3 Tips For Turning Escape Rooms Into Effective Team Building Exercises
Escape rooms can be a lot of fun, but they can also be a useful tool for developing your team. Even the basic act of completing a challenging task together can help your team bond and understand each other better. But there are a few things you can try to maximize the benefits of team building escape rooms and turn them into a rewarding exercise.
Change Up Office Roles
Over time the people working in your office will fall into certain roles. This may be because their job requires it, such as managers or team leaders taking an active leadership role. Or it may be the way the team naturally settled, with certain people taking on vocal roles and others taking on more supportive, quiet roles. Either way, consider implementing a role change during the escape challenge. This can be done by telling the current leaders they are not allowed to speak during the challenge.
This helps everyone recognize the roles they are currently in in the office while developing empathy for the people who are in different roles, and can lead to discussions about making positive changes in the office dynamic.
Debrief the Challenge
Throughout the challenge there will be moments when your team works well together and when they struggle. These moments can help your employees recognize office issues and come up with solutions. However, it is much more likely that your employees will apply what they experience to their office dynamics if you take the time to debrief the exercise. Otherwise, they will likely fail to internalize the interactions and learn from them.
Debriefing can take many forms. For a casual debriefing you can head to happy hour together. Alternatively, you can have a moderator conduct a more formal, in-depth debriefing to get the most insight into your team dynamics.
Make Sure Your Employees Are Open to the Exercise
Escape rooms tend to be a great corporate team building exercise because the puzzles are challenging and adults do not feel patronized when they participate. But some people may not want to participate because they are shy, nervous, or have problems communicating with their coworkers. It's a good idea to discuss the activity ahead of time and make sure everyone is on board with it. If people have reservations, you should address them before the game, either at a team meeting or individually, depending on what the concerns are.