By Tom Edwards

Other than providing an utterly memorable and fun experience, what is there that can be learnt from Escape rooms and digital adventures? Even though you’ll be playing from home, there’s still a whole range of benefits your team will walk away with, here’s just a few:

 

Verbal communication

 

Our games are scalable for groups of 500+, with groups of 2-6. In our games, working as part of a group is inevitable. Along with the addition of a time limit on completing the activity, putting 6 brains together will be better than 1 and learning how to communicate within your teams will be the key to securing a win. Our digital adventures not only develop your ability to communicate, but your ability to choose which information exactly to communicate to complete your mission. Whether you’re working together for an hour to save the world or you’re stepping remotely into Wonderland, you’ll all walk away with increased ease of communication with colleagues which can prompt better and more open conversations in the workplace.

 

Problem solving

 

It might sound like an obvious one but trust us, nothing develops problem solving skills like puzzles, riddles or literacy. Our virtual escape experiences are packed full of challenges to test both the left and right side of players’ brains, everyone in your team will be put to the test. By completing our games, you can bring the ability to approach problems in different and unique ways back with you to the office. In addition, solving problems over video chat is another element of this skill and this can help teams further adjust to virtual working.

 

Critical thinking

 

On paper, this may just be analysing information to form a judgement, but in practice there’s a lot more to it than that. According to educational provider Cengage, 67% of employers cite critical thinking as the most important skill for candidates. If you can think critically, you can communicate clearer and solve problems more effectively. An escape room or digital adventure helps boost this skill by providing information and logic and then requiring you to process that information in order to reach a conclusion.

 

Time management

 

You have an hour to escape the room or to solve the problem and if you don’t, time runs out- simple as that! Jokes aside, having a time limit and being forced to solve problems with time ticking along around you is no easy task! According to career blog Dovico, research and surveys suggest up to 80% of the average working day is spent on activities with little or no value, it’s no wonder that demand for time management training is increasing. The proof here is really in the pudding… if you can learn to meet the deadline of escaping within an hour then you can meet the deadlines back in the office. 

 

Working under pressure

 

We all put this skill on our resume, but how many of us are prepared to put it to the test? Going hand in hand with time management, the ability to work well under pressure is a skill that will aid all of your others! With a time limit floating above our heads, teammates we cannot let down and puzzles we need to solve, escape rooms and digital experiences actually give a great deal of pressure to succeed. Whether you’re a CEO or an intern, the stakes are high and the same for everyone when you’re in an escape room.

 

If you’re stuck for ideas for some insanely fun teambuilding activities, we loved this Snacknation article that’s chocked full of 70 ideas! (Not only because Escape Rooms are number 3) We promise there’s nothing run-of-the-mill like trust falls and only ideas that you’ll actually want to do with your team!