Bonding experiences are important for generating team camaraderie. Whether it’s drinks and food enjoyed outside or a competitive activity that requires smart strategizing, there are many ways to bring teammates closer together.

We asked readers to tell us about their favorite team-building activity. Check these answers out and you may get a few ideas for your next event.

Carol Bobke

Chapter Executive, Financial Planning Association of Orange County

One of my favorite events is when we invite all our volunteers on a sunset harbor cruise in Newport Beach Harbor. Since everyone has to stay on the boat for the duration of the cruise, they mingle, laugh, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings for the duration. No one is sitting on their phone or being distracted by business!

Harry Centa Jr.

Senior Program Manager, PartnerShip LLC

Game Show Day! Our company will re-create a game show (Family Feud, Minute to Win It), and form teams mixing up departments. Awards and prizes are presented for team name, costumes, and of course the highest score. It works because it creates cross-team communication, trust building, and a fun memory for the whole staff.

Heather Polyard

Marketing Assistant, American Society of Radiologic Technologists

My favorite team-building activity was an Escape Room. You are working as a team toward a common goal of figuring out the challenges, addressing and overcoming them, and escaping before the time runs out. I appreciate that it isn’t your typical team-building activity—it’s a challenge with a time limit, similar to projects with deadlines.

Afterward, it was interesting discussing the experience and hearing the parts someone else worked on that you missed, or a part that someone else started but couldn’t figure out that was picked up by someone else and completed, and also the clues that took the whole team coming together to figure out.

Lucy Adkins

Director of Pharmacy Practice Initiatives, Tennessee Pharmacists Association

We are a small but very busy staff, so anytime we are able to get out of the office to connect is important. We try to tie a fun activity with one that is for a good cause. This month, we are going to have a tea party at a local organization that employs and empowers women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.

Barb Wilkinson

Governance and Leadership Development, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

A few years ago, we sent people on a photo scavenger hunt. We identified various locations or items in a general area near our conference and sent teams out with cameras. They had to take a picture of the item and have no less than one team member in the picture. Creativity was encouraged. We then put together a slideshow for the judges who would base their decision on creativity. Teams were awarded prizes.

This worked because the competitive people got to compete, and for those who are creative, it gave them a chance to shine. The organizers were given the opportunity to keep the team focused. And for “people” people, they had a chance to visit with others in an informal setting.

Keep the ideas coming! Share your favorite team-building experience in the comments below.

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