5 team-building activities to evoke extreme enthusiasm

November 19th, 2018 @ Sarah Hill

Team-building activities have gotten a bad rep in recent years. Even the mention of the term can quickly result in snarky comments or at least eye-rolling from employees. And honestly, who can blame them—team-building activities are often dull, awkward and, in the end, useless.

But that doesn’t have to be the case. Team building can be a very effective tool for increasing productivity in the workplace, improving communication and creating a better office culture.

But how can you ensure that your team building activities bring the desired results? Well, there are a few approaches that work great for making team-building activities in London more exciting—these ideas can not only help you achieve your event goals but do so naturally and with enthusiastic participation from your employees.

Get outside

London isn’t the most reliable city in terms of weather, but that shouldn’t stop you from getting out of the office and doing something fun outdoors.

Chances are, your employees spend enough time indoors as it is, so even a simple change of scenery can serve as a terrific morale booster and help to kick off your team-building day the right way.

There are many kinds of outdoor activities you could try, and if you want to get specific suggestions, you can always consult corporate event companies who have organized similar events multiple times before.

For those that want a bit more adventure in the outdoor activities, you can go for a more active activity such as rafting, zip lining or even a paintball tournament. These are all activities that will encourage your employees to work together and compete in a friendly environment.

Of course, you can opt for something more relaxed and simply go for a hike or even set up a picnic—this way, your employees can learn more about each other in a casual environment and also provide you with more opportunities to achieve the team-building goals that you set out.

Cooking class

The kitchen can be a great place to build relationships and get to know one another, so it only makes sense that a cooking class can be a great way to have a good time while at the same time accomplishing your team-building goals.

Learning how to cook requires cooperation and communication, which are both essential skills your employees need to develop to reach their goals in the workplace. Working together to create a meal that everyone gets to enjoy is hard to beat, so you’ll have no problem getting your staff excited.

In a typical cooking class, a professional chef demonstrates the basic skills and tools necessary to complete the culinary challenge and then people have to work in teams to complete the task.

Each person has their own task that they need to do correctly for the result to be achieved, so employees will be naturally inclined to encourage and help one another, as everyone’s working towards a common goal.

Learning how to use the tools of the trade and presenting the dishes in an appealing way will require creativity, problem-solving and teamwork, all of which are essential skills that will translate to the workplace as well.

Escape room

Escape rooms are an increasingly popular team-building activity, and for good reason—they offer a thrilling and unique challenge that requires your employees to showcase their problem-solving and sleuthing skills while at the same time working together to get out of the room.

Your employees will get a chance to show their skills and communication abilities, while you’ll be able to observe their unique traits and see the dynamics between your staff in real time, which can be very helpful when you need to allocate tasks and put together teams for various projects back at the office.

Since escape rooms typically have a time limit, that puts additional pressure to solve problems quickly, which is great for replicating the real-life demands of the workplace but without the real consequences.

Solving riddles and accomplishing goals will not only improve communication and collaboration skills in your group but will also help people relax with each other and show a more personal side, which has many benefits for improving cohesiveness and nurturing personal relationships between employees.

Get creative with filmmaking

While moviemaking may seem like something that only a professional studio could undertake, it could be a unique team-building activity for your team that provides an unforgettable experience and allows your employees to create something meaningful together.

Coming up with a plan, writing a script, having someone direct while others perform and then editing the final result may be too much of a commitment, but you can have just as much fun simply planning out the process or making a game out of it.

You could have your team come up with the entire plan for the movie, deciding on the plot, then figuring out who would be best for which part, as well as working out the numerous details of the film itself. Let your employees use their full creative potential when brainstorming ideas and see how far you can take the most exciting ideas.

You could also separate your employees into teams and have each team pitch their idea to add a bit of friendly competition to the mix. This will also show you how people deal with these kinds of situations and can help you distinguish the most creative people in your group, as well as those that are naturally inclined to take on leadership roles.

Award show ceremony

Award programs are popular among companies that want to reward their employees for achieving various goals such as good sales numbers, achievements in product development, or exceptional customer service.

Still, not many companies use award show ceremonies or they don’t use them to their full potential.

Award show ceremonies provide the perfect opportunity to not only celebrate the successes of the most prominent employees and give them proper recognition but also allow your employees to relax in a non-work environment and build relationships that go beyond the workplace.

They also enable your staff to gain a better understanding of the company’s goals and see that their work is valued, which can encourage employees to seek to improve their performance and try to work more effectively with one another.

