Team events and team outings are the ideal way to bring teams and colleagues closer together and strengthen their bond and trust in each other. But sometimes it is not so easy to gather ideas for such an event. There is a wide range of activities to choose from and all colleagues should have fun. Therefore, we would like to introduce you to some creative and unusual activities that you can suggest for the next team event in your company!

Why you should organise regular teambuilding events in your company

In a company it is very important that the atmosphere between colleagues is good. In the best case, a team consists of well-functioning and optimally complementary employees who work towards the same goal and support each other in the process. The goal of team building is that simple colleagues become a real team during these events. The joint activities or excursions strengthen the sense of community and ensure that employees get to know each other in a completely new way outside of the work context. Depending on the activity, new commonalities and strengths can be discovered, which in the best case are also helpful and can be applied in everyday work. The better colleagues know each other, the more mutual empathy there is. This leads to fewer conflicts on the job. New colleagues can also settle into the company much better through team events, as they get to know their colleagues properly and make connections more quickly. In general, employees are much more productive in a positive working environment, which also increases the productivity of the company.

Creative ideas for offline teambuilding events - indoor and outdoor

In the meantime, there are countless possibilities for teambuilding events and so it can often be overwhelming to choose the right one for your team. So that you have a few suitable suggestions at hand in the future, we have put together a thematically sorted selection for you here:

Sport & Action Events

Sporting activities with action and fun are among the most popular team events, as team play is an important part of most sports and can strengthen a team optimally. Even though the participants can break a sweat and no longer look as fresh and styled as they do at work, the fun and the common goal are in the foreground. In principle, you can organise almost any sport as a team event, as long as you have enough participants, the equipment and the right location. In addition to the popular, common events, we have also listed a few special suggestions that you may not have heard of:

1. Canoe or kayak tours:

Canoe and kayak tours are the perfect summer activity in the fresh air. Perhaps you have a body of water near your town, such as a river or lake, or a wilder body of water with some rapids that is specially designated for kayak tours? You can sit in the boats in teams of two or in small groups and do the trip and any challenges together. The fact that you are not alone in the boat strengthens the sense of community and togetherness. You can also end the trip with a picnic or barbecue in the open air and reflect on the experience together.

2. Stand-up paddling:

A similar activity for warm summer days outdoors is stand-up paddling. This trend spilled over a few years ago and is a lot of fun. You're on your own on the board and have to learn how to use the board and paddle, but in the end you can reward your efforts with a relaxed tour of the lake together. For even more fun, you can also think of a few team exercises and games that you have to master together on the water, creating a great programme without competition and with lots of nature and water.

3. Raft building:

We stay thematically with water activities and bring in a bit more team building again. Raft building is probably one of the classics among team events - and rightly so, because it really strengthens you as a group. The principle is quite simple: You are given the task of building a raft that will safely carry your entire team. The only materials you need are wooden boards, tyres and ropes. If your team is too big or you want to make a competition out of it, it is best to divide into several smaller groups and set a goal. Which group finishes first and crosses the lake? Which raft will last the longest? The task requires team cohesion and good communication as well as skill and creativity. To symbolise the cohesion between all the teams, you can combine all the raft constructions into one big raft at the end. Raft building combines everything that makes a good team event, so you should definitely try it out.

4. Soapbox racing:

Similar to raft building, but not on water but on land, is soapbox racing. Here you build your own soapboxes in small teams from flexible kits. In the groups you can, for example, think about how you want to design your bodywork and how the soapbox should be constructed. If you like, each team can come up with a marketing concept for their finished soapbox and present it in a car show. This way, everyone in the team can take part in a task and contribute their strengths and skills. Finally, of course, the big soapbox race will take place, where you will crown the fastest soapbox.

5 Climbing:

Do you have a sense of heights as a team? Then climbing could be a great teambuilding event for you. This teambuilding event requires cooperation, coordination and concentration. Above all, it strengthens your trust and responsibility for each other, because you have to belay each other and give each other help. The good thing is that you don't have to worry about the team event falling through because of rain, because you can climb both outdoors and indoors in climbing halls. If you want to approach it cautiously first, we recommend starting at a climbing park before conquering the rock walls.

6. Monster scooters:

You won't be going uphill, but downhill on the monster scooter. It sounds dangerous at first, but it's not. It's a lot of fun for your whole team. You meet on the hill of the location or hike up together beforehand. Once there, the monster scooters with sturdy frames and big tyres await you, and you can ride them down the hill along special routes. If that's not enough, you can also choose the monster scooter challenge ride and play team games alongside the descent.

