One of the best ways to improve employee engagement is to get your staff working together. We completely understand that traditional team building exercises can be boring and cringe worthy, which is why we have taken the time to come up with six employee engagement ideas your staff are sure to love! Check them out below.
Team assault course
Get your employees working together by sending them on an assault course. Split them into two teams and have them battle it out! The winning team will be the first to get all members across the finish line. There are a number of assault courses throughout the UK that have purpose-built team building challenges that incorporate scramble nets, rope swings, climbing walls and much, much more. The courses are designed to challenge teams both mentally and physically and will also get your employees working together and supporting one another, just like they’ll need to in the workplace.
Build a boat challenge
If you are looking for a cheap, entertaining and fun employee engagement activity that your staff will love then why not organise a build a boat challenge? Employees will be required to work in teams to build cardboard boats. Set them a time limit to complete their boats, throwing them curveballs along the way e.g. shortage of materials, modified rules etc. The best part will be getting them to race their boats at a local swimming pool. This challenge will not only help to improve communication and collaboration between your employees but also test their problem-solving skills too.
Cake decorating
The Great British Bake Off is currently one of the most popular programmes on TV so why not use it to inspire your employee engagement activities? For example, you could set your employees a cake decorating challenge where they have to work in teams to decorate a cake within a certain time limit. You could specify certain rules for the cake decoration challenge e.g. it must incorporate your products in some way or feature your company logo. The cake decorating challenge will require employees to work together. They will need to make decisions as a group and split the decorating tasks between them to ensure they create great looking and great tasting cakes!
Quiz night
There’s nothing better than a pub-style quiz to engage your employees and get them working together. Mix up the teams and create different question categories so everyone will have their own chance to contribute and show off their special knowledge. You could even personalise the quiz by making it about your business. This would be particularly good for educating new employees.
Treasure hunt / quest
Another fantastic employee engagement activity is a cycling treasure hunt. Send your employees out on bicycles around the local area to find answers to your clues. The team that makes it back to HQ first is the winner. A treasure hunt or quest will get your employees working together and will also help to introduce new employees to the local area. One of the extra advantages of sending your employees out on bicycles is that you will not be polluting the atmosphere!
Community action projects
Why not get your employees involved in a community action project to help improve engagement?
Improve employee engagement whilst helping to fulfil your corporate social responsibilities by getting them involved in community action projects. A great example is getting involved in local garden and play area developments for children’s respite homes. It is a great way of engaging your staff and getting them working together for a good cause. Getting involved in community action projects will also make employees feel more positive about the business they are working for.
Conclusion
All of these engagement ideas will help employees to improve their skills and develop stronger working relationships with their co-workers. When it comes to engaging employees, it’s best to think outside the box. Whilst no one really wants to sit in a circle and talk about themselves, employees will usually be more than happy to take a day out to do one of the fun and exciting activities outlined above. For more information contact us at The HR Booth.