Indoor team-building events are back! In the Spring of 2022, we have produced dozens of indoor programs across the country for groups ranging in size from 20 to 1,000. We knew there was a pent-up demand to get together again, but frankly we were surprised by the number of people who were ready to get together in large groups.
But things aren’t completely “back to normal” so it makes sense to think carefully about your participants when planning your next indoor gathering.
We’ll give you the rundown on exactly what it takes to organize and run indoor team-building events in 2022.
When should I run an indoor team-building event?
If you’re wondering when to run an indoor team-building event, you’re not alone!
A lot of companies are unsure of when they should be doing this, if indoor team-building events are safe, and how to organize such a feat.
When Your Team Feels Safe Doing So
Does your team feel safe getting together in large groups indoors?
Safety and comfort should be your number one concern when it comes to indoor team building. If your participants don’t feel comfortable, they won’t absorb information and they won’t bond with their coworkers.
The best way to find out if your team feels safe is simply to ask them!
When COVID Numbers Are Manageable
Yes, COVID numbers have dropped substantially, but that doesn’t mean that it’s safe to run every team-building event.
Before scheduling your event, ask yourself:
– How large is my group?
– Will there be space for everyone to socially distance themselves?
– What are the COVID numbers for my town or city?
– Could this event lead to illness?
When the Weather Is Unpredictable
Indoor team-building events are ideal for when the weather is unpredictable.
If you schedule an outdoor event, you need to do so on a day where there’s is little (or no) chance of rain, excessive wind, cold, or other foul weather.
Should you choose to schedule an outdoor event, you may want to choose a “rain day” or find an indoor venue that could host last-minute in case a weather event ruins your plans.
How to Run an Indoor Team-Building Event
Ready to start planning the big day? We have a few tips on how to make your team-building event a memorable one.
Poll your employees
Find out how your employees feel about large indoor events before planning one.
Send out a poll to determine if an indoor, outdoor, or virtual event would make everyone most comfortable.
Despite mask regulations and vaccine requirements lifting across the country, there are still thousands of workers who are immunocompromised or whose young ones aren’t eligible for vaccination yet, so make sure everyone is comfortable attending an indoor team-building event before scheduling one and find out if there are any qualms about attending such an event.
If some of your guests are still uncertain about an indoor event, consider hosting an outdoor option. If weather is a concern or if you aren’t able to find a space for an outdoor option, then you could plan a virtual event for those who can’t attend in person – as well as an in-person event for those who feel comfortable gathering indoors.
This way everyone will have a bonding experience – and no one will feel left out.
Send out save the dates
Since you’ll need to make a lot of arrangements for an indoor event, you’ll want to know how many attendees you should expect.
If attendance isn’t mandatory, send out save-the-date announcements and ask for a preliminary yay or nay from guests. This will help you determine how large of a space you should book (if you’re not planning on hosting the event at the office) and what types of team-building events to plan.
Determine your team’s needs
Why are you scheduling an indoor team-building event? What is the purpose of doing this?
Does your team need some serious bonding time? Do you need to get out of a creative rut? Are you celebrating something? Is this an annual, quarterly, or monthly get-together?
Once you know why you’re organizing such an event, it’s easier to choose the activities.
There are dozens of team-building events that are appropriate for indoor venues. But you should know WHY you are holding the event as well as the types of activities that appeal to your employees before you pick one that sounds fun to you!
Organize the nuts and bolts
Once you’ve chosen your events, it’s time to start planning the day. But planning can be kind of challenging (especially if you’ve never planned an event like this before).
If you’re tasked with organizing a team-building event on your own, we recommend chunking the planning process into must-do, can-do, and wish-list items.
Start with the timely to-dos that must be finished right away (booking the event space, hiring a caterer, hiring someone to live stream the event, etc.). Then you can fill in the rest of the details as you go.
Or you can hire a professional team-building company to do everything for you. Here at Feet First Events, we know exactly what needs to be done (and exactly what not to do) to make sure your big day goes off without any snafus.
One last thought… what about Hybrid Events?
Another option that you might consider is a Hybrid Team Building Event.
Here are our frank thoughts… hybrid events works fine if you are listening to a guest speaker. People can sit in the room or sit at home and watch through their livestream or Zoom Link.
But if you are trying to bond with one another, and there is a group of people who are physically together in the same space participating in an activity, and there are other people logging in virtually, invariably the people who are logging in virtually will feel like they are on the outside WATCHING everyone else having a great time. While you can try to make them feel like they are a part of the fun, it just doesn’t work.
If Covid concerns keep some of your people from attending in person, you are much better off planning an outdoor experience for everyone to participate.
Or if that isn’t possible, your participants will have a better time if you plan one indoor event for those who can attend in-person – and a separate virtual event for those who don’t feel comfortable gathering together inside. Again, for a successful team building event you need everyone to feel safe in order to have a great overall experience!
