The past year has been challenging for everyone in your team. Some had to adopt a remote work arrangement, and others had to let go of some beloved tasks. There were no gatherings in the break room, no banter in the hallways, and no after-work hangouts for a while. Some team members inevitably feel a bit detached from others.
Shane Perry, a small business loans consultant at Max Funding, believes in the importance of team building group activities. He explains, “Team building activities Melbourne can help restore the sense of camaraderie, trust, and positivity at work. With these, it will be more comfortable for team members to perform and excel together.”
Here’s a list of fun activities for large groups that are popular in Melbourne:
Urban Quest
After months of quarantine, everybody’s craving for an outdoor experience. Now that restrictions have been eased, your team can participate in an exhilarating outdoor team event – Melbourne adventure around the metro!
Urban Quest is a fierce outdoor competition that involves solving puzzles, cracking codes, and exploring the city of Melbourne – each challenge becomes harder and harder as the teams get closer to the trophy. It uses technology to ensure that social distancing will still be observed throughout the game. All participants will be connected through their device, and each task is aligned with the government’s health protocols.
Urban Quest is a top-rated group activity that kickstarts the players with the right physical and mental challenges. Just imagine it as a personalised version of Amazing Race but in the beautiful city of Melbourne!
Urban Quest provides a range of activities for large groups and is experienced in team building activities in Melbourne.
Group size: 10 and above (subject to social restrictions)
Time: 2-2.5 hours (including pre-event instructional session and post-event awards)
The Mind Field
This game can be performed during short breaks or after office hours because it only lasts for 15 to 30 minutes, perfect if you’re after short group activities Melbourne. You simply have to find an open space, e.g., a park or an empty parking lot. You can also do this at the beach!
Scatter objects, such as balls and bottles, across space—the more disorganised, the more exciting.
Ask everyone to pair up. If possible, pair people up with members from different departments. One person should blindfold the other, then using verbal instructions only, a person without a blindfold should guide the other from one side of the space to the other. The blindfolded person must avoid the objects and is not allowed to speak.
The Mind Field is a game that focuses on effective communication and trust.
Time: 15 to 30 minutes
Number of participants: 4 or more (as long as the numbers are even)
The Perfect Square
This group activity is competitive but in a less exhausting way. Ask your team members to form a circle while holding a piece of rope. Have them put on a blindfold, set the string on the ground, and walk away from the circle. Then, ask them to come back and form a square using the rope while on blindfolds. To make it more competitive, set a time limit.
Perfect Square improves leadership and communication skills. Team members will learn to trust each other because they have to rely on them in finding the right direction.
Time: 15 to 30 minutes
Number of participants: 5 to 20 people
Tools needed: Blindfold for each participant and a long piece of rope.
Game of Possibilities
This 5-minute team building activity is an excellent mental warm-up. Instruct your colleagues to form smaller groups. Give an object to one member of each group. That person should go up in front and act out the object given to them. The rest of the members must guess what the object is. The actor is not allowed to speak. Choose wacky objects to inspire a bit more creativity.
Time: 5 to 6 minutes
Number of participants: 6 or more
The Egg Drop
This is one of the most engaging team building activities that encourage problem-solving abilities and teamwork. Because this game is more fun when there are more participants, it is suitable for corporate team building events. Just make sure you have extra eggs because you’ll probably break a lot.
Split your workmates into teams of 3 to 5 people, and give each group an uncooked egg. Prepare some items in a pile. These may include newspapers, rubber bands, straws, pencils, etc. Each team must build a contraption from this pile to prevent the uncooked egg from breaking when it drops. After 15 to 30 minutes, drop an egg down each contraption from 6 feet up. The group with the egg that didn’t break wins!
Time: 1 to 2 hours
Number of participants: 4 and above
Tools needed: uncooked eggs and assorted disposable items.
Scavenger Hunt
This is one of the classic DIY activities that guarantees fun no matter the group size. In a scavenger hunt, the team will be broken down into two or more groups. Stray away from typical tasks and make a list of silly ones. These may include taking a selfie with an animal, bringing the biggest shoe, etc.
Give the list to each team and set the deadline. Whichever team completes the most tasks, wins! You may also want to set a point system depending on the task difficulty.
Scavenger Hunt can be a great way to make team members work with colleagues from other departments or social circles. It’s a great, cost-effective and creative option when looking for group activities Melbourne or anywhere.
Time: 1 hour or less
Tools needed: pen and paper
Blind Drawing
When looking for group activities or the perfect corporate team building activity, you want to make sure everyone is interacting with each other and using a different part of the brain that they are not used to.
Ask everyone to pair up. Two participants should sit back-to-back. Give one person a picture and the other a pen and paper. One should trace the image on their team members back as they try to recreate it on the paper in front of them. The person with the pen and paper should draw based only on the verbal description of the other. Choose quirky pictures to make it more fun.
Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Number of participants: 2 or more people
Tools needed: Pen, paper and pictures.
This is Better Than That
Choose four or more different objects or similar objects that look different from each other. Split the team into even numbers. Create a scenario where all the participants must use only your chosen objects to solve the problem. For example, “You’re stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere.” or “An alien species is invading Earth.” Ask each team to rank the objects based on their usefulness in the scenario and explain their reasoning.
This is a light team building game that inspires analysis and creativity. Just remember to make the scenarios a bit complicated so that the participants can be truly challenged.
Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Number of participants: 2 or more
Tools needed: Four objects or more
Truth and Lies
Sometimes when looking for the perfect group activities, you need to look no further than the classics. Some schoolyard games or corporate icebreakers can be ideal activities for large groups in Melbourne.
Have everyone sit down in a circle. Each participant must share three things about his/herself: two are facts, and one is a lie—in random order. Others much guess which are the facts. Encourage the participants to tell a lie in the most realistic way possible.
This is a good choice for activities for large groups. It is recommended for new teams because it eliminates snap judgments about each other. It also gives less sociable members a chance to share facts about themselves and learn more about others.
Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Number of Participants: four people or more
Tools Needed: None
Truth or Dare
Truth or Dare is one of the favourite team building activities. In this game, everyone should form a circle with an empty bottle in the middle. One person will spin the bottle and when it stops, the person seated where the tip of the bottle points should choose between truth or dare.
If he/she chooses the truth, the person who spun the bottle should ask a question. If he/she chooses dare, the person who turned the bottle will ask him/her to do something. The person choosing will be the next one to spin the bottle.
Before the game, it’s essential to set the limitations for truth or consequence. For example, all questions can be personal but shouldn’t include relationships, financial status, or any other sensitive information. The tasks may be limited to singing or dancing.
This is an effortless team building game that can easily become hilarious if your team is up for it.
Time: 15 to 30 minutes
Number of participants: 5 or more
Tools: an empty bottle
Bottom line:
Team building is one of the most important investments you can make for your people. It may not be instantly apparent, but this activity can have significant benefits to your entire organisation. Group activities in Melbourne or anywhere are vital to keeping employees happy and engaged.
First, it loosens up everyone. The bloopers, the quirky challenges, and the physical work gets rid of stress. Second, it eliminates prejudices. The more your members get to know each other, the more comfortable they become working together in the same organisation – which can translate to increased productivity. Third, it conveys a message that you’re determined about fostering healthy relationships in the office. This can result in fewer absences, fewer conflicts, and less turnover.
If you’re unsure how to organise regular team building activities, contact Urban Quest.
We offer emotionally-charged team-building activities through hilarious challenges and clever riddles.
