Warm weather. Can you feel it? You might need to step outside for a long, slow inhale and exhale to truly appreciate the season. And where spring and summer mean outdoor activities for friends and family—picnics, ball games, vacations, and more—we know higher temperatures mean a different kind of opportunity at work: team building activities in the great outdoors. Now, the term “great outdoors” might bring the wilderness or mountains to mind. But you don’t have to work a cross-country retreat into your budget for the sake of team building activities. You just have to get a little creative, and that’s where we’d love to help.
In the past, we have obviously come alongside numerous families in their effort to create a memorable birthday party or graduation party. However, one of our most popular customer bases is that of for-profit and nonprofit businesses! Like we mentioned before, you don’t need to break the bank on team building activities to grow an internal work culture.
Today’s post dives a little deeper into why team building activities are such a crucial component in building company culture, how to work them into the flow of your master calendar, and the perfect place(s) to begin.
The Case for Consistent Team Building Activities
Business executives and employees across the world can agree: we’re all a little Zoom’d out. In other words, online communication is a great tool to connect from anywhere but our eyes need a serious break. Staring at a screen all day, week after week and month after month, takes its toll on any team working alongside one another.
The reason we started this post mentioning weather is because spring and summer mean a real excuse to step away from the screen in favor of real, human interaction. As stated prior, we’ve served businesses through team building activities for years and the common theme is this: it’s deeper than an inflatable rental.
Business leaders reach out to us because they know their team needs a break from the monotony. And sometimes the monotony isn’t just the work itself, but other means of typical team building activities. Think about it: how often do “happy hours” really contribute to team building for the sake of growth, unity, and goal setting? Breaking out of the standard happy hour mold is the first step toward true team building. Although you might not see results the very next day, consistent team building activities might surprise you over the long-haul. Here’s why.
Power in Consistency
There is a phrase in business we love: “We often overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in 10 years.”
In regard to team building activities, please don’t read this post and think your team needs to complete a full-triathlon together by August. (But kudos if you can do it!) We simply believe in the power of consistency and the long-term ramifications of meaningful team-building activities.
Think about your business’s calendar. A step further—think about each of your team-member’s calendars. We are all so busy on our own—completing work, meeting deadlines, blowing through meetings—that if we don’t schedule time to grow together, it will never happen. When your team looks at the calendar and sees a whole day or even just half a day blocked off for team-building activities, they will see a company that values more than just quantitative or qualitative data. They will see a company that values spontaneity, mental health, and joy.
And instead of penciling in “Team Building Activities from 9am to 11am” on the calendar, we have a few ways to spice up the invite so that anyone on your team will be counting down the days toward internal growth.
The Where and The What to Succeed
A moonwalk rental for your business—multiple employees inside an inflatable bounce house jumping up and down mercilessly? Sure, that’s all a possibility. But here are a few more options from our selection of Deluxe Carnival Games and Inflatables. Most of the following selections are highly popular among businesses, and we’ll let your imagination explain why:
Starting to get the idea? We think “Toilet Racing at 2pm” sounds a little more intriguing than “Post-Work Happy Hour” and have seen multiple businesses experience the same. What’s great about any of our rentals or inflatables is that YOU get to decide how you tie in real life business principles within each activity. Take the Giant Connect Four for instance. Maybe you blind-fold the two players and have the rest of your team communicate with them on which slots to place the chips in—a perfect primer on the importance of communication on a day-to-day basis.
But that’s just one idea. We’re confident you can come up with more! Perhaps you pair any and all of these activities alongside that which brings everyone together: good food and great company.
Start with a Company Picnic
It’s a wonderful place to begin: a “kick-off picnic” of sorts to cast the vision to your team. Have everyone bring a food dish as a potluck. Plan a team building activity for your colleagues and let them know it’s the start of a new era. Maybe you set a consistent timeline of quarterly or even monthly meetings with team building activities as the focal point.
Remember that you don’t have to boil the ocean tomorrow—all it takes is consistency and accountability. Consider appointing a few individuals as the “Team-Building Directors” who plan and implement all such activities on a regular basis. The main point is to start TODAY.
Don’t let another week go by without prioritizing team growth alongside some wacky and fun activities. We believe, if the American workforce is honest with itself, that happy hours are out.
Bring back the dunk tank. And let’s throw some Racing Toilets in while we’re at it.
