Just because we get to wear jeans and trainers to work in the creative industry, doesn’t mean we don’t work just as long and tough hours as others. Svelte suiting or not, creatives tend to take work home with them. Their minds whir throughout the evening with ideas and they often work to tight deadlines on big collaborative projects. Teams are usually close-knit and ideas are always brewing. However, with so many proposals and thoughts on the table, things can sometimes get a little heated. This is why it pays to have a yearly team building event. When one invests so much into the team behind a business, it’s worth creating the artful balance between hard work and personal satisfaction.
Country Retreat
Speak the language of your employees and offer a team building event that is refined, fun and beneficial for all. The idea is to liven up your team, get a sense of unity and creativity flowing through their blood and lighten the load on their weary shoulders. And a weekend away in the country for corporate events, complete with motivating activities is the perfect start. Choose a venue with a rich heritage, in stylish surrounds, and you’ll have more of a chance of whetting everyone’s appetite. Mix business with pleasure and make it a weekend of retreat and action. Country hotels are ideal for such events. These venues offer opportunities for activities such as Segway safaris, clay pigeon shooting, archery, and horse riding. No one is going to turn down the chance of getting out of the office and back to nature. Look for a location set in acres of landscaped grounds that is going to make an impact. Also, choose a venue that has experience in corporate events and you are more likely to have a seamless outing. It’s also a beneficial way of scoping out locations and venues for future conferences. You never know when you may need to entertain prospective clients in glorious surrounds. Combine sprightly outdoor activity with design focused and improvisation techniques on your weekend retreat. Professional Improvisation teachers can be hired to come to your chosen venue. They can create an afternoon of spontaneity and creativity. It’s a fundamental way to tap into the imagination of your employees. And improvisation sparks lateral thinking, risk-taking and team bonding. Design led activities include creative writing, physical theatre, life drawing and photography. All teach new artistic skills in a creative environment. They also allow a fully immersive experience where employees can freely express their emotions. And it’s a superb way to tap into their communicative skills too.
Non-Profit Volunteering
An inspiring event for all your staff is a day or weekend working for a non-profit company. Volunteering offers a sense of belonging, camaraderie and giving back to the community. Companies such as O3e offer challenging events such as charity bike builds and performance wheelchair challenges. A charity bike build is both empowering and motivating, allowing your team to take on social responsibility in a fun environment. Lasting for around two and a half hours, each team must build a bike each in their allocated workshop. Their building station comes complete with all the tools needed to carry out the challenge. But obstacles are also created along the way such as inadequate funds and missing parts. Yet competitors must still work to finish on time. The completed bikes are then given to charities that will use them for those in need. The wheelchair performance challenge works in a similar way. Team members must build a wheelchair and then compete in a wheelchair race or basketball match. The fully built wheelchairs are then donated to charities including Help The Heroes and the SSAFA. Team building exercises such as these focus on creative skills and mental challenges. And they are a beneficial way to see how your staff overcome difficulties. They promote a sense of accomplishment and enable colleagues to get to know each other in a unique and rewarding environment.
Why Get Together Outside Of Work?
There is a big difference from going out for a few after work drinks and actually spending quality time together. Put your staff in an environment that encourages and supports forward thinking and action and see how they thrive. When executed to perfection, team building events are extremely beneficial. They can reduce stress, provide bonding and help develop trust between people. Knowing that you care enough about your team to organise a weekend of events produces higher productivity at work. And team building weekends have been known to improve mental health and get that all important staff satisfaction. As an employer, you will also gain a broader, more in-depth knowledge of the staff you employ. And who knows, it could also reveal some hidden skills among your team members too.
