Let's be honest — everyone loves attending an event where food is involved. To make it interesting, set a theme for the potluck (like Mexican, Italian or Cajun) and have everyone bring a dish surrounding it. Breaking bread together is one of the best age-old bonding experiences there is.
One really fun and engaging team building task we’ve done in the past is a wine tasting night at the office. I hired a sommelier to come in for a night after work on a Friday, and gave him a budget of $500 to choose wines ranging from $4/bottle up to $150/bottle. We then did a blind taste test where everyone got to taste and grade the wines one at a time. People would guess their price range, and order them as best they could. Then the sommelier revealed the results and declared a winner, with a grand prize of (surprise) a bottle of wine. It was a great event, and everyone had a lot of fun. In fact, our winner knew nothing about wine while our two resident “wine experts” failed miserably. And at the end of the night, for anyone who didn’t have someone to pick them up, I ordered an uber for them from the office. I think it worked well for bringing us a little closer as a team and making the most of our physical space.
Do a show and tell! People get excited when they have the opportunity to share things they are passionate about. Usually, it is hard to get to know much about our coworkers during business hours. A show and tell is a fun activity that motivates everyone to know each other better and maybe even find common interests. You can do it with hobbies, pets, favorite movies, etc. People will connect more easily with other colleagues with whom they may not interact much during work hours. This encourages communication, which benefits the productivity of the entire team.
Happy hours are a sure-fire way of getting your teams excited about showing up to work, as well as giving them something to look forward to through the entire week. Tips for holding a successful happy hour include choosing a good theme, offering a variety of different snacks and drinks, and facilitating great conversations amongst your team members to keep the mood lighthearted and happy. So long as your happy hours are a space where employees can unwind and relax after a long week, there's no doubt they'll be looking forward to it every week.
Our colleagues at work become our second family. As the weather starts to get warmer, consider hosting a picnic with employees and their families. This is a great opportunity to connect professional and personal lives to improve office culture and work-life balance. Each employee can contribute by bringing a homemade dish along with their significant other and children. Not only does this strengthen workplace friendships, but also helps team members feel appreciated in a fun and engaging way.
One of the best exercises that are both motivational and could help the company with great ideas is a Shark Tank-themed session. In this, every employee is asked to come up with one brilliant idea, research it and pitch it to the group. You can put stipulations on it that it must be something your company can do or develop, must have cost research included, and must resolve a current problem. This gives all employees to find solutions to problems they see in the company or find new avenues to launch new products. The winner should get a cash prize with some runner-ups getting gift cards. The judging panel includes a company executive, a manager, and a shift worker. They can ask questions and offer opinions as the pitch is made, just like in Shark Tank. There should also be a stipulation that if the company uses one of the ideas the employee will get credit and some other form of significant compensation, particularly long-term compensation.
Gameday themed work events are an engaging way to get people excited to come into the office. There’s nothing like the combination of sports and friendly banter amongst colleagues. Sporting events make for compelling nights where everyone figuratively {and literally at times} show their colors. The comradery it inspires is great for a healthy workplace. At the end of the day, we’re all on the same team no matter who we root for. Gameday sporting events are a great way to get to know your peers, and they don’t have to be at an actual game—a local bar/restaurant or perhaps even the workplace will suffice. These events are a great way to improve the workplace by fostering environments where employees can feel good about where they work and who they work with. Good vibes and good times!
One of the most memorable episodes of the U.S. version of “The Office” was “Office Olympics.” While the boss was away, the employees invented games during the day. It gave them a much-needed diversion and boosted their morale. You got the sense that it strengthened the relationships among them (particularly between Jim and Pam). A real-life Office Olympic Games can be held – annually, quarterly, or whatever time frame you prefer. The games should be inclusive. They should consist of contests everyone can enjoy. The contests can be skill games, games of luck, or a combination of both. Offering this day of diversion can go a long way toward boosting an office’s morale. It’s something team members will look forward to.
Trivia is a fan favorite team building event. Quiz games appeal to competitive employees, however, since players often compete in teams, the stakes are lower pressure for non-competitive workers. Trivia is naturally fun and social and usually involves food. Plus, the categories can span a wide range of subjects and give various teammates a chance to shine and show their skills and smarts. The activity is a blend of fun, educational, and cooperative, thereby winning leadership's approval.
