Are you interested in team building, but not sure which type of activity to choose? Hopefully this comparison table will help. It shows how Smith Assembly’s workshops compare to other team building activities for features like online options for remote teams, potential for bonding, meaning and inspiration, accessibility, diversity and inclusion, social impact, skill development, and price.
View Team Building Comparison Table
When using this table, we encourage you to think about your individual colleagues as well as your team and company as a whole.
- How are you all feeling right now?
- What kind of sustenance does your team, and your workplace’s culture, need to maintain or improve your health and happiness?
- What are your goals?
- What challenges are you and your team members currently facing?
- Is there anything that would help your team achieve your next big milestone(s)?
By thinking about answers to questions like these, the team building event you choose can be more than just mindless fun.
In case it’s helpful, below are three example scenarios to help you think through your team’s current needs and illustrate how the information in the comparison table can be used.
Scenario 1 — Connection
You and your team have been working from home for most of the past year. In the before times, there were impromptu hallway conversations, lunches, happy hours, and other events to keep everyone connected. Now it feels like you and your colleagues are drifting apart. In fact, there are not-so-new hires you haven’t ever seen in person. How can you and your colleagues get to know each other better and strengthen your relationships?
Look for activities that are more than surface-level socializing. Team building events which have meaningful and inspirational topics; involve tactile, physical, and kinesthetic activities; incorporate acts of goodness or social impact; reinforce communication and collaboration skills; and/or reinforce problem-solving skills tend to give people more opportunities to bond.
Team Building Activities to Consider
- Smith Assembly Workshops
- Escape Rooms
- Art, Maker, or Cooking Classes
- Volunteering
Scenario 2 — Diversity & Inclusion
2020 was quite a year. For some of us, it was eye-opening. For others of us, it was just the latest year in centuries of relative oppression. How can you and your team acknowledge the recent events related to the racial justice movement and meaningfully contribute to your company’s diversity and inclusion efforts?
Look for events that themselves are accessible and inclusive for all your colleagues. Ideally, the team building activities you choose should also be cross-cultural and help clarify, personalize, or enrich you and your team’s understanding of topics like Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion.
Team Building Activities to Consider
- Smith Assembly Workshops
- Experiences by Locals
- DEI Training
Scenario 3 — Professional Development
You’d like to give your team opportunities for growth, but with everyone working from home and trying to manage pandemic life it needs to be something different than the traditional corporate training you’ve done in the past. How can you and your colleagues develop your professional skills in a way that’s more inspirational and can be done over a video conference call?
Look for activities that cultivate a growth mindset. Team building events which reinforce emotional intelligence, creativity, critical thinking, and/or problem-solving can help develop people’s leadership skills, especially if afterwards you discuss how your learnings from the experience relate to your workplace.
Team Building Activities to Consider
- Smith Assembly Workshops
- Escape Rooms
- Paintball, Ropes Course, or Sports Activities
Need help convincing the powers that be to invest in team building? Check out Why Team Building Is So Critical.
Would you like to learn how Smith Assembly’s workshops could help you achieve your objectives? Please contact us. We’d love to talk with you!