Team building activities are on the to-do list of almost every organization. Company culture and employee morale are essential to productivity, staff retention, and consumer satisfaction. Unfortunately, many employees squirm when they hear the words “team building”. These activities are often forced, boring, and feel like a waste of time and money. At the same time, effective team building creates strong bonds and a more efficient workforce. Luckily, escape rooms deliver a solution to this decades old problem.
What is an escape room?
An escape room is a game, played by a team of people, that involves solving various types of puzzles to play out a story or mission. Escape rooms feature different themes and storylines, and can accommodate different group sizes. Typically, players are given 60 minutes to complete a series of tasks leading to an “escape”. No outside knowledge is required, and at our facility, no one is every really locked in.
For more information on the specifics of escape rooms, you can view our post here.
Why are escape rooms useful for team building?
A good team building exercise will have the following qualities:
- It creates appreciation for different employee strengths
- Employees will recognize their own strengths are and how they relate to others
- Communication between employees is improved
- The experience is engaging and entertaining
Escape rooms require everyone in the team to work together to complete a mission. Every player in an escape room team possesses unique strengths and talents that play together to move the team forward. Escape rooms include puzzles of logic, tasks to complete, linguistic riddles and games, and communication.
In addition, employees can really see how important their talents are. Figuring out a puzzle or riddle that had top performers stumped can make the underdog feel valuable and needed. It can improve their level of self-efficacy and confidence in a novel way.
Communication is key in escape rooms, and many puzzles cannot be completed without multiple players involved. Escape rooms make communication fun and exciting and force players to “think outside the box” when trying to communicate a thought or idea.
Lastly, escape rooms are exciting and fun! The immersive experience allows your team to take a much-needed break from reality and enter a whole new world. The diversion from the day to day workplace stressors will be the self-care your staff desperately needs.
Email us at [email protected] today to book your team adventure! We can also provide a party room to set up your team lunch. This is one team building activity they will be talking about later!