Games are a great way to get people excited to come into the office. We've done scavenger hunts, played Taboo and Pictionary, and made our own version of Trivia with company-related questions. Our employees look forward to these team-building events and always make sure to come into the office on the days we're playing these interactive games.
When people have the conveniences of home at their disposal because they work from home, it's a tough sell to get them excited to come into the office. But if you can create an event that will benefit them not only in the moment but also later on at home, then you've got a winner. For offices that don't have a kitchen, I recommend hosting a cookie decoration class. Have a local bakery provide all of the supplies (cookies, icing, piping bags, etc) and teach a fun, interactive class. At the end of the class, make sure everyone gets to go home with half a dozen cookies they can share with their family/friends! For offices that do have a kitchen, pick an appetizer or two that doesn't take long to create from start to finish. Make sure the vendor you choose provides a print out of the recipes your employees can take home with them! At the end of the day, you've taught your employees a skill; and most people like skills they can put to use at parties and other social functions.
One exciting team-building event is a team scavenger hunt. This event can involve a variety of different tasks, such as finding specific items, completing a puzzle, or completing a challenge. By doing various tasks that require a variety of skills, the teams and employees will be encouraged to test and share their skills. This helps build support and camaraderie among them. It also is important to make sure that the tasks are challenging but also doable so that everyone on the team is engaged.
Folks love food, free food especially, so any team building experience that includes snacks is a sure win. For example, some of Team Building's most popular events are Great Guac Off, a competitive guacamole-making contest, tiny campfire, a virtual cookout that includes a gourmet s'mores kit, and Gingerbread Wars, a seasonal event that has teams competing in cookie decorating challenges. Other ideas include potlucks, picnics, cookoffs, team lunches, food trucks, and sampling events. These activities add excitement to the normal workday lunch routine, and meals are naturally communal events that help teammates socialize in a relaxed atmosphere. Plus, most team members love snacks!
Our monthly “Lunch and Learn” session is the ideal way to build camaraderie while enjoying a meal. The premise is simple; we work a half-day that day, and take the afternoon to eat and get to know each other better. We aim to not focus on business-related conversations and instead invite everyone to share whatever they would like to. It helps us find similarities in our interests, which brings us closer together as a group. The goal is to have a relaxing end to the week while having fun!
Engaging your teammates in the workplace is essential as it would excite them to come to the office and also increase their productivity at work. Here are some team-building exercises and events managers and leaders can hold to interest people to come to the office: - Celebrate special days: You can celebrate employees' birthdays and common festivals at your workplace so that people would love to come to the office to be a part of such a celebration. - Conduct workshops: Get guest speakers and experts who can help conduct workshops and seminars that can be useful and informative for the employers. - Go for picnics or short trips: Every organization can arrange for outbounds for all the employees to meet differently, connect, and have fun. Of course, working is important but employees will efficiently and would be excited to come to office only if the workplace is fun.
Answered 4 years ago
Hosting team lunches are a fantastic way to get employees excited to come into the office- who doesn’t love free food? Whether it be a potluck, food trucks, or a trip out to a restaurant, company-hosted lunches are a great way to bring people together in a relaxed setting that isn’t work-related. Team lunches break employees away from the normal work routine and give them something to look forward to throughout the week. If you’re looking to take it to the next level, choosing a restaurant that has activities in it like ax throwing or karaoke can help to get employees even more excited about their fun company-hosted lunch.
One team-building event that works for getting people excited to come into the office is a company-wide scavenger hunt. This event can be customized to fit the size and interests of your team and can be used to promote teamwork and communication. Scavenger hunts are a great way to get people out of their comfort zones and working together to solve problems.
Aside from providing the necessary safety measures and flexibility, offices will benefit from setting up social hours with snacks. One of the most compelling elements of working in person is the community it offers employees. We crave connection. We want work to be a safe environment where we can share and receive support. Often, this socialization and collaboration occur around the table, and as a plant-based food company, we believe good food is essential at the table.
One team building event that works for getting people excited to come into the office is a company-sponsored happy hour. This gives employees a chance to relax and socialize with their coworkers outside of work hours, and can help to build team morale.
Host a Shark Tank team event. Split up into teams of three or four and allocate one hour per week during business hours for the teams to meet, brainstorm, and develop their business idea. The inventions can be serious or humorous – the most important thing is that everyone gets to be creative and have fun. After a few weeks, host a Shark Tank event where teams can pitch their ideas over Pizza, with gift cards for prizes!