the company operates. One great team-building activity is for every department in the company to gather, with each department (led by one or two presenters) discussing what they do and the processes and goals of their department. This is a great team-building activity that I've experienced, and it's great learning about not only what other departments do but who is in those departments.

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Have you been involved with any great team-building activities where you work? What did you do, and what was the biggest positive that you found?