If you are in charge of the best team development activities, then you already know how difficult it is to come up with great team building ideas that everyone will take part in without pressure. The success of these occasions does depend a great deal on the approach and the ideas used - not that we are trying to add more pressure to your job! You know from the attitude of others before these events what has happened in the past. If your co-workers are looking forward to it, then that is great news, and just what you are looking for, but if your co-workers are mumbling, and making excuses as to why they can’t go to this event, you know that it has not been well received previously.

So, what great team building occasion can you come up with to help your company develop to its full potential? As acknowledged before, this can be a very challenging project, but it is also one that can reap great rewards if done properly. There are businesses who specialize in organizing these events, and they have a long list of ideas that can be adjusted to suit your particular work situation. Of course, you will be charged for this, but leaving it to someone outside your company can be a good move, and reduce a lot of the stress from someone in the company trying to organize it. And even though a company may take over for you, there will still be things for you to remain on top of, and organize - you will not be out of work!

However, despite the advantages of using an outside company, it is still possible to organize team development activities, without much expense, and without having to use many hours of business time planning it. Simple things, like having everyone in the company divided into teams so that no department members are on the same team, and then going on a scavenger hunt. This encourages groups of employees that would not normal mingle have the time to get to know them a little or a little better.

Now, the scavenger hunt is a good team building activity, because it gets people moving, rather than the off-putting idea of everyone sat in a circle having to talk about themselves to the group. But be aware, because of the threat of cheaters, you may have to take precautions to the way you run this for your group. One company had each team take a picture of themselves at certain locations, so every member was in the photo, except the one taking it, of course. This reduces the chances of cheating! Different options of the hunt can be utilized. It can lead to other ideas than having to find specific items. You could search for a car dealership, and take your photos there, then maybe a library, or a pharmacy open 24 hours, or a pizzeria, or… There are plenty of options, and because of digital cameras, which many people will already possess, there are few costs involved. You just delete the photos later, or download to a computer, and then print so that you have a record of who was in which team.

There is not much stress involved with this idea of a scavenger hunt. It helps if you know the location you are searching in, but even if it is new to you there are ways to find out where you can to go. Communication is important with this idea, and this is what you need for this team building activity, the chance for company members to interact over something that really isn’t important!

Of course there are many other great team development event ideas that are just as much or even more fun for everyone to take part in, but that is for another day.