7 FUN & UNIQUE IDEAS TO GET YOUR STAFF OUT OF THE OFFICE AND INTO THE TEAM-BUILDING SPIRIT
If you’re already planning a team-building event for your staff, congratulations: you’re a forward-thinking leader who understands the value of camaraderie, communication and company culture. Your next step is to get the most out of your team’s valuable time by hosting an off-site outing. The best way to motivate your team is to remove them from the “office mindset” by placing them in a unique and exciting space. Otherwise, your team-building exercise will become just another daily task with the presumptions of a mandatory meeting!
These seven team-building activities have been proven to energize, engage and improve teams of all types:
SCAVENGER HUNT
This idea works best on a beautiful day when your team is dying to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Start by breaking everyone out into groups, then have a scavenger hunt around your area or city. You can organize one yourself using clues, challenges or landmarks that are relevant to your organization or industry, or you can try a professional service like Stray Boots who will handle that for you.
VOLUNTEER WORK
We get so lost in our own daily hustle and the bottom line is that we can forget what it feels like to give back. Sometimes bonding over doing work for others is the most refreshing change of all. Have your team vote on a place-based volunteering idea like a soup kitchen or children's hospital, or choose a skill-based volunteering idea that puts your team’s professional acumen to the test in helping a group in need of your services. VolunteerMatch is great for finding either type of volunteering opportunities, and Catchafire is a good way to discover skill-based volunteering opportunities.
ROOM ESCAPE GAMES
This phenomenon (which has been rapidly gaining popularity around the globe) is tailor-made for team-building. Leadership skills, teamwork, logic and patience are required to solve these challenges and to literally escape from a locked room that uses hidden objects, puzzles and clues to advance the participants.
KARAOKE NIGHT
Need to break your team members out of their shells? Have them get up and sing some karaoke! This is high on fun and low on job-relevance, but it’s a great way to have your team cut loose and act uninhibited. Before you book a karaoke night, be mindful of the personalities on your team (this works best for extroverts).
COOKING CLASS
Kitchens demand communication and cooperation, and cooking class is a great way to give your team life skills while also honing their professional skills. Having everyone follow the same recipe is also a great way to gauge who follows instructions best.
A fun twist on this concept is a cook-off. If you’ve already established that most of your team is culinarily competent, pitting groups against each other to create the best dish tests creativity, teamwork and leadership. Up the stakes by introducing a surprise ingredient.
FITNESS CLASS
A fitness class is a fun way to energize your team, and its lessons can last a lifetime. Be sure to customize your choice to your group's interests and fitness levels, and be sure to choose an option that everyone can actively participate in. Get creative! Yoga, Zumba, spin, rock climbing and Barre classes are just a few of the more popular fitness trends.
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Treat your team to live music, a DJ or a comedy show for a loose evening of camaraderie and fun. Sometimes giving people the opportunity to laugh, dance or rock-out together is the best way to bring them closer. Live Nation Special Events features over 100 venues nationwide that specialize in one-of-a-kind events for groups of all sizes. Contact us today and see how we can help bring your team-building outing to life in your area!
