A scavenger hunt can boost collaboration in the workplace, as it involves teammates working together toward a common goal. This activity can also help employees reconnect, making cooperation easier. You don’t have to put off team-building activities until you have favorable weather, as there are weatherproof options that can also enhance employee relations.
What Is a Scavenger Hunt?
A scavenger hunt is a team-based activity involving a list of questions or tasks employees must answer or complete within an allocated time frame. The questions and tasks have different point scores and are arranged randomly, so employees can follow whatever order they want. They can take pictures or videos to prove they’ve completed a task or found the required answers. Usually, the team with the most points at the end of the hunt is the winner.
What Are Weatherproof Scavenger Hunts?
Weatherproof scavenger hunts are activities that are not affected by the weather. You can conduct them during the summer, spring, fall, or winter without worrying about the weather derailing the activities. Indoor hunts are the most weatherproof since technologies like HVAC systems allow you to control playing conditions.
You can make an outdoor hunt weatherproof by planning for the effects of poor weather beforehand or holding the hunt in a special location. An outdoor winter hunt can be weatherproofed if you give employees a means of warming up.
Weatherproof Scavenger Hunt Ideas
Here are some weatherproof hunt ideas to try with your employees:
Clothes-themed Hunt
Ask employees to find as many people with the same colored clothes as they can in the office. To make this hunt even more exciting, allocate a short time frame for them to do so — you can start with 30 minutes. Have them take pictures or write down the names of the matching employees.
This idea can help improve communication within the office since employees can use their similarities as conversation starters. This indoor activity can bring teams closer, encouraging people from different departments to cultivate friendships.
Special Item-based Hunt
You can promote out-of-the-box thinking by bringing some unique items to the office and asking employees to find them. Here are some ideas:
- Coins with different years on them
- An old computer
- A flip phone
- Foreign currencies
To make this hunt interesting, ask team members to find coins with their birth years on them — the more a team finds, the higher their points. Don’t forget to allocate a specific time to complete the activity. This allows you to determine the winning team faster. All you have to do is compare the points at the end of the allocated time.
Riddle-based Hunt
You can promote even more out-of-the-box thinking by using riddles instead of giving employees the items they need to find outright. To come up with the correct answers, they’ll need to work together — this can boost collaboration and help them develop good communication skills. Here are some riddles you can use:
- I have a face and two hands but no legs (clock)
- You can find me hanging on a hook (keys)
- You step on me when going up, but I can hurt your knees (stairs)
- I wave to you when it’s windy (flag)
You can find these items in the office, so employees don’t need to be outdoors. Assign points for finding each item to help you determine the winner.
Mall-based Scavenger Hunt
You can move the activity to a mall or shopping center near you if you want to get away from the office. Here are some tasks you can include in your hunt:
- Visit a furniture store and take a picture on a green sofa
- Find something with wheels
- Take a photo next to an item of pink clothing
- Find a store with an ongoing sale
- Find a store with the letter B in its name
If you choose this idea, let the employees know where to meet after the time is up so you can reward the winners.
Plan a Scavenger Hunt Today
A scavenger hunt can bring employees together and foster collaboration. It can also encourage out-of-the-box thinking and improve communication among employees in different departments. You can hold indoor team-building exercises when the weather isn’t favorable for outdoor activities. Plan a scavenger hunt today to see the benefits of team-building activities.