Planning a team event everyone will enjoy: Your checklist

Before you get stuck into venue or activity searches, clarify the purpose of the event. While you may have been told that you’re due a team social or need an energiser to break up a long meeting at the company offsite, there are likely deeper reasons or company objectives that sit behind the surface.  

If you’re trying to build foundations for better cross-department collaboration, for example, you’ll likely take a different direction than if you were organising a volunteering day to progress against company CSR initiatives. Factoring these important goals into plans from the beginning can make all the difference in how the event lands, and how successful it’s considered to be. 

Knowing your price range from the start allows you to condense your options and avoid wasting time. It’s also important to define which parts of the day your budget needs to cover – whether it’s a dedicated amount for your chosen activity, or whether it also needs to factor in travel, venue and catering costs. 

While budget discussions can make your search very price-focused, zoom out to look for value, rather than just the lowest cost. The cheapest option isn’t always the easiest to organise or the best experience. 

When designing your event, consider:  

• Team size – How many people are you catering for? At Team Tactics, we make it easy to explore options by clearly showing the minimum and maximum number of participants each event can cater for on the activity info.  

• Different personalities – If you’ve got a lot of big personalities and loud voices in the room, you’ll likely benefit from an activity that relies on every participant doing their bit to get the team over the line.   

• Accessibility requirements – It’s essential to make sure every team member is able to participate and feels comfortable doing so. Remember not all requirements will be visible or outwardly expressed.  

• Energy levels – Will your team be looking to blow off some steam after a content-heavy conference, or ready to wind down after a long day? Think about the time of day and where your activity sits in the wider agenda to help guide your decision. 

• Whether colleagues already know each other well – An already close-knit small team may benefit from an activity that challenges collaboration skills, rather than ice breakers that are better suited to developing initial connections. 

When planning a team event, it can be tempting to go for a ‘more is more’ approach to make the day feel bigger or more impressive. But in reality, the more moving parts involved, the more complex the planning process becomes, and the more opportunities there are for things to veer off track.  

Keeping things simple doesn’t mean compromising on quality. In fact, choosing an activity that includes setup, facilitation, and clear support on the day can make the whole experience smoother. 

Where possible, look for a provider who can help coordinate the wider details too, such as travel, accommodation, or catering. Experienced events specialists will likely be able to recommend trusted partners and will be practiced in co-ordinating multiple elements with ease.  

Without adequate consideration to accessibility and inclusivity, team activities can risk making people feel uncomfortable, reinforcing the very divides they’re intended to address. Our research suggests around half of organisations fail to cater for their diverse workforce when planning team building activities, particularly when it comes to neurodivergent employees. 

While it can be challenging to cater for all employees when conditions are not visibly apparent or when employees don’t feel comfortable to share personal information, there are ways to get a clearer picture of the requirements, sensitivities and preferences you need to consider without putting people on the spot. You could consider distributing an anonymous survey, for example, to collect this data. On page nine of our e-guide, we’ve compiled a checklist to help you cover some of the important considerations.  

How the event is introduced matters. Build excitement by making it clear what’s happening, why, and what people can expect. Clear communication increases buy-in and reduces uncertainty, particularly for neurodivergent colleagues that often feel more comfortable with a predictable schedule and clear agenda. 

If you’re working with a corporate events or team building specialist to deliver the event, lean on their experience and expertise. A good partner will be able to help you choose the right activity for your team, guide you through each stage of the process, and deliver a smooth experience. This can significantly reduce your workload and relieve pressure on the day, allowing you can be present to enjoy the activity with the rest of your team.  

If you’re looking for support for your next team event, or you’d like a quote for a particular activity, get in touch. 

We’ve supported organisations from global brands to growing SMEs with events of all shapes and sizes over the last 30 years, and thrive on creating experiences that strengthen teams, deliver business value and create social impact. Talk to our team today.