Corporate Team Building Activities & Events

Put simply, it’s anything you do with your team to build bonds and bring people closer together. While the phrase is traditionally applied to corporate or work groups – any group of people can participate in a team building activity!

When employees spend time together, they will inevitably get to know each other better and develop better working relationships. Whether your company leaders are organizing an event for staff to mingle and socialize, or employees take it upon themselves to get together and do something fun – team building can really happen anytime, anywhere. Even when you least suspect it!

In fact, you’re probably already doing some form of it already. It can be as simple as a staff potluck lunch that you organize in your office breakroom, or a movie night that employees decide to attend after work.

We offer a few different types of activities that you can choose from if you’re looking for a more structured team building experience. These exercises are designed by professional event coordinators and business experts to be fun for employees:

• • Indoor – Activities and exercises that you can do right in your office or meeting space.

• • Outdoor – Activities and challenges that will take your group outside, either to a nearby park or into the streets of your city

• • Charity & Philanthropic – Special events that can help your group build bonds as they give back to a local charitable organization.

• • Scavenger Hunts – Corporate scavenger hunts are a great way to strengthen bonds between colleagues, increase collaboration, and stimulate problem-solving skills and strategic thinking.

• • Budget – Activities that you can run yourself using the help of the Outback Team Building & Training smartphone app.

These aren’t “traditional” or “boring” team building exercises either. These are fun corporate group activities and team building ideas that get employees to full-on belly laugh as they complete outrageous challenges. There are no trust falls here! Your group will be amazed at how much fun they’re having and impressed with the person who made it all happen.
Here are five ways we can make sure your next corporate team building activity will actually be fun:

1. Choose from 30+ team building exercises for large groups or small corporate teams.
2. Focus on fun challenges that will entertain and engage your colleagues.
3. Customize your activity to include meeting agenda items, event goals, or staff dynamics.
4. Get flexible pricing options, no matter what your budget is or where you’re located.
5. Bring in a professional, on-site event coordinator to engage your team.

All our events are scalable and available 365 days a year, anywhere in North America. Regardless of your goals, budget, group size, time frame or location, we’ll have an outstanding event solution for you and your team.

These are the types of questions that we hear all of the time: What does team building actually do? What are the benefits? Do these activities really make a difference?

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to these questions. The truth is that if you’re looking for a direct link between an activity and your bottom line, you may be disappointed. A simple activity will not fix all of your workplace problems or help your sales team make more money. It isn’t some magic bullet solution that can transform your organization overnight, either.

What team building can do is have a direct impact on how your team feels about their work. By regularly organizing bonding events at your company, you can help to build a more positive workplace culture and improve the happiness levels of your coworkers. This can help to reduce staff turnover, build morale, and boost employee engagement levels.

If you’re looking for proof that team building actually works, check out these statistics

• Organizations with highly engaged employees achieve 2.5X more revenue compared to organizations with low engagement. (Hay Group Study)
• Organizations who increase their employee engagement by just 5% typically experience revenue growth of 3% the following year. (Aon)
• 46% of professionals found work friendships to be an integral part of their overall happiness. (LinkedIn )

So what skills can team building help your staff improve? Results will vary depending on the type of activity you choose and what areas you decide to focus on. In general though, it’s been linked to the following areas of employee skill development:

• Communication – Bonding exercises often involve employees having to communicate in new and exciting ways. It’s a great way to test and develop how well they speak and listen to each other under pressure.
• Creativity – When employees are stuck at their desks all day, they can eventually also feel like they’re stuck in a rut. A team activity can be just the break they need to try something different, take ownership over a project, and explore their artistic abilities.
• Leadership – Every great team needs a leader, and these activities can be one of the most effective ways to develop those leadership skills. Most exercises will break groups into small teams of five to six people, which means team leaders will have to be careful and deliberate with how they delegate.
• Problem Solving – How well does your team put their heads together to solve a problem? Oftentimes, employees get so caught up in their own tasks that they don’t think to collaborate to tackle a tricky challenge. Team building can help to show your colleagues that there are benefits to working together.
• Collaboration – You may think it goes without saying, but one of the biggest linked skills is collaboration. These exercises are designed to get team members working together in new and unique ways.

If you say the phrase “team building” around most people, they tend to roll their eyes or immediately start making negative comments. These are the type of people you’re worried might speak up at your event, and say something like, “Why are we even doing this? This is stupid. What is the point of any of this?”

That’s why our number one priority whenever we put together a new corporate team bonding event is to make sure that it is actually fun for your colleagues, first and foremost. In fact, employees usually end up having such a blast that they don’t even realize they are team building at all!

The negative stigma around team activities comes from a lot of bad past experiences and exercises. People think of corny icebreakers, such as trust falls, or going around in a circle and having everyone say one fun fact about themselves. These are the types of exercises that give “team building” a bad name.