7. Golf - in different variations:

Golf can be played in different variations. Of course, the classic golf on the golf course and mini-golf are particularly well known. Although these two are ideal for team events, we would like to introduce you to a variation that you may not yet know - football golf. Football golf works in the same way as real golf. The ball has to be carried over a course into a hole. However, you don't have a club, only your legs and feet, and the ball is not a golf ball but a football.

Outdoor rallies & city games

Why not explore your own city together with your team? City rallies and other city games are a great way to escape the daily grind of the office and get to know your city in a whole new way. These activities allow you to work together as a team and solve tasks that often require skills that are also needed in the workplace. In addition, you can get out into the fresh air together.

1. City rallies and scavenger hunts:

In city rallies or scavenger hunts, you solve team tasks together that are distributed throughout your city or in the surrounding countryside, and a reward awaits you at the end. During this team-building event, you not only get to know your city better, but also your colleagues. Another advantage is that you can plan the event flexibly in terms of time and that specialist topics can also be integrated into the tasks.

2. GPS tour:

A GPS tour is similar, except that you compete against each other in smaller groups to see which team scores the most points. You have to find selected locations with the help of a GPS device and solve tricky puzzles there.

Crime & Escape Games

Crime games and Escape Games for team-building require your brains above all. Here you have to solve tasks or cases together and uncover tricky connections. This is especially fun in a team, because everyone can contribute something to the solution and ensure that the whole team reaches the goal.

1. Crime Dinner:

Crime dinners are also one of the classics among teambuilding activities. You are served a delicious dinner and a moderator guides you through the evening. Each member of the team is assigned a specific role and by talking to each other you have to find out who the murderer is and what exactly happened. The mystery dinner offers many opportunities for conversation and you have to work together to solve the murder case.

2. Various Escape Games:

Escape rooms are a real trend and are ideal as a team event, because here you also realise that you will reach the goal faster if you work together as a team. In addition to the classic Escape Room, where you have to solve tasks and puzzles to escape from a room, there are other Escape Games where you are not limited to a specific location. Mobile Escape Rooms can be set up anywhere - whether at your office or at a location of your choice. Outdoor Escape Games offer a special Escape experience, because they do not take place in a room, but outdoors. They are, so to speak, a modern development of the scavenger hunt. Here you also have to solve exciting puzzles with hidden clues and communicate well and work together.

Creative Events & Workshops for Teambuilding

For teams that like to work creatively or need a change from their job and would like a more leisurely teambuilding event, creative workshops are just the thing. Here, it's not so much about solving tricky tasks or actively working out, but rather having a nice chat and letting off steam creatively while doing something together.

1. Art Workshops:

Creativity is an important part of many jobs, but it can also be a good way to clear your head. There are countless types of art workshops. Whether you paint on canvas, try your hand at graffiti, make jewellery or try out new art techniques like spin painting or acrylic pouring - at the end of the day you will have created something and will go home with a result that will always remind you of the event.

2. Build an insect hotel:

How about building an insect hotel together? There are no creative limits to the design and you don't necessarily have to copy the standard model from the internet. You might find an idea to make your insect hotel unique, for example by recreating a well-known building or your office building. This task requires a bit more craftsmanship, but together you can quickly create something useful for nature and its smallest inhabitants.

Culinary events

Culinary events are another classic among team events. It's not about competing and winning solutions that you can apply to your job, it's just about having a good time with the team and having great conversations. At the end, your efforts will be rewarded with treats, so what could be better?

1. Team cooking:

Team cooking is a great way to symbolise the idea of team building, as each team member takes on a task and contributes to creating something delicious at the end. Of course, you have to agree on a delicious dish beforehand and then just enjoy it together. If you feel like it, you can also invite a professional to join you and learn some helpful tips and techniques.

2. Cocktail mixing:

Similar principle to cooking: Pick your favourite cocktails or one you've always wanted to try and have a professional show you how it's done. Finally, you can try it yourself and taste the results, of course.

Crazy team-building events

We hope that so far we have been able to give you some varied and unusual ideas for a teambuilding event. But now it's getting really crazy, because the following ideas are anything but boring or old-fashioned.

1. Your own funfair:

Granted, this is really more of a team event than a team building event, but just having fun together also strengthens a team. Besides, where else can you have more fun than at a fair? If you want to really surprise your employees, then organise this unique team event. Various food stalls, attractions and games such as wheel of fortune, can throwing or goal wall shooting are of course a must. Events like this are also a great way to get to know your employees' families.

2. Bucket workshop:

No, this is not a joint cleaning event, but rather music and rhythms. The workshop encourages participants to get active and drum together. All that is needed is a bucket and two wooden sticks. An event leader then animates the participants with fun games, rhythms and drumming interludes.

