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Team outings are an important part of company culture, and one of the most popular ways for driving employee engagement, according to 2017 Employee and Engagement Loyalty Statistics. You may be thinking, great, we can plan a few more post-workday happy hours. Before you jump on the planning wagon, ask yourself—who wants to stay in the office for an extra hour on a Friday? The answer: almost no one.
Instead, step out of the box and think about what your employees really want to do. To reap the greatest culture benefits, try a new and unusual idea that will peak the interest of employees and make the outing fun. Here are five non-traditional ideas for your organization to consider.
A race is a great way to help employees build stronger bonds, both on the day of the race and the weeks leading up to it. If you choose to do a race for a cause, departments or teams can work together to raise money, and employees can train together as well. Give employees an extra hour, three days a week, to make time for training during the workday.
The day of the race, challenge everyone to finish together. This will allow the faster team members to encourage the slower individuals, teaching them to stick together instead of competing for individual accolades. Better yet, choose an obstacle race or team relay, where employees have to work together to complete the race.
Rock climbing is fun and challenging and can be a great confidence booster. Not to mention, in a 2016 hobbies survey of 3,500 Americans, rock climbing ranked second, as the hobby people most want to try—meaning your employees may be especially excited for this team outing.
The best part: It doesn’t just challenge physical skills; it also helps to build trust and communication among co-workers. Since the person on the rock wall is depending on their partner below to make sure they return to the ground safely, it’s the ultimate opportunity for departments to work together.
Self-defense classes are fantastic for team building and allow participants to learn important, life-saving skills. Not to mention it’s an opportunity for your employees to learn self-discipline, improve their balance and strength, and boost confidence—all of which make them better employees. The key is finding the right instructor:
“It's extremely important to properly vet an instructor prior to hiring him/her for a training seminar. Does the instructor have videos you can look at? Has a referring party been to an actual class and seen what the instructor has to offer? How realistic is the instructor's self-defense style, and how much real-world training and application does the instructor have?” says Jeremy Pollack, a self-defense expert for The Home Security Super Store.
If you don’t have space in your office to host the workshop, you’ll also need to find an instructor that can also accommodate your employees for the training.
Head to your local park or beach for an afternoon of games and challenges in your first annual company Olympics. After teams have been created, encourage employees to create team names and swag to go along with it, like fun t-shirts. Don’t forget snacks and drinks (both alcoholic and otherwise) so everyone can refuel and celebrate after running around.
Use Baudville’s Guide to Office Olympics to make sure every detail is in place; employees will not be happy if you leave out the two most iconic parts, the opening ceremonies, and the award ceremony.
There are a number of organizations that offer large, company-scale scavenger hunts—and employees will have a blast going back to their childhood days of hunting for Easter eggs. If you can’t find a company near you, or their cost is out of budget, create your own scavenger hunt for employees. Break the company up into teams of 5 to 7 people and write your clues, taking employees all around town or within a specific area.
Plan to reconvene at a restaurant, where winners are announced and food and drinks are served; employees will have fun seeing what they’re co-workers did and everyone will appreciate refreshments after running around.
Team-building activities give your employees an opportunity to bond with co-workers and recharge outside of the office. There’s no limit to the activities you can try; the more creative you can be, the better. Start with these ideas or use them as inspiration to find something better suited to your company.
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Jessica Thiefels has been writing for more than 10 years and is currently a full-time writer, content marketing consultant and owner of Honest Body Fitness. She’s written for Lifehack, Glassdoor, Manta and more. Follow her on Twitter @Jlsander07 and connect on LinkedIn.
