Bringing teams together around a shared goal, strengthening cohesion and team spirit: that’s what team building is for. Its purpose is to nurture employees’ sense of belonging to your company’s values and culture. Sessions usually take the form of playful, cultural or sporting activities. Today, expectations have shifted: activities need more meaning and far more relevance for employees. Make sure your next cohesion event hits the mark with our top 5 team building activities. 2023 :
#1 Escape room
#2 Murder mystery
#3 Climate Fresk
#4 Outdoor large-scale murder mystery
#5 Immersive theatre
#1 Escape room: an original team building activity that brings people together
Gamification now sits at the heart of many corporate activities. Play is the perfect tool for getting messages across in a more enjoyable, and therefore more powerful, way. Choosing an escape room as your corporate team building activity gives your people a genuinely playful moment while strengthening the team. Whether you’re welcoming new joiners or simply livening up a company offsite, it fits perfectly. That’s exactly why the escape room is one of today’s leading team building trends. Find all the escape rooms available here in France!
An escape room is a game of riddles and puzzles played as a team. The principle is simple: work together to complete a mission in a closed space, against the clock. Every game is built on a carefully crafted scenario, with sets and props to match. To get out of the tricky situation they find themselves in, your people can brainstorm collectively, with every member contributing — no virtual whiteboard required. It’s the best way to reach the objective of this corporate game. It’s also an excellent way to strengthen team spirit and energise a group.
No wonder the escape room ranks among the top team building activities for uniting and strengthening a team. Participants have to talk to each other and help each other to crack the riddles and puzzles. Reaching the goal calls for input and collaboration from everyone. It’s an excellent team building activity because it encourages interaction between group members and collective decision-making. It also teaches participants how to manage stress and perform better under pressure. Innovative and original, escape room scenarios are designed specifically to stimulate teams and give them a true team building experience. They can also be fully bespoke, built around your company’s context and your employees’ working lives. A bespoke escape room will have far more impact on teams and on their attachment to the group and to the company.
#2 Murder mystery: a corporate game with added challenge
Blending role-play and investigation, the murder mystery is another leading team building activity for 2023. The aim of this corporate game is to solve a case using clues that each participant uncovers. Since the game is all about piecing the clues together to unmask the culprits, it’s perfect for getting a team working at its best in an original way. A team building activity like this brings plenty of benefits. In particular, it’s an excellent way to communicate your business strategy to everyone. With each person taking part, you can expect renewed energy and focus for productivity, plus stronger team cohesion.
This kind of investigative team building also serves management objectives, like our team building activity “Les Vilains en PLS”. In a playful way, far from the formality of the workplace, it teaches participants to work better as a team. To get there, they’ll need to listen carefully and communicate well. The current trend is precisely this: corporate events with targeted activities designed to meet more specific team goals. With a murder mystery, you give your people the chance to take part in a genuinely fun event. Simple enough, but meaningful, it encourages teamwork and creates a warm, memorable moment for everyone involved.
For company leaders, it’s also a chance to reveal each employee’s hidden talents — leadership, for instance. Organising this kind of event, one of the leading team building activities right now, should be entrusted to professionals if you want to hit your objectives. An agency of experts in gamification and team building activities can deliver a bespoke service, along with full support on logistics and organisation.
#3 Awareness-raising games like the Climate Fresk, for team building that matters
Climate change? It affects us all. Combining team building with a collaborative game like the Climate Fresk is the perfect way to unite a team around a subject everyone can relate to. Activities with a positive impact on the environment and on society are a major team building trend. This is a corporate game that champions going back to basics and understanding our day-to-day impact on the environment. With a Climate Fresk as your team building activity, your people will learn to live more sustainably in a naturally cohesive, friendly and enjoyable atmosphere.
Running an awareness-raising game like the Climate Fresk is now a particularly effective way of helping every employee grasp what’s at stake with sustainability. Framed within a collaborative game, questions about the state of the planet and the climate challenge become easier to understand and to remember. The experience also creates shared meaning across the team. That undeniably strengthens team cohesion and tightens the bonds between members.
Like a big case to crack, the Climate Fresk also makes everyday workplace issues more accessible to your people. Which is exactly why it’s one of the most popular team building activities around today. Through the methods it uses, this corporate game invites people to reflect on the levers for action in their own role. Your employees might, for example, come to appreciate the scale of introducing an environmental score on your products. The Climate Fresk can lead to concrete, professional ideas for improving your company’s sustainability commitments.
