The corporate world is moving faster than ever, over longer distances than ever. The consistent integration of remote work environments has made team-building and company culture even more important to any work environment.
Team-building activities have come a long way from the two-truths-and-a-lie icebreakers most of us undoubtedly recall in office settings past. But today, companies are taking a whole new approach to team-building and team meetings with offsite, in-person, and virtual events that boost company culture and morale. Today, we’ll show you how they’re doing it to inspire your next team-building activities!
Team Work Really Does Make the Dream Work
Teamwork actually makes it easier to accomplish goals, from small to lofty. And the more your company can do to bring colleagues together, the better it will be for them, you, and your bottom line.
Team-building activities provide structure and controlled opportunities to expose and develop relationships in a work environment. Goals are specific to each company’s need, brand, and culture and can spark efficient working relationships when done well. And there are a host of benefits for companies that regularly host these co-working experiences, including:
- Improved Communication: Team-building activities encourage open communication and collaboration among team members.
- Enhanced Morale: Participating in fun and engaging team-building events boosts morale and promotes a positive work environment.
- Increased Motivation: Team-building activities can reignite employees’ enthusiasm and motivation.
- Strengthened Relationships: Build strong relationships among team members through shared experiences.
- Enhanced Creativity and Innovation: Team-building events encourage creativity and innovation by challenging employees to think outside the box, solve problems collaboratively, and explore new ideas in a supportive environment.
- Better Problem-Solving Skills: Engaging in team-building activities that require problem-solving and decision-making skills helps teams develop effective strategies for overcoming challenges.
- Increased Productivity: Team meetings can lead to improved productivity as employees learn to work together more efficiently, share resources, and leverage each other’s strengths to accomplish tasks.
- Reduced Stress Levels: Taking a break from the daily grind to participate in enjoyable team-building activities alleviates stress and promotes work-life balance.
- Enhanced Leadership Skills: Team meeting events provide opportunities for emerging leaders to showcase their leadership abilities, take initiative, and gain valuable experience.
Team Activities Inside and Outside the Office
Team meetings and activities can happen both in the office and offsite. The most successful companies today find unique ways to host both since there are advantages worth leveraging in both scenarios.
Benefits of In-House Team Meetings
- Cost Savings: Hosting team meetings in-house eliminates the need to rent external venues, saving the company money.
- Convenience: Conducting meetings at the workplace reduces the time and effort required for employees to travel to offsite locations.
- Familiar Environment: Employees are already familiar with the layout and facilities of the workplace, creating a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere.
- Accessibility: In-house meetings ensure all necessary resources and equipment are readily available.
- Flexibility: Hosting meetings on-site provides greater flexibility in scheduling, allowing teams to easily adjust meeting times.
Benefits of Offsite Team Meetings
- Novelty and Excitement: Offsite team meetings offer a change of scenery from the everyday workplace.
- Focus and Productivity: By removing distractions associated with the usual work environment, offsite meetings allow participants to focus more intently on the agenda.
- Creative Thinking: New surroundings can stimulate creativity and inspire fresh ideas.
- Enhanced Communication: Away from the constraints of the office, team members may feel more comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions openly.
- Reduced Interruptions: Offsite venues often offer dedicated meeting spaces free from interruptions such as phone calls, emails, and unexpected visitors.
Some Creative Bonding Inspiration
Don’t just assemble your teams when you can have some fun and get creative with the types of activities you host.
Scavenger Hunts
Office scavenger hunts are a phenomenal way for people to take breaks at different times, instill a healthy dose of resistance, and encourage coworkers to pool their talents to accomplish a goal. The scavenger hunt itself doesn’t necessarily have to be something that monetizes everyone’s time, but it can be something that people can pick up and set down throughout the day as tasks are accomplished. There are almost a million and one ways you can spin a scavenger hunt.
Hybrid Experiences
If your office is more of a hybrid event style, this can be a little trickier to coordinate, but not impossible. Bonding across the office virtually and in person can help balance everyone’s task load in a reasonable and manageable way. A mix of online polls, lunch games, or even more creative “murder-mystery-esque” virtual and in-person clues can all spark joy and camaraderie.
Escape Room Challenges
Escape rooms are a fantastic option for examining how each team member adopts certain roles and how that can manifest in a novel setting. Escape rooms are also a fantastic way to de-brief and provide some insight into how team dynamics may be doing and how improvements could be made back at the office.
Book Clubs
A lower-key option for an outside-office team-building activity is a good book club. The books of choice can be fun, relaxing, inspiring, self-help based, focused on the company or brands’ beliefs, or each team member can choose their favorite book for the book of the month. This is great for an office that intrinsically has readers amongst them and can easily cater to those who might not enjoy reading as others do, even just for a team-building opportunity. It’s amazing how a person’s choice of literature speaks to their character and personality.
Ditch Meeting-Planning Stress with EMRG Media
Team-building events and team meeting activities are how some of today’s top brands and organizations are improving workplace cultures. And in New York City, the most experiential corporate events are handled by our event planning pros at EMRG Media. With decades of experience in curating a wide range of company events, our team knows how to create an environment that meets all of your team-building goals. Whatever you’re planning for your company and staff this year, take the guesswork out of every step with EMRG Media. Contact us, and let’s start putting your team meetings on the calendar!
