Whether you have a new team or are adding new employees to an existing staff, providing a creative way for people to get to know each other is crucial.

Enter corporate team building. The idea has been around for more than 80 years. Corporate team building can foster better working relationships, boost creativity, morale and productivity within the company while allowing employees to have fun and let loose.

Research from the American Psychologist Association (APA) also suggests corporate team-building activities can make employees feel valued, and motivated to do great work.

Thankfully, team building has evolved beyond trust falls and other corporate clichés. Companies are now kicking it up a notch with innovative team-building activities.

Corporate Team Building Trends

Here are the top five trends in corporate team building — starting with one that is near and dear to our beating hearts.

Drumming

Want your team to get into a better rhythm? Group drumming is the answer. The Drum Cafe USA music-based, experiential team-building program provides a powerful platform for companies looking to increase productivity and efficiency through interactive events. Anyone can take part, no matter their language, fitness level or age. Lead by a drumming facilitator, all participants listen to each other and work together as a cohesive team while creating an energizing and impressive sound. Another benefit: participants need two hands for drumming, which turns the event into a technology-free zone.

Group Painting

Group painting encourages team members’ brains to work in new ways and jump-starts creative thinking and problem-solving abilities. Pinot’s Palette, a paint and sip franchise, offers a series of team building painting events, including a jigsaw canvas which has employees work on individual pieces that create a cohesive mural. This is a great exercise in teamwork.

Axe Throwing

This is one group activity that can be a real ice breaker for teams who need to learn to communicate. Throwing an axe at a bullseye is an innovative way of taking people out of their comfort zones. Teams also tend to cheer each other on with encouragement – something that could translate to closer relationships back at the company HQ. FlannelJax, an axe-throwing concept in Minnesota, says the activity is a great way for co-workers to get to know each other beyond the cubicle.

Escape Rooms

Escape rooms bring a sense of adventure to the average team-building game. Co-workers are “locked” in a room and must learn how to work together to escape. They must follow clues, solve puzzles and find a key to break free within a certain time frame. People get to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates and the qualities they bring to the workplace.

Scavenger Hunts

A scavenger hunt is a fun and engaging way for employees to work together toward a common goal. The hunt is a test of teamwork. Teams take off on foot, visiting local landmarks while completing challenges and answering questions to unlock clues that will ultimately lead them to the final destination. Event companies and even smartphone apps offer scavenger hunt outlines.

Next time your employees begin to feel the cubicles are closing in on them, consider these top five trends in corporate team building. An experiential outing may be just the thing to improve the experience inside the workplace!