The office is a place where people combine their resources to work together. Working in a team is crucial for any project’s success. At the same time, rightly goes the saying, “All work and no play, make Jack a dull boy.” In contemporary times, the trend of organising team outings is gradually catching up. In fact, studies reveal that it is a very good practice as it helps the team members synchronize their energies and also perform better in the workspace.
However, there are certain considerations and factors, which need to be kept in mind while giving the much awaited break from work to your devoted team. Before planning an outing, it is essential that you get into the details of things and enlighten yourself on how to plan one first. Though it seems to be superficially easy task, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. Go through the pointers below. They’re bound to guide you in the right direction.
• The venue: The venue is always of prime importance and is largely responsible in setting the mood for the event. Keep in mind the liking of every member of the team when choosing a venue. If not every member, then
try and understand a common interest of the majority of the members and then choose a venue accordingly.
• Outdoor Vs Indoors: This is a crucial, mind-boggling question for any team outing. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Going outdoors provides more venue choices and recreational options. Also, it’s a fresh
change from the office environment. If it is an entire day trip or a weekend getaway, nothing better than venturing outdoors. At the same time, Business meetings and team lunches are best organised indoors.
• Sketch out the agenda beforehand: For a team outing particularly, it is always good to have an agenda or itinerary at hand so that people know beforehand what they’re heading for. Ensure that you incorporate loads of
innovative team building games and adventure sports activities, which are bound to keep everyone engaged. Sports activities such as volley ball, river rafting etc. are good options for team outings. For the evenings,
organizing a pool party or a dance, or a formal sit-down dinner is also a good idea.
• Food: If the food served on a team outing is not of top-notch quality, it will spoil the entire mood. So before embarking on the journey, sample the food or organize for a caterer, whose food quality you’re confident of.
• Bring in the experts: Organizing a team outing is a mammoth process and means a lot of responsibility. Moreover, if you take it upon yourself to manage the outing, there’s a high chance that you may miss out on a lot of fun
in the process. Thus, the best way to do it is to hire an event management company and tell them your requirements, so that they can design an itinerary accordingly to suit your specifications.
Team outings are a brilliant way to initiate new bonds and to get to know your colleagues better. So if your company is organizing one, do not shy away from it and totally go for it!
