Team Away Days – The Glue of the Business World
Our team at work is defined by its shared values: those of care for the agency, and a desire to perform well while at work. The shared value we don’t talk about as often is the desire to be happy while at work, and to feel like a valued, respected member of the team who is rewarded for the graft they put in.
At Shooting Star, we believe that respecting our workforce as our greatest asset is the number one way to do good business. A lot of our time spent in the office is with our team members, but spending quality time together is what binds us together as people, as well as employees.
Coming together for a team away day can bring a variety of rewards which can benefit the future of your business and your team. So we’d like to reflect on our top three team away days and their benefits for the team.
Spy Challenge – 2019
Our team away day this year involved a puzzles, obstacles and investigations at the Si5 Spymissions centre in Nottingham.
Working as a team, we navigated the indoor course to find the exit, which allowed each of us to play to our different roles and help the efficiency of the team, while working against the clock.
This course tested our logical thinking, observational skills and physical abilities as a team, and served as a great icebreaker as we had recently welcomed two new interns to the team!
Later in the afternoon we listened to Susan Ritchie in her inspirational talk ‘Communicating With Impact’, learning to bolster our self-confidence at work, and discussing the future goals of the agency.
Escape Room – 2018
We joined forces for a day at the Escape Rooms in Nottingham. Given an hour to complete our challenge, we were locked in a room alone and left to crack the code and escape as a team.
This is where emerging leaders, enthusiastic participants and generally clever people step up! We have some extroverts, some introverts and some clear leaders, but each and every one of us contributed to the activity and both teams escaped, unharmed within their allotted time!
This exercise allowed us to work organisationally together in a hands-on environment away from the office. We played to each other’s strengths, and moved as a cohesive unit while building some memories which we still fondly reflect on today!
Blindfolded Land Rover Driving Experience and Assault Course – 2015
The last of our top three activities, some members of the team say this is the best we’ve done to date. The scene was set in Sherwood Forest: a blindfolded Land Rover driver, four team members on each corner of a car, directing them around a dirt track using only code words – what could possibly go wrong?
This away day demonstrated exactly what teamwork is all about. We pushed ourselves to our limits, had our coordination, focus, and patience tried and tested in this refreshingly unique challenge. We left the day feeling closer and stronger as a team, and gained some hilarious memories too.
If you like the sound of this, even if you’re not a driver, then check out activities like it near you!
Why Should We Do It?
Team away days are an indispensable opportunity to reward your team for the hard work they do all year round. They give different groups the chance to get to know each other, break the ice and build on their common ground in a lighthearted and fun environment.
Engaging in a team away day, getting together to do something fun and active not only allows you to get to know your colleagues better, but it gives you a better flavour of how you work as a collective. Team building activities like the ones we’ve listed above are a fantastic chance to identify the varied strengths of your team, by putting how you work into physical practice.
What Could We Do?
There are plenty of creative ideas to spark your imagination for team away days, depending on how brave your team are! Here are a few we’ve put together that will hopefully inspire you to get together and strengthen your team, while having some fun along the way.
–Drumming workshops – Work on a beat together and sound out your feelings as a team!
–Dance classes – Work on your jive, or learn a routine together to crack out at Christmas parties!
–Cookery class – Find out who’s the Gordon Ramsay in your team.
–Pottery making – Flex those creative muscles and give your team a chance to take their creations away with them!
–High ropes – For the braver teams out there, why not take to the skies and navigate a high ropes course together?
–Treasure hunt – Put your teams to the test with a city-wide treasure hunt! Find the clues and work together as a team.
The value of getting together once a year away from the office cannot be understated. Away days give employees a new perspective, recharge their batteries and encourage effective team working. Enjoyable away days are a good morale booster, but bad ones can be excruciating, so make sure you talk to your team first and understand what they will and won’t enjoy!
SF & TD