Here are a few ways that you can make sure your activities actually serve their purpose:

• • Learn What Your Coworkers Like – Every team is different. While one corporate group might enjoy participating in an athletic outdoor scavenger hunt, another group might prefer to tackle an escape room indoors. Choose an activity that fits what your team likes to do in their spare time, and they’ll be less likely to think the experience is “cheesy.”

• • Define Your Goals – If you don’t have a goal for your event, then employees may think you are just wasting their time. Define a clear purpose for your event, and make sure you tell everyone why it is they’re participating. Sample goals might include practicing new skills, encouraging coworkers to meet new people, or making a difference in your community.

• • Mix Up Participants – During your activity, don’t just let employees gravitate towards the colleagues who they spend every day with! Encourage people to mingle with other departments to make the experience more memorable and unique.

• • Add A Little Competition – Looking for ideas to make your team building exercise more engaging for employees? Adding a bit of competition into your activity can help make it a lot more exciting.

• • Include Time for Socializing – Try not to overwhelm participants with too much “forced” bonding throughout the event. Include lots of breaks and free time so staff can get to know each other better more naturally.

You can find more tips in our blog post, How to Plan a Team Building Activity That Isn’t “Corny.”

Need more helpful resources and links? Maybe you’re not looking for an actual activity, you’re just looking for quick and easy tools and ideas to help you boost your team’s morale and make your office a more pleasant place to work. Check out the Outback Team Building & Training Blog for tips and insights to help you build a better team, and our Downloadable Resources page for free workbooks and guides on topics related to team building.

If the responsibility of planning your next team activity has fallen upon you, you may feel unsure about where to start. Don’t worry! Even though planning an event can be overwhelming, our team is here every step of the way to help you plan a fun and memorable experience for your group.

We’ve helped plan thousands of team building events for companies like Google, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola. If you’re interested in planning an activity, follow these four steps to make the planning process easier.

• • Set Your Timeline – When it comes to planning a team building activity for work, give yourself some time to prepare to make things easier. Our experts recommend you give yourself at least six weeks to plan an activity for a small group, or six months for a large event.

• • Create a Budget – Figure out how much money is available for your team event and try to set expectations based on that budget. Make sure you leave some space for unexpected expenses!

• • Choose a Venue – The right venue can make all the difference for your next activity. You’ll want to find one that is big enough for your entire group to move around comfortably, but isn’t too far away from your office or meeting location.

• • Pick an Activity – The final step is to choose the right activity for your group. You can choose between indoor, outdoor, and charity-themed options. If you need help picking a the right group activity for your work event, get in touch with our Employee Engagement Consultants for a free consultation.

For more tips and step-by-step instructions, check out our blog post, How to Plan a Successful Team Building Event in 9 Easy Steps.

There’s never going to be a perfect time for an activity. Getting everyone away from their desks and phones for a few hours can seem like a big ask, especially if your colleagues are customer-facing, or working on commission. So, how do you decide when is the best time to try a team building activity?

Scheduling may be a challenge if participants have busy calendars or important roles within your company. If you have key stakeholders who need to be at the event, ensure that those individuals are free before you commit to a day and time. Depending on the activity you choose, you may be able to run your work bonding event over a few hours or a few days to accommodate more people’s schedules.

You can also plan to try an activity outside of normal company hours. This can be a great way to ensure that it does not negatively impact your business – but it may make it a harder if you’re asking employees to sacrifice their free time in the evenings or on the weekends!

Here’s the good news: the majority of our team building activities can fit into any agenda or timeline. Whether you are looking to plan a full day of activities, or you have only one hour with your group – our Employee Engagement Consultants can help you find a solution that works for you.

Do you have even less time than that? You can also ask us about our “Express” activities, which are perfect for groups who have less than an hour to team build. These are fast and fun ways to boost the energy of your group and get them working together.

The best activities for work groups are really just the ones that are the right fit for your group. You should take into account your team dynamics, preferences, and athletic abilities before making a final decision.

With that being said, here are some of the top activities you can choose from:

• Wild Goose Chase – An exciting scavenger hunt that will have your group running around the city as they complete wacky photo and video challenges.
• Charity Bike Buildathon – A philanthropic team building event that has your group competing to build, decorate, and present the ultimate children’s bicycle for charity.
• Minute to Win It – An interactive team building exercise inspired by the TV gameshow, this activity is perfect for boosting the energy levels at your next meeting or conference.
• CI: The Crime Investigators – Looking for more of a problem solving challenge? This team building activity for work is great for brainy coworkers who think they have what it takes to solve a mystery.
• Cardboard Boat Building Challenge – Make a splash at your next corporate event with this wet and wild activity! Teams will have to use their creativity and leadership skills to build and race boats made out of nothing but cardboard and tape.