November 30th 2021
Team building days and events are something that every company should be planning, at least once in a while. But sometimes they can end up not going exactly as planned, due to a lack of effort. They should be fun and engaging, allowing your employees to relax and be themselves whilst they also take something positive away from it.
We believe that a team event should be exciting, so we’re going to give you 10 tips on how you can plan correctly to make it an unforgettable day out for your whole team.
1. Why Do You Need a Team Event?
First of all, you need your team to understand the purpose of the event – Why are you doing it? What exactly can they get out of it? It could be to boost productivity by breaking away from day-to-day office life to enjoy something together as a team, or to show them that you are invested in them as employees and want to treat them. It can help them to develop their skills or address any weaknesses that they feel they have. Before planning any event, make sure to let your team know your motives behind planning it.
2. Seek Employee Input and Feedback
When planning an event for your team, it’s important to involve the team! Get them to submit ideas or vote on activities based on their personal preferences to gain a fuller picture of what they would like to do. These insights will be invaluable when you’re at the stage of booking a venue or catering options. This will also help you to understand the different personalities in your team and help you to pick the perfect option that suits all. A team event should always have input from everyone from the beginning.
3. Make the Event Personal to Your Employees
As said in point 2, involving everyone in the team is a vital first step in planning an event. But why not go a step further? Plan an event based around the people in the team, where each person gets their chance to shine during the day, maybe over the course of a few different activities. They will be able to see the amount of effort you’ve gone to to make them happy, and this will likely boost their overall productivity and attitude towards the company. If you invest in them, they will invest in you.
4. Plan Your Budget Before Deciding on the Activity
Make sure you have sign-off on a dedicated budget for the event before consulting your team, as this will likely determine which activities are on the table or not. This is vital, as you don’t want to promise your team a day out that’s more than what they’re actually able to do. If you need to consult a higher office to do so, make sure to do that well in advance, so you know exactly what budget you’re working with. Remember that activities, catering/refreshments, and headcount all need to be considered.
5. Share the Workload: Get People Involved
No team building day is complete without the involvement of the team, so from the get-go, make sure each person has specific tasks that they need to attend to, to make the whole day go a lot smoother. Whether it’s handing out the refreshments during downtime, keeping on top of the itinerary, or time management, everyone should have something to do.
This can also be true for the pre-planning stages also, and not just on the day. Sharing the workload is the spirit of teamwork and can really help to boost your teams’ morale. You can read our guide on how to improve employee productivity and motivation for even more tips!
6. Plan the Time and Date of Your Team Event
It goes without saying that you’ll need to be careful when planning the exact day when your event takes place. It will need to not interfere with any other company responsibilities or important meetings. It may be feasible that you can move meetings to other days to accommodate your event, but you’ll need to be mindful of each employees individual calendar. Get feedback from your employees on their personal commitments too before you look to book a venue.
7. Picking a Venue: Health & Safety, Travel and Accessibility
When picking a venue for your event, you must be mindful of many factors. Firstly, health and safety concerns should be at the forefront, as the last thing you want is an injured employee on a day that’s meant to be enjoyable. Secondly, travel options. Are you hiring a bus for your whole team, or are they travelling separately and arriving at a pre-determined time? Lastly, think about accessibility. If you have disabled employees, which may need special access ramps to enter a building, make sure to plan around those too, so everyone can enjoy the day.
8. Catering and Refreshment Options
When budgeting for your event, make sure to allocate a certain portion of that to food and drink. If it’s a whole day event, you’ll need to ensure your employees have enough water/drinks and sustenance to keep them going. You could plan around a nice lunch for everyone, followed by an evening meal that everyone can enjoy together.
You should also be aware of dietary requirements that some people may need, for example vegan/vegetarian options, gluten-free options, and other critical dietary needs. If you are planning to have alcohol present, make sure it’s consumed in moderation.
9. On the Day: A Checklist Makes the Day Go Smoother
So, you’ve planned the event and the day is finally here. To make everything go as smooth as butter, it’s a great idea to put together a checklist of all activities that are to be undertaken throughout the day. It doesn’t have to be meticulous and to-the-minute but having a proper timeline of what you’re going to do will make it a lot easier, especially if you have multiple smaller events taking place at the same time. Usually, the office manager will be responsible for this role, but your team can nominate someone for this if you want them to be more involved.
10. Survey Time! See How Everyone Felt About the Day
If you want to know how the day went for everyone, then you can send out a survey! If you want honest and unfiltered feedback, you can make the survey anonymous, so you can get a feel for exactly what your employees thought of it. If everything was planned correctly, and they had lots of input, however, the reviews should be stellar! If everything went swimmingly, and everyone had a great time, you’ll know exactly what to do when you come to plan your next team event.
So, there’s our 10 tips on what you can do to execute a great event for your team! Remember that involving your employees is a great way to boost morale and make sure everyone feels seen and heard.
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