Neel Mehta
Summertime is the perfect season for some good, old corporate team bonding. Take advantage of the perfect weather and use some of these ideas to spur some creative thinking and relationships… while having fun.
1. Race Car Driving School.
OK, it seems a little extreme. However, there are a number of race car driving schools in the area that offer corporate events. Switch your swivel desk-chair for a seat behind the wheel of a Corvette and take your company out for a day on the racetrack. Driving schools in the D.C. area offer a corporate package experience to companies that want to stir up some team bonding the cool way. It may be just the thing to accelerate your company toward meeting goals.
2. Scavenger Hunt
If race car test driving seems a bit too bold (or expensive), maybe a company scavenger hunt is more down your alley. Create teams and have them hunt down odd or funny items on a checklist around the city or your own office building. Employees will have fun working in teams to complete the mission, plus they’ll have photo souvenirs to put on their desks. Get them out on the town by having them take a picture of the smallest house in Alexandria, or find the car with the most bumper stickers, for example.
3. Cooking Challenge
Whip up some corporate bonding by setting up your very own “Iron Chef” challenge at a cooking school. Think about it – good food, strong employee teamwork and those cool chef hats. This event would be great for team bonding by having teams race work together in a race against the clock to put together a five-star meal. Break communication barriers by breaking some eggs… or dishes (depending on how much wine is involved).
4. Corporate Paintball
Remember those neighborhood manhunt games as a kid? Well, the grown-up version of manhunt is also a great and fun new trend for company team bonding – paintballing. There are a number of paintball companies in the D.C. area that offer corporate tournaments and make great team bonding experience. Communication, concentration and team work are needed to make sure team members don’t get pelted in the back with a ball of neon pink paint. Sounds fun, right?
5. Picnic
Instead of a typical outside barbecue, why not make the next corporate picnic one that your employees will be talking about for weeks? Schedule some fun and simple games and award winners with prizes. Break up into groups and have teams compete in corporate jeopardy, water balloon toss, or even a three-legged race. Why not splurge a little and rent one of those dunk tanks? Watching volunteers get thrown into a mini-pool never gets old, especially if you’re the one throwing the ball.
