Build team spirit and appreciation through challenges!

people on table talking and sitting

Challenges are a great way to build team spirit and appreciation amongst the company and win a few laughs at the same time. Moreover, they are a great way to break work barriers and build stronger friendships of trust.

Another wonderful benefit of challenges? You can bring in remote teams! No matter where your colleagues are located, everyone can participate

Teams that work together towards accomplishing a goal are more likely to build strong work relationships and trust that soaks into their everyday work antics

When creating a challenge, be creative! In fact, the more creative, the better. Moreover, remember challenges can be differentiated between two main categories: Work-related challenges or fun-related challenges. I would recommend a good mix of both to keep them going!

Nais tip: When creating work-related challenges, make sure it doesn’t develop into a full flown competition with ego’s being crushed or sad moods forming

In this article, we will be going over a few activities and challenges you can propose to add some fun to the week. 

cartoon holding a green hear

1. Photo of the month

First, encourage your employees to share the best picture of the month with the team! Share your creativity and vote for the best picture of the month. 

A creative challenge allows employees to be imaginative and encouraged to do so. As a result, the trust and confidence will leak into work situations and grow team strength.

2. 10,000 steps a day

Keep it movin’ people! Healthy employees translate to healthy work habits. Therefore, encourage your employees to walk 10,000 steps a day and to stay active.

Nais challenge platform allows team collaboration and motivation. Send employees GIFS and little motivational messages to send them on their way!

A healthy mind comes from practicing healthy habits. 

3. Read a book a month.

One book a month can become a huge source of inspiration and creativity. As such, encourage employees to read one book a month and share their learnings with the team! 

Whether the book is fiction, nonfiction, or simply a comic book, there is room and fun for everyone! 

Finally, employees can share their thoughts and recommendations for the next month.

4. Creative idea of the month.

cartoons high fiving with green heart in the background

There is always time for creativity! Ask employees to come up with one creative idea for the business. In essence, the idea can be in the form of new business strategy adjustments, management decisions, or product features. As such, simply ask employees to bring forth one inspirational idea each month.

To add further, the amount of information and ideas will help continuously keep the company moving forward. Moreover, it allows employees to have a voice in the direction and management of the company. As such, they will be engaged and motivated in their daily tasks.

5. Sustainability challenge.

The planet is our home. As such, encourage employees to continuously keep up their sustainability habits. 

Remember, habits can come in the form of recycling, thrifting doing a clean-up challenge, and working hard to reduce individual carbon footprints.

Furthermore, by encouraging sustainability habits, you take a stance on the value of the company towards sustainability.

6. 10 minutes of mindfulness a day

Taking care of personal health is essential and should be a priority for everybody. Therefore, ask employees to practice 10 minutes of mindfulness a day. For instance, the approach can be through meditation, creativity, or stretching. Overall, The important thing is to keep employees in line with their overall motivation and intentions for the day. 

By allowing and encouraging employees to focus on their mental health, allows space for improvement and growth that is supported by peers.

7. Outdoor adventure a week.

Breathe and live the fresh outdoors! For instance, challenge employees to do an activity or meet up with friends outdoors at least once a week. The ability to disconnect and reconnect through the outdoors has tremendous benefits for mental health and a great mood booster. Therefore, challenge employees to spend some time outside and share it with coworkers. 

Challenges come in many different shapes and forms, the important thing is to build team collaboration.

A word before the farewell…. Remember to track and measure which challenges brewed the highest amount of employee engagement.

Ask yourself: What challenges worked? which ones can be repeated? What were the products of those challenges? By doing so, you understand employee motivators and elements that lead to company growth and development. 

Altogether, Nais offers a challenge module, which is quick, easy, and fun to use. Additionally, employees have the tools to encourage and embark on challenges together, regardless of location.  Have a look at our offer to see how challenges can be a source of motivation in your company.

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