5 engaging team building activities in Hong Kong
Team building activities bring a lot of benefits for companies and teams. Such benefits include improving employees' communication, innovation, leadership and problem-solving skills as well as building relationship and trust between team members. However, when the activities are organised without the fun factor, it does not bring the desired results that you were planning for.
To support our HR professionals to generate creative ideas for their respective company’s activities, JobsDB has launched a HR Synergy campaign to encourage HR professionals’ share their thoughts and ideas on a wider range of HR topics with the community. We would like to thanks all the contributors who joined our latest exchange session of team building activities and shared their amazing ideas and experiences. Here are the 5 most engaging activities, which could inspire us for organising our company’s activities:
Flip and Stand Duration: 1 hour Number of participants: 40-60 in total (5-6 in a group) Function & level of participants: Participants across functions / levels without limit Materials needed: Flip-chart papers Overview: To start the game, all participants in a group had to stand on the flip-chart paper, then reducing the paper to half size in each round. It was possible to cut the paper into strips. Participants in each group were required to support each other and stand on the flip-chart paper (in terms of size). This game allowed participants to think creatively and innovatively on how to stand on a small size paper and shared their opinions with the other group members. Through team work and support, the participants completed the task. This activity helped build trust within the teams. Tips for hosting the activity: As the activity requires physical contact, it could be concern for some participants. Our client does not recommend pregnant women to participate in the physical activity but they do welcome them in providing ideas.
Perfume Making Workshop Duration: 2-4 hours Number of participants: 10 – 50 Overview: Participants were formed into teams for the workshop, which contained debriefing and contest sessions. In the debriefing session, the participants learned about the perfume making technique and the theory of how different perfume notes, reflecting various personalities. In the contest session, the facilitator led a discussion about the role and behaviour of team members and the participants were encouraged to share their views of the whole process in the workshop. At the end of the workshop, each participant would create a personal bespoke scent for themselves as well as collectively create a scent for the company based on its DNA, values and image. This activity enhanced the company’s image in employees' mind and increased their sense of belonging to the company. Throughout the process, the team members could understand each other’s role, personality and behaviour better, which would facilitate the team to work effectively and happily. The soft skills such as problem solving, communication and creativity could also be polished. Tip for hosting the activity: The workshop is suggested to be conducted by a professional in both perfume making and training field.
Cooking class Duration: 3 hours Date: a Friday afternoon Number of participants: 12 (2 in a group) Venue: A cooking centre Materials needed: Cooking utensils, serving plate, drinking water and other relevant materials Overview: Before the class started, the groups were formed by the management as the participants were not allowed to choose their partner. Each team were represented by participants who had different characteristics and personalities. At the same time, in the teams, there were people who could cook and people who cannot cook at all. Participants were portraying team work during this cooking activity and shared their dishes with the other teams. An award for the best dish was also given. The program was full of fun as our client could see the cooking skills of some participants and in some occasions they saw participants showing their clumsiness when cooking. During those moments, the entire room burst out in laughter as they were also teasing each other. This helped participants to be more comfortable and interactive when sharing their views. Highlights: In the beginning, the client was concerned if the employees would connect to each other, citing their difference in character and personalities. However, they found the outcome was encouraging. They made the "pairing” purposely, and they announced the partners only at the venue, this brought the atmosphere to a higher degree.
Themed event Number of participants: 90+ (in 12 teams) Function & level of participants: All business units and all levels of staff members Venue: A party house in Kwun Tong Overview: The company organized a themed event. Teams would compete against others in team-based games. The winner was the team with the highest score. There was a grand cash prize and "Best Dress Team" award. Participants enjoyed the night connecting through other activities such as karaoke, mahjong playing and other indoor games. Challenges and tips for hosting the activity: A low participation rate was a challenge for the client. To tackle this problem, they allowed sufficient time for promotion and registration (at least 6 weeks in advance). The client used a simple enrollment process and sent out multiple reminder emails to their employees for this event. To attract more registrations for this event, the client opted to organize it on a Friday night.
Jam making Venue: A party room Overview: Participants were formed into groups and made apple jam together. Participants in different groups had different responsibilities for making the jam, i.e. cutting apple, peeling, stirring the jam. Finally, all participants enjoyed the apple jam together. Other than making the apple jam, the participants also enjoyed the facilities in the party room, i.e. playing VR. The activity helped build the relationship and trust between team members and improve their team bonding. Challenge: Budget was a challenge to the client as the rental fee for a party room was quite high and it even exceeded their budget of HK$350/head.
The above ideas are just some of the good activities organized by clients and if you have ideas or have organized other engaging team building activities, please feel free to share it with us at [email protected].