Organizing a team building can be a pretty straightforward task. You call up the local paintball spot, cover the expenses, and let your team settle the score with paint guns in their hands.

It may not be an option that fits everyone, but it turns out to be the best “already prepared” event that your team could find. While it can be quite a bit of fun, depending on your team, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

This brings up a question – How do you create a team building that floats everyone’s boat? Considering that FishingBooker’s Support Team has a long history of team building that made others in the company say: “I wish I was there!” you might find our approach interesting.

Don’t book events, create your own!

No single person is exactly alike in a team, especially bigger ones. Every team member has their own unique hobby, interest or talent. By identifying these passions, you have a better chance of constructing an event that can truly inspire people to engage and express themselves.

Looking at FishingBooker’s Support Team, we have people who enjoy painting, photography, cooking, baking, and the list goes on and on. So, we already have a solid idea of what we could do on the team building, but how do we spice it up?

With competition, of course! Every Support Team Supervisor has their own direct reports, so it’s a battle of the minds, brushes and dough to see who’s group can come out on top. Truthfully though, it sounds a bit more extreme than in reality. The purpose of competition is to add a nice little extra touch to the festivities.

So, with all of this talk about hobbies, talents and interests, we booked a beautiful house with a lakeside view. For the first part of our stay, we sparked up a sort of rustic, old-school vibe where the gentle strings of bossa nova transported us into 19th-century Portugal. We just had to ignore the 10 laptops that were scattered across the house.

Expression sets the mood for conversation

Did you know that Anabelle from the Support Team went to art school? Well, now you do! This was also an opportunity for her team members to learn this fact about her. By having events and activities tailored to your team specifically, you open up opportunities for conversations to occur that might never happen in the office.

Painting wasn’t the only activity that showcased a different edge for Support team members. Niko also showed off some impressive cooking skills as he tackled the task of making some homemade ravioli, where his background in catering shined like a bright star.

Mouth already watering? Read on for more dishes that came freshly plated from the Support Team’s kitchen!

Unique and usable merch creates long-lasting memories

When you hear the word merch, you probably just imagine a white T-shirt with a company logo on it. That’s not how we do things at FishingBooker’s Support Team!

To make this team building one to remember, we also created custom-made aprons whos design incorporates:

Our three main activities – painting, making ravioli, and making pizza
Fishing – what our company does
A cheeky but light-hearted attitude that flows through our team

It’s not just about making the design unique though. You should also aim for it to be visually appealing and something your team members would probably wear regardless of the occassion. If you can make the merch fit the occassion, add a sprinkle of fun on top of the design, then you’re guaranteed to have a long-lasting memory of your team building experience!

Why rush when you can take it easy?

Ultimately, it’s all about winding down and having some time to relax with your colleagues. That’s why you shouldn’t try to cram everything into a single day, and preferably find a soothing spot somewhere in nature.

Our approach was to rent out a house for two nights, which gave us more than enough time to make the ravioli, pizza and do some painting along with just relaxing and talking. Any type of activity automatically gets an enjoyment boost when done in nature – Just take a look at what Maria had going on her canvas.

A two night-stay really gives your team all of the breathing room needed to actually participate and enjoy the activities. Team building should be a care-free experience, and all of the effort put into thinking up the activities could go to waste if people are just way too tired to do everything in one day.

The bottom line

At the end of the day, you should provide team members with the opportunity to connect. By creating custom tailored activities, you’re creating an environment that allows everyone to express a non-work related side of themselves.

Add on top of that enough time to relax and enjoy the fruits (pizzas) of everyone’s labor, and you have the perfect recipe for a memorable experience.

We’re not trying to say you should copy us if your team isn’t into cooking or painting. But hey – take a look at Niko and tell us it isn’t the perfect combination.