Team building activities, which can take place indoors, are a good method that companies can use to unite their employees together, improve communication, facilitate collaboration without planning an expensive off site activity. Office quizzes and paper tower challenges are not the only types of activities that companies can select according to the number of people in the team, the time they have, and their goals to engage their employees.
This guide covers 10 indoor team building activities for corporate teams in India, along with ideas for rainy-day workplace events and indoor scavenger hunts.
A strong corporate team is built through more than meetings, deadlines and project discussions. Employees also need opportunities to interact, understand one another’s working styles and collaborate in a relaxed environment.
This is where indoor corporate team building activities can make a difference. Unlike large outdoor events, indoor activities can often be organised directly at the workplace with limited preparation and equipment.
Companies can use these activities during employee engagement programmes, team meetings, onboarding sessions, annual celebrations or informal workplace events. According to Pluxee, indoor team-building activities can support communication, collaboration, problem-solving, trust and workplace connection.
The best indoor activities for corporate teams combine simple rules with opportunities for employees to work together. Activities can range from short 10-minute games to structured challenges lasting an hour or more.
When planning a corporate activity, consider:
Here are 10 activities that can work well in Indian corporate environments.
A quick office trivia game is an easy method of bonding employees and also challenging their brains and motivating them to talk as a team.
Separate employees into small groups and make some questions that concern general knowledge, information about the company, company culture, facts or light entertainment about the industry.
For a corporate event, you can include questions such as:
Keep a balance between company-specific and general questions so that new employees are not disadvantaged.
Best for: Communication, teamwork and company engagement.
The paper tower challenge is a low-cost activity that requires only paper and tape. Employees are divided into teams and asked to build the tallest free-standing structure within a specific time.
The challenge sounds simple, but teams quickly discover that planning, delegation and communication are essential.
One employee may focus on the design while others build, test and improve the structure. After the time ends, each tower can be measured and teams can briefly explain their approach.
The activity encourages employees to experiment and adapt when their original idea does not work. Paper tower challenges are also easy to organise inside a conference room or training area.
Best for: Creativity, collaboration and problem-solving.
The scavenger hunt can be held indoors making a normal ordinary office an interactive team building event.
Prepare a list of clues that are workplace friendly and split the employees into groups. Every clue may be a path to another place, an item or activity within the office. Teams will be required to find the clues and complete the challenge in a given period of time.
For example, clues could involve:
Keep the hunt professional and avoid disturbing employees who are not participating.
Indoor scavenger hunts can combine movement, communication and problem-solving, making them suitable for larger corporate groups.
Best for: Collaboration, problem-solving and workplace energy.
This exercise is based on communication and active listening.Assign an individual a simple picture, or diagram, and pair employees. Such an employee narrates the picture without presenting it to his or her companion. The second individual is forced to sketch the image, without relying on illustrations.
The outcomes are frequently comical, however, the actual idea is to show how distorted information can be easily.Upon finishing the activity, ask participants what instructions were valuable and which ones might have been better conveyed.
This makes the game particularly relevant to corporate teams where employees regularly communicate through meetings, emails and instructions.
Best for: Communication and active listening.
An office escape room can be created using a series of puzzles, clues and workplace scenarios.
Create small groups of employees and give them a similar goal. Before the time runs out, teams have to figure out how to solve interrelated puzzles.
The riddles might include codes, logical questions, company clues or problem solving questions.
The task involves involving people to exchange information and share duties. There is a chance that one can notice a hint which was overlooked by another team member and collaboration is valuable.
When your company lacks the means to design an escape room themselves, you can also use the services of an extrinsic indoor escape-room as an arena to host a corporate activity.
Best for: Problem-solving, teamwork and decision-making.
Charades can be adapted easily for the workplace. Instead of using random topics, create categories relevant to the company or employees.
For example, teams can act out:
One employee acts without speaking while their teammates try to identify the answer within the time limit.
For Indian corporate teams, Bollywood or regional cinema can also be included where appropriate. However, companies with diverse teams should use a broad mix of categories so that everyone can participate comfortably.
Best for: Team bonding and non-verbal communication.
A think tank challenge turns team building into a short business problem-solving exercise.
Give every team the same fictional or workplace-related challenge. For example:
“How can our company improve the employee experience with a limited budget?”
Teams receive 20–30 minutes to develop an idea and prepare a short presentation.
Each group can then present its solution to the other teams.
The activity encourages employees to analyse a problem, divide responsibilities, develop ideas and communicate a recommendation. It can also be particularly useful for cross-functional teams because employees from different departments may approach the same problem differently.
Best for: Innovation, creativity and collaborative decision-making.
Minute-to-Win-It activities consist of short challenges that employees must complete within approximately 60 seconds.
Companies can create several stations and award points for successful completion.
Office-friendly challenges could include:
The format works well for larger corporate groups because participants can rotate through different challenges.
The focus should remain on fun and teamwork rather than physical ability. This makes it easier to include employees with different comfort levels and abilities.
Best for: Energy, participation and friendly competition.
Two Truths and a Lie is a simple indoor activity that can work particularly well for new corporate teams.
Each employee prepares three statements about themselves. Two statements are true and one is false. The rest of the team must identify the false statement.
For workplace events, keep the statements light and avoid requiring employees to disclose sensitive personal information.
For example:
The activity gives colleagues an opportunity to discover interesting facts about one another without requiring expensive equipment or extensive preparation.
Best for: Icebreaking and employee introductions.
Provide a set of puzzles, riddles or logical questions, which teams need to respond to within a particular time.
Rather than providing each employee with a separate puzzle, rely on teamwork to make the cause. In order as an example, every member may be provided with various items of information, i.e. the team has to be able to talk in order to figure out the last problem.
This structure helps to encourage workforces to listen to each other and acknowledge that various team members could bring in different strengths.
The practice can be done in a meeting room, and also it occupies very minimum physical space.
Best for: Logical thinking, communication and collaboration.
Rain can make outdoor corporate events difficult, particularly during India’s monsoon season. Fortunately, companies can move team-building activities indoors without losing the collaborative element.
Some useful rainy day indoor team building activities include:
The advantage of these activities is that companies do not need to cancel an engagement event simply because the weather changes.
Team building outings that use indoor facilities can be used to make corporate teams stronger at work without the need of elaborate venues or other costly off-site trips. The working floor or training room of the office or a conference room can turn into the place of significant collaboration.
Companies can use a variety of office trivia and paper tower challenges, indoor scavenger hunts, escape-room puzzles and think tank challenges to suit various teams and the goals to achieve. An indoor scavenger hunt can be customised around the company and its workplace.
The most essential thing is to select an activity which suits the individuals involved. An effective corporate team building activity must foster communication, cooperation and involvement but be inclusive and fun.