31 March 2020

5 minute team building activities

By Ellie

Having a sense of community within any team is vital. In terms of sports, the team share the common goal of wanting to win. Each member invests time and commitment within the team, so everyone is harmonious and plays to the best of their abilities.

As well as personal skill and achievement, that sense of trust and being part of a group is so valuable. The workplace should be no exception.

Everyone in an office or place of work will share a similar goal: to be a great asset to that company. Of course, most individuals have different roles and tasks they do day-to-day, but the common factor remains. They want to do a great job and move the organisation onto the next step. This is why investing time in your team with 5-minute team building activities is invaluable.

5-minute team building games

Taking just 5 minutes out of your day to engage in a team-building exercise has a variety of benefits. Consider these activities as vital training for each employee. On a personal level, these activities are important for the development of morale.

Everyone wants to feel valued and that their workplace has their best interests at heart. 5-minute team building activities shows that you are invested in improving the harmony within the workplace.

Feeling satisfied with your job role creates an employee who is focused on their career and will work hard to excel. Even in their dream job, an employee who isn’t invested in the company won’t be as valuable or engaged. Show your employee that they are important to the company and their morale will skyrocket. If you are currently working from home, why not check out our blog on remote team building?

5 minute group activities

Move productivity to the next level within the workplace by investing 5 minutes a day to team building activities and employee development. You could schedule this event in the morning when everyone arrives to get them warmed up for the day ahead. After lunch is also a popular time to keep employees engaged for the afternoon.

Alternatively select a set time, such as 10 am, where the activities always occur so employees can plan their work around it. Why not try 5 minute team building activities during meetings as a way to break up the content?

Indoor Activities

If you have a larger department in your working environment, consider whether you want to split people up and rotate the groups, so everyone gets a chance to work together. 5-minute team building fun activities are beneficial for every team member and their career. Before making these decisions, think about your team dynamic and which option would be most beneficial.

• Make an advert. Split up your team into groups of 3 or 4 and give them a random object, the more obscure the better to make it more challenging. Give them 5 minutes to create a TV advert for said object which they must act out. Allow the teams to vote amongst themselves on who won.
• Helium stick. A really popular one for workplace team building. Grab a light stick or metal rod and ask participants to gather around and hold it on their index finger. The stick must be lowered to the ground without it falling. This task is harder than it looks and gets trickier the more people are involved.

Paper games

Move productivity to the next level within the workplace by investing 5 minutes a day to team building activities and employee development. You could schedule this event in the morning when everyone arrives to get them warmed up for the day ahead. After lunch is also a popular time to keep employees engaged for the afternoon.

Alternatively select a set time, such as 10 am, where the activities always occur so employees can plan their work around it. Why not try 5 minute team building activities during meetings as a way to break up the content?

• Memory game. This one is really easy and only requires a pad and pen. Split your team up into small groups of 2 or 3, and project a list of 30 words on a board for one minute. Once this is complete, give each team another minute to see how many they can remember as a team. Whoever has the most, wins.
• Pirate treasure. This is one for the whole group. Ask everyone to write down one thing they want to achieve in life and put all the pieces of paper in a jar. Take each one out and discuss with the team how you could logistically achieve each thing. Once the game is over, the team are free to reveal what they wrote down, or not.
• Guess who. Another cheap and easy to achieve game which allows the team to get to know each other better, perfect for new starters. Ask everyone to write down an obscure fact about themselves that few people know. Then take turns in guessing who wrote down what.

Outdoor team building games

These team building activities are ideal for taking employees outside on a nice day. Fresh air is the perfect pick me up when you’ve been sat inside.

• Endless possibilities. Grab some random objects from the office before you head outside. Present the object and ask each person to come up with a unique use for it. Do this with multiple objects going around the rest of the group in different ways to ensure everyone has a challenge.
• Puzzle game. Divide the group into teams of 3 and give each group a 9-piece puzzle. However, before the game begins you need to switch up the pieces. This way, each team has to barter with others to finish their puzzle. Allow employees to be as creative or devious as they want with this one. The puzzle game promotes the ability to problem solve, communicate well and think on their feet.
• Paper tower. This activity is probably familiar to a lot of people from their school days, however, this has plenty of merit within the workplace too. Divide your team into threes and provide each team with 5 sheets of paper, 5 pieces of spaghetti and 5 plastic cups. Arm them with a roll of tape and give each team 5 minutes to come up with the highest and sturdiest tower they can manage. Once the time is up, test each tower and vote on the best one. You can repeat this game using new materials if you wish. This promotes creative problem solving and is always good fun.

5 minute employee engagement activities

No matter how skilled your workers are, lack of communication and relationship can be a major downfall in your workplace. If you can give your employees the tools to work well together with effective communication, it can give your team a really positive edge. Strengthen the core of the team and watch work level and meetings excel. 5-minute team building activities improve productivity levels around the office as employees communicate and work more effectively together.

This increases motivation because confidence within the workplace rises and employees have more trust in themselves and other members of the team. Happy workers are hard-working employees and the introduction of 5-minute team building activities can encourage individuals to be more creative with the workload and problem-solving.

• Wink murder. Another favourite that most people have played before. Ask everyone to stand in a circle and select a “detective,” who will leave the room. Then choose a “murderer” who will use winking as their weapon. Ask the detective to return and stand in the centre of the circle. The murderer must wink at people to kill them, whilst the detective has three attempts to guess the suspect. If they fail, the murderer wins. This game is great as it promotes logical thinking and is enjoyable to play more than once. If you need a quick no prep activity, wink murder is for you.
• The evolution game. This is a great one to get everyone moving. Everyone starts out as an egg. Ask people to walk around and play rock paper scissors with other members. Whoever wins the game evolves into a chicken. Chickens then evolve into monkeys, who then evolve into humans. If you lose any game, you revert back to an egg and have to start again. Humans may challenge each other, and whoever is the “last man standing,” wins!

Team building venue Milton Keynes

Once you’ve seen the success of 5-minute team building activities, why not come and try a whole event at Kents Hill Park. Our dedicated facilities are perfect for team bonding and problem-solving, and your team will work more harmoniously than ever. Try our school sports day package which encompasses a variety of active challenges and classic races such as the egg and spoon. We will supply all the equipment so all you need to bring is a willing team.

Or if you fancy a challenge, our street dance battle gives you the opportunity to work with a professional dancer who will combine your ideas and their expertise to create a routine you will love. Once it’s complete, you will perform the routine and battle for the trophy. Contact our team for further information or to book your team building activities now.