What is a Scavenger Hunt?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 7 Scavenger Hunt Benefits for Team Building<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything You Need: 21 Ideas to Help Plan Your Next Scavenger Hunt<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we dive into exactly why you need to start planning your next team scavenger hunt, let\u2019s define it. A scavenger hunt is a game or activity, often played outdoors, in which participants are tasked with collecting several items or completing activities. <\/strong>The Easter egg hunt is a classic and common example of a scavenger hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But these days, scavenger hunts can even be played virtually using meeting platforms like Zoom, Google Hangout, or Microsoft Teams. With the ability to be virtual or in-person, outdoors or indoors, scavenger hunts are fantastic and endlessly customizable for any team dynamic, season, or theme. No matter which way you customize it, the result is a strong team<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how can your team benefit from having a scavenger hunt? <\/p>\n\n\n\n This powerful team building activity<\/a> has a host of benefits that support both team and business. Here are several reasons why you should consider a scavenger hunt for your team, company, or organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Workplace communication is critical to success. Yet one study suggests that a whopping 69%<\/a> of managers said they\u2019re often uncomfortable communicating with employees. If your folks don\u2019t know how to relay information to one another, your bottom line will suffer. And one survey<\/a> suggests that communication barriers could be costing companies tens of millions per year in lost productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When your employees are completing a scavenger hunt, they\u2019re focused on communicating with one another to complete activities and win. You create a fun yet competitive environment with a common goal that encourages teams to communicate efficiently as they race to the finish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n See exactly how our games work, ask questions about logistics and add some energy to your work day. Demos are 30 minutes long and take place on Zoom. There may even be a DoorDash<\/strong> giveaway!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Problems in the workplace are a given \u2014 from customer concerns to supply chain bottlenecks and everything in between. One of the most valuable skills your team can possess is the ability to solve the problems that pop up. Problem-solving includes understanding and defining the problem, collaborating on a potential solution, testing that solution, and adjusting as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a scavenger hunt, teams race to solve puzzles, riddles, and codes to learn the location of an item. As teams put their heads together, they\u2019re learning to work on these roadblocks to succeed as a team and lean on the strengths of various members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To enable teams to function at a high level, team camaraderie<\/a> or a sense of trust and friendship is critical. Each member relies on another, and teams are likely to fracture or function inefficiently without camaraderie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how can you boost trust and friendship at work? The answer isn\u2019t much different from how you build trust and friendship with folks outside of work: spend quality time together. A scavenger hunt allows teams to do just that without the pressure. Plus, they have the chance to win a fun prize for all their efforts! The more intentional time you spend together as a team, the more memories you make together on the journey to high levels of trust. That history of shared experiences is one of the primary drivers of trust and friendship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Collaboration is key for both in-person and virtual workers. And remote work is here to stay \u2014 so we\u2019ll need to learn how best to keep folks engaged and ready to collaborate virtually too. One McKinsey & Company study<\/a> even suggests that remote workers are aware of the need for connection and the difficulties of virtual work, with 43% of employees fearing reduced levels of collaboration for individuals and teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collaboration involves working with someone to produce or create something, making scavenger hunts a fun way to encourage high levels of cooperation. In a scavenger hunt, teams put their heads together to produce evidence that they\u2019ve collected specific items or completed certain activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can encourage this even further by including a few activities in your scavenger hunt that require participation from every team member. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Low team morale<\/a> is expensive \u2014 because low morale employees are more likely to leave. Employees who are increasingly silent or lacking enthusiasm and initiative might be experiencing low levels of morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Participating in a fun scavenger hunt where you get to see another side of team members, earn prizes, and focus on something other than workplace demands is a great way to reduce pressure and boost morale. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The combined effect of all these benefits? Employees who problem-solve better, collaborate, and feel more engaged. That means you\u2019ll end up benefiting the company overall with higher retention rates and lower turnover. As Gallup<\/a> estimates, replacing employees can often cost anywhere from one-half to two times an individual\u2019s salary. In fact, U.S. companies may be losing about a trillion dollars<\/em> every year due to high turnover. That\u2019s a lot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottom line? It saves and it pays to invest in low-cost, fun team building activities like scavenger hunts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, if we haven\u2019t mentioned this enough \u2014 scavenger hunts are just a blast! You can make the event extra special by including amazing prizes for the winners, snapping photos and videos, and awarding wacky prizes to individuals like Most Likely to Miss an Item in Plain Sight, Best Team Hype Person, and King or Queen of the Hunt. As you do scavenger hunts more regularly, you\u2019re guaranteed to notice folks looking forward to seeing the funny ways team members are acknowledged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Work is work \u2014 but it\u2019s good for the soul and team to have some fun together too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By now we\u2019ve convinced you to try a scavenger hunt. But how do you get started? For starters, don\u2019t get overwhelmed. We\u2019ve curated the best resources for planning, inviting, hosting, and awarding prizes at your next scavenger hunt. You\u2019ll find tips and tricks for planning both in-person and virtual scavenger hunts, plus some creative ways to award prizes to the winning teams. And if you\u2019re interested in professional support, that\u2019s possible too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Team building has many business benefits, and scavenger hunts are an excellent way to capitalize on them. Now that you\u2019re armed with the benefits, business case, and all the tools and resources you need to plan one, you just need to get started. Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Considering a scavenger hunt for your next team building activity? Read up on these 7 scavenger hunt benefits & get started with our planning resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":251527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"team](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/team-members-participating-in-scavenger-hunt.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is a Scavenger Hunt?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/scavenger-hunt-team-1.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n7 Scavenger Hunt Benefits for Team Building<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll create a natural opportunity for increased team communication.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nJoin Us For A FREE Demo!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nScavenger hunts encourage problem-solving skills.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll boost your team camaraderie levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"team](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/team-members-having-coffee.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYour team will practice collaboration skills.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll boost workplace and team morale.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"vector](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/employee-morale-boosted-1024x538.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can help increase employee retention rates and lower turnover.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Scavenger hunts are fun!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"scavenger](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/scavenger-hunt-team-having-fun.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nEverything You Need: 21 Ideas to Help Plan Your Next Scavenger Hunt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Plan a Scavenger Hunt<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ice Breakers to Start the Party<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Virtual Ice Breakers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"team](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/team-member-greeting-virtual-team-members-1024x639.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCreative and Unique Scavenger Hunt Ideas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fun Scavenger Hunt Prizes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Professional Help for Your Scavenger Hunt<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"scavenger](\"https:\/\/teambuildinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/scavenger-hunt-winners.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n