3. Herding sheep:

One of the most unusual teambuilding ideas is sheep herding. Here you do exactly what the name of the event promises - you herd sheep, a whole flock of them. After coaching and assistance from a professional, you have to lead the flock from A to B during a hike. In order for this to work without problems and for you to keep the flock under control, you need authority, empathy and a plan. Above all, you need to work together and find the best solution.

4. Alpaca walk:

Sticking with the animal theme, but less strenuous and challenging. Events with animals are wonderful for strengthening the team. The personal closeness and the active haptic experience with the animals in interaction offer many opportunities for developing skills for teamwork, for example social skills and leadership, but also soft skills like communication, patience and empathy. What better animal to experience this with than the good-natured alpacas? Together with the animals, you go for a leisurely walk in nature.

5. Egg catapult:

Probably the craziest event in our collection of ideas is the egg catapult. It's best to split up into smaller teams for this one. Now you are given the task of developing a catapult in a set time and from set materials that stands on its own, can be operated by a maximum of three people, can withstand a maximum of five shots and above all - the main task - can shoot a raw egg as far as possible. Whichever team catapults its egg the furthest wins, of course. For even more fun, you can introduce the rule that your egg only counts towards the score if it is caught or touched in the air. Small tip: It is best to wear rain capes or old clothes that can get dirty.

Virtual teambuilding ideas

The Corona pandemic has banished many employees to the home office and not allowed any direct contact with colleagues, let alone team events. But these are particularly important at this time to strengthen cohesion. Just as communication channels are becoming more and more digital, there is now also the possibility of organising great teambuilding events virtually and having a good time together without physically seeing each other. Many classic event ideas can also be implemented virtually in video conferences without having to make many sacrifices. You can find the best ideas here:

1. Mini Games

Mini games that you can play together via Microsoft Teams or similar video conferencing services are quite easy to implement and a lot of fun. You don't need a lot of time and planning for this, and you can even hold them in between or after work to see each other regularly. Even if you already know each other, creative get-to-know-you games are ideal for learning new things about your colleagues and getting to know each other even better. Popular games include "Bucket List", "I have never" or "Two Truths. One lie". Funny and creative games are also "Guess the words", "Draw the picture" or other quiz games you can find on the internet. Basically, you can play almost any mini-game, even real classics like "City, Country, River" are an option. If you want to try something special, try PowerPoint Karaoke. Here, each player prepares a PowerPoint presentation that is drawn to another player, who then has to give it without any prior knowledge. The funniest situations arise when you think of crazy and unexpected topics.

2. Elaborate virtual events

You can also organise elaborate virtual teambuilding activities. Maybe you have already planned an event before the pandemic, but it can be done virtually? For example, instead of going to an Escape Room, you can solve an online Escape Room. Instead of cooking together in a kitchen, you can choose a dish that you cook together, but each in their own kitchen, or you can paint a picture in your own four walls and present it to each other at the end. Of course, you are always connected via video conference so that you can talk to each other during the process, almost as if you were in the same room.

How to choose the right team event for your company

When choosing the ideal teambuilding event for your team, there are a few things to consider. Firstly, you should look at how many participants your event has and whether the activity can be implemented with this number. If you have a very large team, it is best to split into smaller groups. It is also important to see if the activity is feasible for everyone. Do you have colleagues with mobility problems in your team? If so, it is best not to choose a sporting activity. To strengthen the team in the best possible way, no one should be excluded! The same applies to culinary events. Deciding on a dish can be difficult, especially if there are people with food intolerances. It is best to make sure that you choose a dish where a vegetarian or vegan version can easily be cooked and individual omitted ingredients do not detract from the dish. We also advise against teambuilding events such as wine walks and beer tastings, because there are sure to be colleagues in your team who do not drink alcohol and would not enjoy such an event. It still works best if everyone enters their ideas in a list and a democratic vote is taken at the end. Maybe some of our ideas will end up on your list.

This is how you can reward the winner of your teambuilding event

We also gave you ideas where you compete in groups and there is a winning team at the end. Of course, you should also reward the winners of the teambuilding event. You can't go wrong with a voucher. To make sure it fits your company or event perfectly, you can easily design and print individual vouchers online. Infowerk offers you 15 formats and you can freely choose both the motif and the type of paper. If you're in a hurry, we also offer many attractive and free templates that you only need to complete with your text, a colour and a photo. Other great gift ideas include individually designed tote bags or mugs.

We hope you have lots of fun at your next teambuilding event!