April 14, 2023
The workplace can be stressful at times and it’s important for employees to step outside the office to recharge. With summer generally considered to be a more carefree time, it’s a perfect season to host a company outing. Company summer outings can be entertaining but also help establish a more interactive and positive workplace. Summer is right around the corner, and this is a great time to consider your outing plans! Read how to plan your summer outings, as well as some of our company outing ideas below!
Benefits Of Hosting A Company Summer Outing
When your employees are able to develop meaningful relationships and connect with colleagues, it can have a positively profound impact on the workplace.
Building a cohesive team is a never-ending process and it is important to consistently make sure your team is working well together and reaching goals smoothly. Employees interact every day at work, but a summer outing can be a catalyst for more team chemistry.
We all know the old saying “all work and no play”, and that is something that should definitely be avoided. Company summer outings for teams are a perfect way to relax outside the office, as they provide fun and festivities to reduce employee burnout. Once it’s time to get back to the everyday grind, everybody should feel refreshed. Company outings can create more energy in the workplace, leading to happier teams!
A report from RedBalloon/AltusQ found that companies with high employee engagement levels were up to 10 times more likely to see an increase in sales and profit than those with lower engagement.
3 Things To Consider When Planning A Summer Outing
1 Know Your Employees
Is your office predominantly male or female? What do you think your employees would enjoy doing outside the office? Do your employees have families – would you consider inviting their children or spouses to the summer outing?
2 Evaluate The Importance
Are you planning a company summer outing for team building or for your employees to meet across departments? Would you consider a weekend-long retreat or a Friday afternoon barbecue?
3 Don’t Settle For “Nice” When You Want “Fun”
You can have all the “tools” (location, games, and food) when organizing a summer outing, but how you use them will make all the difference. Develop a goal to create an event where everyone is actively involved and enjoying a memorable day.
The Best Company Summer Outing Ideas
1 Volunteering
Spending a company outing helping others isn’t just good for the soul and supports healthy team bonding. Place-based volunteering opportunities include a weekend retreat with Habitat for Humanity, soup kitchens, or organizing a book drive for local school libraries. Need some help planning a philanthropic event? Check out our Do Good Bus and Bikes For The Biosphere programs. We have a large selection of charitable events that are guaranteed to do good while bringing your team together.
2 Barbecue Or Picnic
Everyone loves great food, and eating a meal together can improve employee relations, which makes it one of our favorite company summer outing ideas. Try to think outside the box from the usual hot dogs, hamburgers, and potato salad being served at a barbecue or picnic. Have your event catered and advertise it as a mystery meal to keep people interested! Better yet, check out the various Team Cuisine menus that your team can enjoy!
Let’s not forget, having ice cream is the best thing to have on a summer outing, and what if you were able to make your own? Well in our Ice Cream Challenge you and your employees will be able to. Our ice cream making activity promises an unforgettable and yummy team building activity, where you get to transform raw ingredients into ice cream and also create your own waffle cones to present to a panel of judges and the best new ice cream is crowned. Make it a delicious challenge!
3 Laser Tag
What better way to get your adrenaline pumping than an exciting game of laser tag? Not only is laser tag a fun activity for a summer outing, but it will allow your employees to use their logistical and strategy skills, as well as work as a team! Want something even more interactive? Look into our Live-Action Adventures & Escape Games.
4 Kayaking Or Canoeing
Water activities like kayaking and canoeing are great choices for team outings if you work with adventurous people. Spending time on the water is an enjoyable and relaxing way to spend a beautiful, summer day. Many public rivers have boathouses with rentals, so a company outing will be easy to organize. You can encourage your employees to tandem with coworkers they have yet to get to know better! Step it up a notch with our Corporate Survivors program.
But if you’re really looking to get out on the water during the hot summer months. Our Build-A-Boat program is one of our favorite company summer outing programs, where each team is given specific equipment, tools and blueprints they’ll need to construct their very own boats for a race course in the water. When teams are having fun and working together successfully, the boats they build are dependable and sturdy.
5 Hiking or Rock Climbing
This is a great company summer outing because it gives workers the opportunity to breathe in some fresh air, enjoy the scenic views and be out in the sun. Not only is this a great way to be outdoors but it is a good team-building activity. Hiking or rock climbing requires communication and trust. Having good communication makes it so that everyone is on the same page and will stay in good health on the trail.
But remember, not everyone may want to participate in this high-energy activity. If you want something less physically enduring that still boosts team communication, check out our Team Trust or Bust: Communication Challenge.
6 Mini Golf
Mini golf offers a fun interactive summer outing for your team that involves a friendly competition which gives your workers the opportunity to get to know each other and strengthen their bonds. Plus it is a great way to get out in the sun and get everyone moving. The best part is mini golf offers different levels of difficulty, which means just about anyone can play and have a good time and enjoy themselves. Want a little more fun and creativity? Check out our Build Your Own Mini Golf Course program where you create obstacles using tubes, pipes, boxes, canned goods and other supplies to build your own mini golf course. This program also provides an opportunity to help those in need by donating the non-perishable boxed and canned goods used in building your course to local communities and food banks.
7 Paintball
Ready to fire up some excitement. What better way to get your employees motivated and pumped up to work together than some paintball fun? Going into battle means counting on your teammates to help you achieve success. Paintball is a great work summer outing because it encourages support, motivation, communication, and trust within each other. And don’t forget everyone is going to have a blast! Need some more out-in-the-sun fun, look into our Summer Team Building Outings.
8 Scavenger Hunts
Many people live in places that they have never toured. Embrace your city! Why not take a Duck Boat tour or Segway around? it will be fun to act silly and you might even learn something new about your city!
At TeamBonding, we provide many scavenger hunt programs including the Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt, Team-Opoly Scavenger Hunt, Mad Dash Scavenger Hunt, and so many more! With a variety of different themes, you can choose the one that best suits your group. Our experienced team will provide you with all the necessary materials and instructions to make your scavenger hunt a success. Get ready for a memorable experience!
Start Planning Your Company Summer Outing
The time is now to get planning! Want to book a company summer outing but don’t know where to start? Contact one of our TeamBonding event experts who can help facilitate a company outing that meets your team’s specific needs.
