(Team Disney came to play "The Villain's Lair" in March of 2018)
Let’s be honest, work is pretty boring. No matter how much we try to love our jobs, work is still work, and most people are thinking about going home from the moment they step foot into the office. Recognizing this fact, the better companies, bosses, and CEO’s out there try their best to improve the culture by offering perks. Some recent innovations (prepare for sarcasm) in the workplace include free food, pizza parties, and most recently-- team building events! Yaaay right!?
I can already hear your collective groans, “oh God, not another company team building event!” Isn’t this how most of us feel when forced to spend time with coworkers? No? Okay maybe I’m just cynical.
But hey, if they’re paying us to be here, why not? It sure as heck beats actually doing work!
As a manager or business owner, this is your rare opportunity to show your employees how cool the company is. Don’t blow it by having a boring event!
(Cisco team members held their corporate event here // March 2018)
There’s actually some really great reasons to do team building events: breaking the monotony of work is probably the main one! Getting to know your coworkers outside of work can often improve the working relationship when you get back to the office. Don’t forget that a successful outing just plain improves morale and gives your employees something awesome to brag about to all of their friends who work at boring companies!
The only problem is that most companies fail to produce fun events. It’s extremely difficult to choose an activity that actually allows for team “bonding” in such a short period of time. It’s not your fault, unless of course your job title is “event planner.” Some niche activities like bowling, sporting events, or laser tag are really enjoyable, but only for a handful of the entire staff.
Do you want to try something that makes everyone say “wow that was really fun!”?
It’s no secret anymore that escape rooms have become a go-to for company events and corporate outings. Here’s why.
For one, it’s easy. There is not much planning involved other than picking the date, time, and number of people going. The limiting factor here is capacity. Exit Game is one of the only escape rooms that can simultaneously accommodate up to sixty (60) players.
Most importantly, everyone is guaranteed to have loads of fun.
Also, escape rooms provide the best platform for bonding in the shortest amount of time. To effectively escape the room in under one hour, each person must actively participate by searching, communicating, and solving puzzles. Everyone is literally forced into cooperative behavior (that is, if they want to escape in time!).
Each team member’s natural strengths will emerge. Are you the leader, the idea person, the one keeping everyone positive and holding the team together? Who’s detail oriented? Who is the person that can hold all the information in their head and see the bigger picture? Someone will need to keep track of what’s been done and what’s left to do! Every person has a role to play.
It’s worth noting that most escape rooms can be played by persons with disabilities. This way, nobody feels left out and everyone can make a meaningful contribution to the team. Escape rooms are a rare activity in that they are extremely accommodating and also appeal to such a wide audience.
As an added bonus, you know exactly how long the company event will last. With a scheduled start and stop time for the escape room, your event won’t drag on forever, and everyone can get home in time for dinner with the family.
Now you have no reason to continue boring your employees to death!
(More Disney team building // "An Hour to Kill" // March 2018)
We look forward to hosting you for your next event!
--Marketing Staff Person