10 team bonding ideas to strengthen teamwork

Team outings are a great way to encourage bonding with your team members, reduce employee stress, and give everyone the chance to have fun and get to know each other outside of the working environment.

But how do you come up with new and interesting ideas for a great team outing to achieve your goal?

In this article, we‘ll discuss some team-bonding activities that you could facilitate during your team-building day. Save time and effort by looking for the perfect venue to host your team-building event by checking out Basejam. Use our search tool to filter your group size and requirements to find the perfect accommodation for a successful event.

Let’s start!

What is team bonding?

Team bonding is an event that gets your team together to do fun-filled activities to strengthen relationships and connections. By hanging out in a unique venue outside your company office, team members develop a deeper level of understanding and connection outside of the work context.

With Basejam, you can browse through the database of top-rated company retreat venues for teams. Instead of searching for hours on Google and manually contacting each property owner about the venue’s availability, check out Basejam’s list of venues. They have stunning views and useful amenities that you can use for your activities, and leave the inquiring to us.

Why is team bonding essential?

Here are some of the reasons why team bonding is important:

• Enhanced trust between team members: Trust between everyone in the workforce is one of the key aspects that can lead a company to success. When team members bond with one another by participating in fun team-building activities, such as trust fall, partner obstacle course, or egg drop, they create a sense of teamwork and camaraderie. This helps employees to trust each other.
• Encourages fun at work: Aside from building trust and connection, one of the main purposes of facilitating team-building activities is to infuse fun into the workplace culture to keep employees engaged. According to a study, companies with fully engaged employees are capable of generating twice as much revenue.
• Higher employee retention: According to Gusto’s report, 37% of employees say that they stay in their current job because of their great team. Team-building activities foster a new level of fun, connection, and bonding, which provides employees with a strong sense of belonging.
• Better team communication: Everybody wants a friendly work environment where people are happy and comfortable talking and working with each other. With team-building activities, such as blindfold strolls, scavenger hunts, or blind drawing, employees are encouraged to develop great communication skills to complete their tasks.
• Improved company culture: Your company culture defines the environment your employees work in and makes up the personality of the company. The State of Remote Work Report 2022 by Owl Labs found that almost half of remote employees struggle to fit into their company’s culture. Team-building events can improve your company culture for both remote and hybrid teams, and provide a space to understand your employees’ needs.

Team bonding ideas to check out

Here are 10 company retreat ideas that you and your team can do for your event:

1. Enjoy the outdoors

The beautiful outdoors allows you to host plenty of fun and unique activities that your team can participate in. Tug of war, where teams battle each other in a game of strength by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, is a classic example of a team bonding outdoor game. Outdoor team bonding can be an engaging and fun way to boost morale, improve team skills, and build a positive team environment.

Enjoy the outdoors from these cosy converted stables in Wiltshire, or head to a wellbeing retreat in rural Sussex. Basejam has plenty of options to consider.

2. Explore the beauty of nature

Explore the beauty of nature as a team. Spend time in nature to breathe in fresh air, while boosting your team spirit and fostering positive relationships.

Go on a nature walk or set a challenge to identify different plants, birds, and insects. These are great options if you’re looking for a more relaxing experience. From team well-being activities, such as hiking and swimming in the sea, to simple picnics, spending time in nature is a great way to improve communication skills and increase team bonding.

3. Play a murder mystery game

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to bond with your team, why not try the classic game of murder mystery? A murder mystery game is a great way to improve teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills.

To start, set the scene by placing participants into teams and explaining a murder scenario – every team is both suspect and detective.

With lots of clues to solve and questions that need answers, the teams will need to combine their detective skills to solve the mystery. The first team to solve the mystery wins the game.

4. Get-to-know-you team activities

There are many get-to-know-you team activities that increase team bonding and help build stronger interpersonal relationships among team members. Here are a few examples to get you started:

• Desert Island scenario: Imagine your team is stranded on a desert island and each one can only bring one item. Each person takes a turn explaining what item they would bring and why.
• Office trivia: Create a list of questions related to each other and the office culture. Split the team into two groups and have them compete to see which group knows the most.
• Memory wall: Set up a wall with sticky notes and markers, where each of your team members writes down a positive memory they’ve had recently. After everyone has put up a sticky note on the wall, team members will take turns pointing to their sticky note and sharing the positive memory they chose with the team.

5. Untie the human knot

This simple yet effective team-building activity is a great activity that your team can enjoy outdoors. To play, everyone must stand in a circle and place their right hand in front of them to grab the right hand of someone across from them. They must then do the same thing with the left hand, which results in a tangled human knot.

The challenge is that everyone must untie the knot without letting go of anyone’s hand. This activity requires communication, problem-solving skills, and teamwork that brings the team closer together and improves communication and collaboration.

Host an untie the human knot game and other activities in a magical wood cabin designed for large teams. Check out Basejam and filter the requirements to find the perfect venue that can accommodate your needs, budget, and number of people.

6. Solving puzzles

Puzzle-solving sessions are a great way to improve your team’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Whether it’s a brain teaser, or a jigsaw puzzle, solving puzzles together encourages communication and constructive competition.

Gathering your team to solve puzzles can be as simple as setting up a puzzle table in a common area or a room. You can also take solving puzzles to the next level by setting a time limit and making your team race to complete a puzzle the fastest.

7. Coffee breaks

Taking coffee breaks and happy hours together can be a fun and easy way to strengthen your team’s relationships. During coffee breaks, encourage your team to step away from their desks and chat with each other. This creates an open and collaborative work environment

The benefits of coffee breaks go beyond just having a good time. By taking the time to relax, sip a cup of coffee, and have meaningful talks, coffee breaks can strengthen relationships. This then leads to fostering a sense of team spirit, leading to a more engaged and motivated group of employees.

8. Penny for Your Thoughts

If you're looking for a fun and simple team-bonding activity, try "Penny for Your Thoughts." To play, start by giving each team member a penny and a piece of paper. Then, give everyone a prompt, like "What's something you're proud of achieving?" Each team member writes their response on the piece of paper, folds it up, then puts it in a hat or bowl. One by one, team members pay a penny and take a piece of paper out of the bowl and read the response on the corresponding piece of paper and guess who wrote it.

This activity helps build communication skills and teamwork, as well as promotes a positive and supportive environment. It's also a great way for team members to learn more about each other's interests and achievements outside of work.

9. The marshmallow challenge

This is a classic team-building activity that tests creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork skills. Teams are given a marshmallow, 20 sticks of spaghetti, and one yard of tape. They must use these materials to build a structure that will support the marshmallow when it is placed on top. The team that builds the tallest structure that can support the marshmallow wins.

10. Scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunts are a perfect team-building activity to get your team moving and also have them collaborate while having fun.

Start by creating a list of tasks that the teams need to complete – from finding a specific object such as a person with a blue phone case to solving riddles. Make sure it's not too easy for teams to get bored, but also not too difficult for them to get frustrated. Set a time limit for teams to complete the hunt and the first team to complete the checklist wins.

Host your scavenger hunt in the perfect environment by choosing one from Basejam’s retreat venues. Customize the filter according to your preferred location, accommodation style, amenities, and number of guests.

Book the perfect venue to bond with your team today

A team that works well together is more productive, more effective, happier, and has a higher chance of success. Team-building activities come in various forms but share the same goal: to strengthen a team’s connection and relationship – from obstacle courses to puzzle solving. We hope you take ideas from our list above to ensure everyone has a great time during your company event.

At Basejam, we aim to help you find the venue of your dreams in just a few clicks. Customise the settings with your preferences and requirements to reserve the perfect venue without booking fees. Start browsing with Basejam today!