Obviously, to make sure that interactions between your employees happen naturally, you will need a little bit of planning. Make sure that your staff is seated in a way that allows for new relationships to develop instead of just seating people in groups that already interact with each other the most.

Finally, if you want to achieve the best results, it would be a good idea to host the award show outside of the office because a new scenery will help employees relax and embrace new relationships. If you’re not sure where to find the appropriate venue, you can always hire a venue finding service.

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Category : Blog and Industry News

10 ways to effectively streamline your event

May 22nd, 2017 @ Sarah Hill

When planning and executing an event, it is important to be efficient and keep things running as smoothly as possible. The following 10 tips will save you from many headaches.

1. Book your venue early!

There are certain times of year when venues are especially busy: post summer holidays, pre-Christmas and during the end of the fiscal year (May and June). If you are looking to hold your event during any of these periods, you must start contacting venues early to secure your date—as far forward as a year in advance, depending on the size of your event.

2. Create a timeline and task list

Before you jump in the deep end, make sure you prepare a timeline and task list for your event that you can refer back to throughout the process. It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, but you will thank your lucky stars when you have that to rely on as the big day approaches.

3. Do away with paper forms

If you want to increase event efficiencies, start with your registration process. Collecting paper forms, transferring data to spreadsheets and following up for payment can be timely and complicated. It doesn’t have to be this way. Online event registration systems can save you and your members a lot of hassle. Contact details, payment information and dietary requests can be confirmed with the click of a button and members can often log back in to update their registration. All event registration systems are different, so take the time to scope out options that meet your specific needs.

4. Start promoting early

Most professionals’ schedules fill up quickly. In order to ensure you have the greatest turn out to your events possible, make sure you provide members with plenty of advance notice. Even a “save the date” stating there will be more details to follow solidifies the date in their mind and creates anticipation. Collecting registrations early on will also help you get an idea of how big your event will be so that you can adjust venues as need be.

5. Set registration and cancellation deadlines

The days leading up to an event can be very busy, so setting deadlines for registrations and cancellations is necessary. In order to prepare materials such as handouts and giveaways, you need to know how many guests to expect. You also need to provide venues your guarantee with at least 48-72 hours’ notice, so it is wise to set these deadlines at least 72 hours prior to the event. You can typically increase numbers by a few, but reducing is an issue—if guests are allowed to cancel within this time frame, you will be out for their meal costs, which is never a good thing.

6. Keep attendees informed

Advise your guests of any important information prior to the event. If you are holding your event at a private club or golf course, a dress code warning is imperative. You will also want to advise guests of registration times, to bring cash for draws, and their team mates or starting holes if it is a golf tournament. One email can save you from phone calls and reduce questions at the door.

7. Confirm final details with the venue

Just like you, venues are busy planning many events so it is easy to forget minor details if they were not recorded in the event contract. Touch base in the days leading up to your events to re-confirm any details or additional requests, such as table set-up requirements. All venues create an event sheet which staff at the venue follow, make sure you request to look over this and do it with a fine toothpick to spot any issues/notes that may have been missed. A walkthrough of the event space may also be helpful to visualize the set-up.

8. Always arrive early

You never know what surprises can come up on the day of an event. The room may be set up incorrectly; maybe you forgot important items at the office. You will also want to perform a thorough AV test to ensure all equipment is in proper working order. Encourage your speakers to arrive early as well, so they can get comfortable with the set-up.

9. Greet guests in an organized fashion

The registration desk is your attendees’ first impression of the event. Ensure you have attentive staff and/or volunteers ready to handle the crowd. Name badges that have been laid out alphabetically contribute to a streamlined process. You should also have print outs of attendance lists and methods of collecting payment in case people show up un-registered at the door. Find out where the bathrooms and coat racks are as soon as you arrive, and be prepared for any and all questions!

10. Prepare an agenda with timelines

In order to ensure the event stays on track, a day-of agenda for volunteers and emcees is necessary. This should include any important announcements, speaker names and bios and sponsor recognition. Everyone has busy lives and you don’t want guests leaving early if the event goes over its scheduled end time. This may also cause problems with the venue if they have another group starting promptly afterwards. A jovial emcee who can pleasantly move speakers along will be a great asset to your events.

This may seem like a lot to keep in mind but a lot of it is common sense and will come with experience. As long as you build these items into your event planning task list, you will have nothing to worry about!

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Category : Blog and Industry News