Why escape room are great for team building

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In 2021, a Ph.D. candidate investigated how escape rooms help with team building at work. He discovered that after winning an escape room, people felt their team worked better together. This boost in how good everyone felt about their team was linked to solving puzzles, showing that escape room team building activities are a solid way to get colleagues to work better together quickly.

In the age of remote work, keeping a team united and working well together is vital. Among all the different team building activities, escape rooms are one of the best ways to help with this. They throw teams into situations where they must work out puzzles and finish challenges under a time crunch.

In this post, we'll dive into the different kinds of escape rooms, how they can strengthen your team, and some straightforward advice on making them part of your company's routine.

How to Play Escape Rooms for Team Building?

Escape rooms vary in style and setup, each offering its own advantages for team building exercises. Knowing the different types can help you choose the most suitable one for your team's needs.

Physical Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are real, hands-on experiences where teams gather in a themed room. They have to solve puzzles and figure out clues to "escape" the room before time runs out. Being in the same space means everyone has to talk and work together, especially when the pressure is on.

Virtual/Online Escape Rooms

As remote work remains common, virtual escape rooms have become a great option for teams spread out across different locations. Using online platforms, team members work together to solve puzzles and move through virtual rooms, all while talking to each other in real-time..

Escape Room Kits

DIY escape room kits are a budget-friendly and flexible option for team building. With these kits, you can create your own escape game. They let you pick the theme, set the difficulty, and decide how long the game should last. Plus, putting the game together as a team can spark some creative ideas and get everyone involved in making it happen.

DIY Escape Rooms

Setting up an escape room yourself is a down-to-earth and fun method to boost team morale. This strategy turns parts of your office, like common spaces, meeting rooms, or even the whole floor, into a game zone with an escape room theme. When you design the escape room yourself, you can tailor it to fit how your team works and what your company is all about. You can include puzzles that reflect your business, themes related to your company, and challenges that resemble the tasks your team handles daily.

Why Escape Rooms Are Great for Team Building?

Escape rooms are great for team building because they mix fun, challenges, and learning new skills in a unique way. Let's break down the advantages:

Encourage Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

Escape rooms put you in a scenario where you've got to crack puzzles and solve challenges using logic, creativity, and quick problem-solving. Like in the real world at work, where teams often have to tackle tricky issues needing fresh ideas, you're doing the same here, but under a time crunch. You're figuring out clues, spotting patterns, and thinking in ways you might not usually. Out of all the team-building stuff you could do, escape rooms stand out because they're not just practical but also a lot of fun. This fun translates into better teamwork and performance back on the job.

Enhance Communication and Collaboration

Escape rooms are all about working together. No one person can crack every puzzle by themselves. To get through these challenges, team members must talk things out, work as a unit, and bring different skills and ideas to the table. Everyone needs to speak up, listen well, and add to what others are saying. This process naturally brings people closer and sharpens their communication skills, which can make a real difference in how well they collaborate at work.

Build Trust and Support

Building trust is critical to a solid team; escape room activities are a great way to work on this. By working through puzzles and cheering each other on, teammates naturally trust and respect one another more. These activities help everyone get to know each other better, breaking down walls and creating a welcoming space where everyone feels appreciated and heard.

Provide a Safe Space for Failure

Escape rooms are great because they let you mess up without real-world fallout. Teams get to try various approaches and see what doesn't work without actual consequences. This setup is perfect for fostering an attitude where taking chances and making mistakes is okay as long as you learn and improve. It's all about seeing risk-taking and learning from slip-ups as crucial parts of getting things right eventually.

Tips for Maximizing Team Building in Escape Rooms

To make your escape room outing really work for team building, keep these practical tips in mind:

Pick the right escape room

There's a massive variety of escape rooms out there, so you're sure to find one that fits your team's size, interests, and the skills you want to work on. Whether you're after an action-packed physical adventure or a brain-teasing puzzle challenge, choosing the right one can help you hit your team building targets.

Have clear objectives

It's not just about fun—think about what you want to get out of the escape room. Whether it's improving how you communicate, getting better at solving problems together, or getting to know each other, having specific goals can keep you focused and let you know if the day was a success.

Make sure everyone's involved

A good team activity involves everyone. Make sure each person has a part to play and feels valued, no matter how shy or bold. Sometimes, getting the quieter folks to take the lead can uncover new strengths and bring the team closer.

Talk it over afterward

Taking time to reflect after the escape room can cement what you've learned and the fun you've had. Chat about the tactics you used, how you talked to each other, and what you can take back to the office. This step can turn a day of entertainment into lasting improvements at work.

Find escape rooms using Morty

To conclude, escape room activities can be a practical choice for boosting important work skills, improving teamwork, and lifting team spirit. By choosing the right kind of escape room, setting clear goals, and creating a supportive and thoughtful space, companies can use these fun activities to forge tighter-knit teams equipped to handle various challenges.

To streamline the process of finding the perfect escape room for your team, use the Morty app. Morty simplifies the search by helping you filter through options based on your specific needs, including themes, difficulty levels, and location. Give Morty a try today and discover how an escape room adventure can help your team work better together.

FAQs

How do you build an escape room for team building?

Creating an escape room for team building is straightforward but requires attention to detail. Start by determining what you want to achieve with the session and pick a theme your team will connect with. The puzzles and tasks you create should reflect your objectives and need everyone to chip in to solve them. Use props, tech, and a good story to make the experience authentic. Before you roll it out to everyone, have a trial run with a few people to catch any hiccups and ensure everything runs smoothly when the whole team participates.

What questions should I ask after escape room team building activities?

Once you've completed the escape room, sit down with your team for a chat. Talk about what worked well, how everyone got along and talked to each other, and what you all can do better next time. Think about how you can use what you learned in the escape room to help everyone work together better and keep getting better at what you do.

How can I make my escape room more fun?

Mix in different types of puzzles and challenges to make your escape room more enjoyable and engaging. This way, there's something for everyone, no matter what they're good at or interested in. A strong story or theme makes the whole experience more immersive, and throwing in a few surprises keeps things exciting. Getting the difficulty right is essential; you want it to be tough enough to be interesting but not so hard that it becomes annoying.

How to do an escape room with a large group?

Handling a big group in an escape room might seem challenging, but it's doable with a bit of organization. Think about dividing your group into smaller teams. You can have them try different escape rooms simultaneously or take turns in the same room. This way, everyone gets to get stuck in and play their part. Giving everyone a specific role or job can also make things smoother, ensuring the escape rooms team building is fun and well-coordinated for everyone involved.

The Power of Escape Rooms for Team Building and Bonding