Time for Team Re-Building:

When and where to activate face-to-face team building

As the number of vaccinated people continues to increase each day and the pace of re-opening accelerates exponentially, businesses large and small are grappling with many logistical challenges. But one of the most urgent is the need to re-build their teams and strengthen team dynamics.

After 15 or so months of working remotely, we all need to take some baby steps back to face-to-face interactions. And what’s more, teammates hired after March 2020 may have never actually met their co-workers in real-time. So, it’s important to provide some fun and social chances to get reacquainted in real life, to play together.

Amidst all the work happening, when/where/how is best to plan that intentional, invaluable team re-building interaction? We’re spotlighting three methods you can utilize, with various options available to you.

ON-LOCATION TEAM BUILDING AT YOUR REGULAR HQ

The first place some teams are reconvening is at their offices. Buildings and companies may be re-opening their offices at a fraction of their capacities, but even with some restrictions, being at the office with one or more coworkers has been a huge relief to lots of business folk.

It’s also low-hanging fruit when it comes to team-building opportunities. Seize that opportunity by programming activities at your company’s HQ when as many teammates as possible can join.

One company offering in-person activities for your office is improve it! This woman-owned, Chicago-born company specializes in interactive professional development workshops using the foundations of improvisation comedy. Over the past year, they broadened their offerings into the digital world, but they’re gladly back to offering their traditional in-person workshops that come to you at your home base.

What you can expect: improve it! delivers high-quality team building workshops that are fully customizable to your company’s specific needs. Their skilled facilitators have established programming encompassing 11 fundamental business skills and topics, running from Effective Communication, Taking Initiative & Creative Risks, recognizing Unconscious Bias, and more.

But if your office isn’t open yet or can’t accommodate the entire team, improve it! can also run the workshop right here in one of our creative spaces at Catalyst Ranch.

Learn more about improve it! In-Person Workshops here.

OFFSITE MEETINGS

On top of returning to their old office buildings, companies are also once again scheduling offsite meetings. These occasions, as in before the pandemic, bring a valuable element of neutral ground for teammates. At a full or half-day meeting at a different locale than their office’s boardroom, the whole team benefits from the fresh environment, and meeting goals can be attacked with enhanced clarity and focus.

An offsite meeting with your team, then, is the perfect opportunity to prioritize intentional team-building. While you’re all on equal ground in neutral territory, you can level up your team bonding.

At Catalyst Ranch, we provide a wide selection of team-building activities that you can add to your agenda when you’re here. The options available to you include self guided, “low-fi” activities contained in ‘Pogo’s Activity Arcade’ (Pogo is the name of our Monkey Mascot), as well as a broad selection of our vetted Meeting Mix-In partners.

Among our Mix-Ins, you can 

• Bring in a yoga instructor to lead the group in physical exercise meant to improve clarity and focus for improved problem solving
• Have a storytelling expert teach the group the hallmarks of storytelling to enhance leadership, sales, client relationships, and more
• Engage your team in an interactive Brainstorming and Creativity Workshop that equips participants with 10 critical creative strategies
• Set business aside and let your team breathe with a performance from a famous Chicago magician, or an interactive cocktail mixology workshop with a venerated Chicago beverage director.

Learn about these and many more Mix-In options, here! 

AFTER-HOURS TEAM ACTIVITIES 

 With everyone itching to get out of the house, don’t forget your team may very well relish the chance to get together outside of business hours. ‘Happy Hour’ and evening dinner outings are excellent ways to get your team members to get reacquainted without the stress of deadlines.

Invite your coworkers to an early-evening outing or a dinner gathering to reactivate your social muscles in a low-stakes environment.

Luckily, we have a great after-hours opportunity to bring your cohort together: Catalyst Ranch Dinner Parties are the easiest way to put a destination dining experience together that will delight your team.

Our Catalyst Ranch Dinner Parties make the evening together a lovely shared experience. Your teammates arrive and have our expansive space all to yourselves–even more comfortable than a restaurant’s private room–and dine on a gourmet meal from our catering partner, Catered by Design. Afterward, you’re invited to lounge in our stimulating environment and partake in one of our curated after-dinner experiences, which are designed to bring groups together and strengthen bonds among teammates.

Learn more about Catalyst Ranch Dinner Parties!

As pandemic restrictions are being lifted and offices slowly sort out new work dynamics and schedules, you and your work mates will hopefully be sharing more than a Zoom room. Team-rebuilding doesn’t have to be stuffy or traditional, and it can happen at a variety of different times and places. It’s time to focus on building human connections and bring back the camaraderie and excitement of working with a dynamic team. Now is the time to focus on people and to rebuild relationships!

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