Team Building That’s Actually Fun!
Over the weekend I was telling some of my friends about the team building opportunities we’ll have at Escape Tactic, and it sparked a discussion around “what makes a fun team building event.” I have my ideas since we spent a lot of time thinking about it as we were exploring the escape room concept. So I stayed quiet and took mental notes.
It was hilarious to hear some of the comments and some of the examples of prior corporate team outings. But after we went through examples of fun events – pub crawls, go karting, escape rooms, the White Water Center, etc – I asked them what about team building is fun….and inherently not fun.
That’s where it got more interesting. Here were the top things our group said were important to a good team building event.
- Actually fun – A no-brainer, huh!? But the first response was a team building event has to be fun. It has to be something you’d be willing to do on your own but isn’t so common or awkward that you’d never choose to do it in your free time. I don’t know anyone who sits around with their friends telling “Two Truths and a Lie.” That’s not team building. That’s a lack of effort!
- Creates interaction without feeling forced – Let’s face it. Trust falls are forced – and over-the-top cliché. That’s not team building either. That’s like “Office Space” lived out in real life. If you’re going to spend time with your co-workers outside of work, you want to do it in a way that allows you to get to experience something with them without having to feel like you’re all going to a shrink’s office. The goal is to get to know each other better, not everyone’s deepest, darkest fears.
- Outlives the event itself – A great team building event is a fun, engaging experience that keeps you talking about it at drinks afterwards and for weeks to come. The first time I did an escape room with my team at work we talked about it for days. And my previous employer did the ultimate team event by taking the entire company to Cancun for 4 days. Those trips got talked about for the entire year (sometimes for the wrong reasons!!). But if your team outing dies as soon as it’s over, it missed the point of bringing the team closer together.
At Escape Tactic, we’re trying to build these fun, engaging, enduring team building experiences. Escape rooms were fun for us so we took a shot, and hopefully you’ll enjoy them too!
