Choose wilderness adventure team building

Outdoor adventures give your employees a chance to test their skills and relationships in unfamiliar settings. Being in the wilderness stresses the need for each team member to rely on the others and also encourages each individual to participate fully. The wilderness may be a forest or a river, and it may be a one-day event or a more lengthy adventure.

I recommend: Adventure Associates offers a team orienteering challenge to bring your team members together as they find their way through a forest preserve. They also offer custom adventurous team building services if you want to create your own wilderness experience. Whitewater Voyages offers one- to five-day whitewater team building expeditions with overnight camping options.

Use scavenger hunts as team building activities

You can do scavenger hunt team building activities in your own city, at your next retreat or even in a wilderness setting. These hunts involve team members in the environment while they work together to solve a puzzle or problem.

I recommend: Treasure Hunt Adventures leads corporate team building treasure hunts that can focus on either mental or physical skills, depending upon your needs, and they can also incorporate orienteering or GPS technology into your treasure hunt. Teambuildinginc.com leads treasure hunts in 74 different locations, including 21 states and various international locations, which are priced on a sliding scale so you can be as economical or extravagant as you like. For custom scavenger hunts, contact Scaventures to create the best scavenger hunt for your team.

Focus on physical confidence with a team-building ropes course and other challenges

With a team building ropes course or zipline canopy tour, your employees get insight into their own strengths and weaknesses and gain support from the team. It's a bonding experience that you can use as the key element of a longer day of team building activities.

I recommend: Outside of Austin, Texas, Cypress Valley Canopy Tours offers a zipline over the treetops as a centerpiece for a day-long retreat, which you can hold on their grounds. The Corporate Learning Institute and Adventure Associates both offer a variety of ropes courses both high and low.

Use less adventurous but more creative team building activities

If creative pursuits fit your business culture better than full-scale adventure or physically demanding team building, try out team building activities that involve your employees in something creative.

I recommend: CEO Chef will come to your meeting and run a team cooking challenge to get all of your employees involved. When your team is done, everyone sits down to a delicious meal. Groove Lab offers the Corporate Rock Stars® program, where your employees become rock stars for a day, rewriting a song as a team and recording it with a professional band.