#4 Outdoor investigations: team building in the open air
Team building is no longer shorthand for a dull company offsite. Quite the opposite, thanks to today’s games and activities. Outdoor investigations are among the most popular, and for good reason. This kind of team building breaks the daily work routine by taking your people out of the office and bringing them together for a moment of cohesion in the open air. That change of scene sparks inspiration and builds stronger teams. It also lets you unite people around a real business challenge while enjoying a playful format and a warmer atmosphere.
Investigative team building also has the advantage of strengthening cohesion and interpersonal bonds. The game unfolds through collective tasks that put team spirit first, regardless of hierarchy. Because it requires group investigation to uncover the truth about a case, it plunges participants into a brand-new world where everyone becomes a real detective working for their group. It’s a great way to develop a sense of belonging and create collective momentum. Take a look at our large-scale murder mystery “The Last Show“.
A genuine win-win for the company and its people, a corporate game in the form of an outdoor investigation means stepping out of your comfort zone. And that, in turn, strengthens the atmosphere within teams. Organising this kind of team building makes real sense, especially for building connections between employees, whatever their level. Outdoor investigations have become a team building trend because they pinpoint the essential ingredients of good teamwork. Improved productivity is another benefit not to be overlooked with this kind of team building activity.
#5 Immersive theatre, to spark your teams’ creativity
Want your team building to be a real success? Immersive theatre is riding high right now. Stepping into the world of the stage is a team building activity that stimulates everyone’s inventive potential. The aim here is to interact with professional actors, always in a playful, participative setting. Immersive theatre is all about prompting your people to react to what the characters do. Which is one good reason why it’s also among the most popular team building activities today.
Instead of sitting and watching, your people cross over to the other side of the stage during a theatre-based team building session. The stage itself is opened up, so barriers and inhibitions fall away. Each player takes back control of their attention and throws themselves into this original, challenging adventure. The experience means switching off completely. Your people will work on their adaptability and their reactions.
The challenge is real, and that’s what makes immersive theatre such a unique, original experience. Once on stage, participants are plunged into another world with its own rules. The experience can also be seen as a chance to improve public speaking. And for those least at ease with that exercise, the atmosphere is deliberately supportive, guaranteeing great group dynamics. All of which builds genuinely stronger team cohesion. Beyond being an art form in its own right, immersive theatre can also work as a kind of therapy for managing stress and freeing up self-expression.
Popular team building activities: real added value for your company’s growth
Team building makes real sense given everything it brings to a company through stronger team cohesion and workplace wellbeing. Among today’s team building trends investigative games are surely the most popular of all. Thanks to the teamwork they demand, they don’t just strengthen interpersonal bonds between employees; they also develop the interactions between the teams that form the heart of the business. The approaches used also help improve productivity.
These activities are also an opportunity for company leaders to observe each employee. Through their attitudes and behaviour, and the methods and strategies they choose during the corporate game, every employee reveals their strengths and weaknesses. As a manager, you might then review how tasks are allocated according to each person’s strengths, for instance. It also helps you design coaching solutions to help your employees overcome their weaknesses and stay motivated.
A team building activity such as an escape room or immersive theatre gives your people the chance to surpass themselves. Reaching the objective is a genuine challenge that encourages every participant to build a healthy sense of competitiveness and mutual support. Those habits carry over into working life and help people feel more invested in the company’s business and values. The most popular team building activities are also excellent ways of deepening employees’ sense of belonging. Once again, that’s what makes team cohesion last, and even strengthens relationships beyond the workplace.
Team building experts for an outstanding corporate game
Whether it’s an investigation or an awareness-raising game, a team building activity has to strengthen cohesion and team spirit. Its purpose is also to unite your people around your values and your company culture. But running events like these calls for genuine expertise, from writing the scenarios to building the sets and structuring the different phases of the game. Team building is accessible to everyone today. Games for start-ups or for large organisations: the most popular corporate team building activities can be adapted to fit your organisation.
Most important of all is to call on providers who specialise in this kind of event to guarantee success. Team building evolves with changing attitudes while taking working conditions into account. Choosing a provider able to design an event around your company’s objectives and budget is by far the better option. Gamifying a team building activity, and focusing it on your company culture, takes experience and expertise. Working with an agency that specialises in gamification and in running corporate games will help you hit your objectives and meet your expectations. Your teams will come out all the more united.
With so many team building trends to choose from, hiring a specialist provider will help you make the right call. And do look into their previous projects to be sure of your decision.
