Running a business is a serious task that people regard as a formal setting where fun is not always an option. But on the flip side, fun should always be a part of business ventures to keep all parties involved happy. Especially with your employees, they may feel like their office is a source of stress, leading them to feel constantly exhausted and eventually burnout from the pressure. This is where your intervention as the owner should come in. Knowing their needs and providing whatever you can to help them can mean the difference between a failing and succeeding business.
A good part of your operations to spend money on is that company trip that gives your people a well-deserved break. Compared to how some people think that this is a waste of time, it can boost the motivation and productivity of employees as they create bonds with one another. The key to making your company trip a success is planning. Apart from the proper briefing of participants on this trip, you must also take into account the kind of team-building activity to organize. Here are some ideas to help you.
Ski Trips
Sports are some of the best activities that require teamwork from every player. But some sports that do not ask for team participation can still incite fun and interaction between all participants. Skiing is one of these. Organizing a ski trip encourages employees to try something new while building trust in themselves and others.
Learning how to ski will also encourage communication and adaptation, which is something that you need a lot of in the workplace. Skiing is just a fun activity that can bring many benefits to the relationships and motivation of your employees. So grab your cozy Bogner plaid ski pants, safety helmet, and other ski gear to start skiing down a snowy slope with your trusted employees.
Escape Rooms
Escape rooms have become a trend in recent years because they stimulate the mind to think up ways of escaping a locked room. Because this kind of activity is usually timed, it can show you how your employees react to pressure-filled situations, letting you find ways to encourage them better. Escape rooms also make use of riddles, clues, and hidden tracks that challenge people’s problem-solving and decision-making skills. You will then find the natural leaders in your office and those cooperative team players who push the progress of your business to success.
Cooking Classes and Cook-Offs
Food can also be used to change your workplace dynamic. Cooking classes require people to listen to instructions so that they can create good food, while cook-offs promote healthy competition that ends in eating the dishes produced. All of this can be enjoyed by everyone, provided that safety precautions are upheld to avoid injuries while navigating a kitchen.
Camping
Camping is a common but effective business trip to organize. This activity brings people closer to nature, letting them reconnect with the wilderness and temporarily detach from the hustle and bustle of the city. Aside from the stress relief, camping also gives you time to be with each other and interact through camping activities like fishing, canoeing, tent pitching, and many others.
The available time can also be used to overcome hurdles in the workplace. You may brainstorm ideas for a project that stumped everyone for months, eliminate office drama, or talk about how to make the workspace more conducive for everyone.
Improv Workshops
Improv classes are less usual activities for a business trip, but they can lead to discoveries about your employees. These workshops will force your people to explore how they use their bodies to convey thoughts and emotions, giving you insight into how they manage different stimuli like stress, frustration, happiness, and the like. This will also help you recognize their non-verbal cues while interacting in your office. But most of all, it pushes people to listen and think carefully before they carry out their actions which is something that you can benefit from while running your business.
With these, you will eventually find a better office dynamic that wouldn’t be possible without incorporating a bit of fun once in a while. Spending a little on these kinds of trips shouldn’t hurt as they can motivate your employees if done right. But beware of organizing these activities just for the sake of it.
It is also important to know the right time to plan a business trip and your goals for each activity. If you find that simple indoor team building activities will suffice, do organize them as this can help to lessen the expenses. Ask around and take note of every employee’s needs to get a better feel of what you should do in building harmony and efficiency within the workplace.
