Unless you've recently been living under a rock — meaning you don't participate in social media or watch any kind of news program — you've probably been inundated with videos of people completing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

For those who are unfamiliar, the challenge's genius lies in the simplicity of the concept. Basically, you challenge people you know to pour a bucket of icy water on their heads or donate $100 to the ALS Association — all in an effort to generate support and awareness of the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

As of today, the ALS Association has received an astounding $41.8 million in donations compared to $2.1 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to Aug. 21). These donations have come from existing donors and 739,275 new donors.

At first glance, it may seem as though this type of challenge does not fit with your business model or coincide with your business plan. However, given a second glance, there are definite lessons to be learned here. If you look at the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from a team-building and employee engagement perspective, you'll see a gold mine of potential that could benefit your company.

1. Cold water is a bonding agent.

As the ice bucket challenge brings together all kinds of groups for a good cause, you too can follow suit. Find an activity the majority of your employees would want to participate in and make an event out of it.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a charitable cause to work. Whether it be something fun and crazy like the ice bucket challenge, or maybe just an intra-office competition, giving your team a common goal is the first step in building that teammate bond.

2. The cooling-off period is where the magic happens.

After you are drenched with ice-cold water and you find yourself searching for the breath that was taken away, you tend to automatically feel closer to the ones around you, who are in the exact same icy boat, clambering for warmth and dryness.

It's the same in the office. Once you have your team on a level of understanding and camaraderie after a team-building activity, rather than just the "I have to talk to them because they're my coworkers" level, you are more likely to see more interaction, increased productivity and a general atmosphere of happiness in the workplace.

3. Spreading the word is good for employee morale.

Just as the ice bucket challenge thrives on social networking interaction by giving the participants their five minutes of fame, your company can give employees a quick shoutout that can be shared with their friends, family and other acquaintances. By simply posting your team-building events or employee accomplishments and activities online, you utilize an efficient and inexpensive tool for boosting employee morale.

It's always nice to get recognition for the work you do, so placing employee highlights on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for all the world to see is a great way to show your employees that you appreciate them, and everyone knows good things happen when employees feel appreciated.

4. Sharing is caring.

It seems as if everyone is into social networking these days. In fact, the reason the ALS Ice Bucket challenge has been such a success is the fact that people are sharing it, or calling out their friends to participate by tagging them online.

In the same sense, the social networking aspect of team-building is so important because it is so conducive to connecting people. Whether your employees are actually "friends" at work is beside the point. If they are Facebook friends or follow one another on Twitter or Instagram, then they are automatically connected by your tag on the company post.

The sense of teamwork is instantly embedded in their minds, especially if you get good traction from your posts. Again, this seamlessly leads to more employee engagement, continued boosts in morale and just an overall worker happiness.

5. There are no ice sculptures here — there is a real, live company behind your posts.

The content seen on many companies' social networking sites is so generic or follows a specific pattern that, to those viewing the posts on a daily basis, the company comes across as a cold, lifeless entity.

Since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was completely genuine with a legitimate cause, it was that much more effective. Therefore, if you post your company activities or team-building exercises showing actual people participating and growing as a result, you're going to get much more resonance with your followers.

Proving that there's a heartbeat to your company makes you that much more credible and therefore engages not only your employees, but your followers as well — sort of a "two birds with one stone" situation. You build employee engagement, but you also do a little PR for your company — and that's a good thing.

Our team at work recently participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (see video above), and I cannot say enough about how great I felt afterward. To know I was doing something for a good cause, and that I had 16 other people who had my back was an amazing boost in my attitude.

I could not have been more proud of the way our team came together, and I definitely think it was a bonding moment for all of us. I know I left the office that day with a great attitude and a positive outlook for moving forward.

While team-building efforts can sometimes seem daunting or fruitless, this type of challenge can get the creative juices flowing and open the doors for a complete turnaround in employee engagement and satisfaction in your office. All it takes is a crisp, refreshing splash of cold water to the face to get things started.