Team Building Trends for 2023

Team building is a key element to success in the modern workplace. With the right strategy, it can foster a culture of collaboration and creativity, encouraging teams to work together to achieve their goals. It also helps to create an atmosphere of engagement, where employees feel valued and motivated to go above and beyond the call of duty for the success of their organization.

Team bonding strategies should reflect the values of the company and be tailored to the needs of its employees, focusing on engaging team members in activities that promote constructive communication, problem-solving skills, and finding ways to motivate each other.

All of these attributes are necessary for an organization to thrive in today's competitive market. Investing in team building initiatives is essential for any business that wants to stay ahead of the game in the modern workplace, doesn't matter if it's a large group or a small one.

In 2023, there are a number of exciting team building trends that businesses should look out for. Businesses can leverage these trends to create a stronger, more cohesive team. 

Experiential learning

Experiential learning is one of the most popular trends in team building. It allows teams to learn new skills through hands-on experiences. Examples include role playing a difficult situation with a client, engaging in case studies and simulations where the team leader exchanges roles with a team member or vice versa.

By participating in these activities, teams are able to gain a better understanding of their roles, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and establish a sense of trust and cooperation. Ultimately, this type of experiential learning is essential for building successful teams that can take on any challenge.

Team building exercises like these can help create a strong bond within the team, establishing an open and safe environment for communication, collaboration, and growth.

Social media challenges

Social media challenges are quickly becoming a popular trend in today's world. Implementing them as a team building activity can help encourage employee collaboration, creativity and can also help to build better relationships between coworkers. It's a great way for teams to come together and have fun while also helping to increase engagement and morale. This trend is perfect for remote work teams.

By using social media, teams can create unique challenges that employees look forward to participating in. For example, they could post a picture of their first day at the office and then once again after some time has passed, take a picture of the company logo in random places, or post a photo example of how they’re living the company’s core values in their daily life. 

This helps to add an element of surprise and competition to the challenge, making it a fun team building activity and exciting for everyone involved. Social media challenges are an excellent way to build stronger teams and foster a more positive environment within the workplace.

Emotional Intelligence Trainings

Emotional intelligence is a powerful tool that can be used to build strong teams and successful businesses. It helps leaders understand the emotions of their employees and creates an environment where everyone’s contributions are valued and respected. This can foster a more productive environment and help avoid common team conflicts.

Utilizing emotional intelligence encourages collaboration and trust between team members, it also enables leaders to identify problems before they occur and address them quickly, allowing the team ease when reacting to changing market conditions.

In essence, team building and training are an integral part of any successful business, and emotional intelligence is the key to creating an effective, cohesive environment. By recognizing the emotions of others, being able to manage your own emotions, and using smart strategies to resolve conflicts, leaders can foster a productive team atmosphere that will lead to positive results.

Onyx is a preferred partner of the global leader in EQ education Six Seconds, offering EQ team development workshops. Our EQ for teams programs uses the Know Yourself, Choose Yourself, Give Yourself model and assessment tool to engage emotional learning across teams and departments. 

You can learn more about our training here. 

Team Building for Stress Management

Stress is a major issue in the workplace. It causes employees to feel overwhelmed, anxious, and fatigued. Over time, it can lead to more serious issues such as anxiety and depression. It’s important that businesses create strategies to combat stress in the workplace in order to keep employees engaged and motivated.

Team building activities help employees to connect with each other and develop better communication skills. Creating a supportive environment where employees are able to communicate openly can combat workplace related stress. 

The activities can range from spending time outdoors, team sports, mindfulness exercises, yoga, or meditation. All of these options can be tailored to the needs of each business. Not only do such activities help build relationships between colleagues, but they can also provide a much needed break from the day-to-day stress of work. 

Through team building activities, employees will be better equipped to handle the stresses of their job effectively and efficiently. They will also feel more connected with each other and the tools necessary to handle their own stress levels, resulting in improved morale and workplace productivity.

Creative problem-solving activities

Another trend in team building is creative problem-solving activities. These activities are beneficial for fostering innovation and increasing problem-solving skills among employees, which can be beneficial in various situations. For example, by participating in a guided discussion, employees can come together to generate new ideas and explore new solutions for the team’s problems or challenges.

Another fun and creative problem-solving activity is an escape room. This activity was first introduced in Japan, but has slowly been taking over the rest of the world as well. There are lots of different escape rooms, but they all follow the same basic premise - you’re given a certain amount of time to solve a series of puzzles and riddles, solve a mystery, and break out of a room by using the means available to you.

The room and puzzles will follow specific themes and be based on a certain topic, such as a detective investigation, a treasure hunt, or a spy mission. You can tailor it to your team’s interests so everyone has a great time.

Escape rooms are a great way to enhance your team’s problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and provide plenty of entertainment at the same time. 

These activities play an important role in promoting team spirit and camaraderie as well as creating a sense of belonging among employees. They are also effective for improving collaboration between teams and developing a cohesive unit that works together towards achieving common goals. 

In conclusion, creative problem-solving activities are an important part of successful team building, as they have a positive impact on the productivity of teams by improving their problem-solving skills.

Outdoor team building

Teams can participate in various outdoor activities, such as sports, to build trust, improve communication, and strengthen relationships. Through these activities, teams can learn about one another while having fun. Outdoor activities can also benefit businesses by lowering employee stress and creating a better work-life balance.

Spending time outside of the office can improve your performance at work, helps you clear your mind, and to gain a new perspective on your daily tasks. It’s also an opportunity to disconnect from the stress and hectic pace of everyday life.

You and your team can go on hikes, scavenger hunts where you give your team a set amount of time to find all the clues, complete an obstacle race, or play a game of paintball. You can even organize a beach clean-up and when the work is done, build some sandcastles!

Technology-driven team building

Another team building trend is to incorporate technology into team building activities. Businesses can use technology to create a more engaging experience. This can include looking for online team building games, like Skribbl which is an online version of Pictionary, challenges, or leveraging technology to create a virtual experience. This might seem that only works for remote teams, but technology can enhance in person events too. 

For example, virtual reality headsets, computer simulations, and mobile app-based games are a few technologies that businesses can use in their on-site events. 

When designing technology-driven team-building experiences, businesses should consider the types of technologies their employees are most likely to use and enjoy.

Strong teams are essential to the long-term success of any organization. With the right team-building strategies, organizations can create a culture of collaboration and innovation. 

Team building trends will continue to evolve in the coming years. It is important to stay on top of these trends to make the most of your team-building efforts.

We have your back if you need help with your team-building activities! At Onyx, we provide opportunities for teams to step outside their routine and comfort zone to deliver an experience that inspires fundamental change and transformation. 

To learn more about our programs,contact us.