Hosting a corporate event? Try these 15 innovative yet fun corporate event ideas to boost cohesion and productivity, and elevate company culture for success.
Almost two million events, including meetings, happen annually in the US alone. annually. And since they’re usually organized by the HR departments, the onus of finding something new may fall on you!
It can be difficult to find unique & fun corporate event ideas for every year even if you’re someone who really believes in the power of team building! After all, it’s easy for the other employees to find out what your competitors are up to—thank you, social media.
As an organizer, you’ll want to either build on others’ successes or start your own trend. And that’s why we’ve put together this listicle. It will give you ideas on how to execute something different.
If this is your first such shindig, you may be wondering about the why of it. Why is it so important to conduct these events in the first place?
Here are some reasons:
To recap:
Now, let’s see what we have for you that will blow your competition out of the water!
It’s true professional development activities have their own place in a company’s success. However, that doesn’t mean all company get-togethers need to be formal slash dull events. Cut through the boring with these new-to-you ideas:
We present to you two variations for mystery dinners:
Variation #1: Host interactive dinners with engaging plots and character interactions. You can plan your own party or hire experts to do it for you.
Variation #2: Arrange interdepartmental dinners. The mystery, in this case, would be in the participants not knowing who they’ll be sharing tablespace with! All they’ll know ahead of time is which restaurant to show up at and when.
Here’s how to do it:
Tick all the ritzy boxes for corporate event entertainment by throwing your own casino-style party. DIY organizers, you can find everything on Etsy.
Games to try:
Make your makeshift casino more interesting by:
Retro carnivals can be great sources of entertainment for corporate events. Create a vintage carnival atmosphere with games, snacks, and nostalgic activities.
All your attendees need to bring is their nostalgia while you can help them harken back ye olde days with:
Team-building activities can help teammates get to know each other better. That way, individuals can learn others’ skills and weaknesses. When a team gels together in non-work settings, they’re likely to carry those lessons into their professional lives.
So, smoothen that friction and transform your team into a well-oiled machine with these ideas:
Host virtual trivia sessions to encourage friendly competition and knowledge sharing. This kind of corporate party entertainment’s perfect for completely remote and hybrid teams. Because it ensures everyone can be included.
Trivia nights can also be a great opportunities for colleagues to get together and solve challenges that have nothing to do with their daily jobs.
For this event, you can:
Some examples include The Trivia Factory, District Trivia, and the Big Quiz Thing.
In that case, you can use Buzzfeed, Thought Catalog, or Brightful for inspiration. Once you have your quiz ready, divide the company into teams—four or more should do. Raise the stakes and employee interest by offering prizes.
P.S. Divide your quiz into different categories, such as Hollywood, Holidays, & History.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to make some extras in case of ties and for bonus rounds.
Organize thrilling scavenger hunts to promote teamwork and problem-solving.
Some points to keep in mind when planning an outdoor scavenger-based corporate event:
If you go down the latter route, make sure to:
Organize friendly sports matches to promote camaraderie and physical wellness. Your company can support various leagues, such as:
That said, regardless of which company party entertainment ideas you choose, make sure the company pays the fees for:
Here are some even more fun corporate event ideas:
Incorporate VR activities for immersive and engaging experiences.
Physical escape rooms, for instance, are often used for team-building and corporate get-togethers. But the pandemic put a stop to that. But don’t let it stop your employees from having a fun-filled virtual experience! Companies like Virtual Escape Room can help you out there.
P.S. diverse workforces can whip up these non-alcoholic classic cocktail versions.
Finally, you can also use virtual reality in your next corporate professional development workshop:
Looking for low-cost entertainment ideas for a virtual corporate event? You’ll find several here.
Invite comedians to entertain and lighten the atmosphere during corporate gatherings.
Nothing brings people closer than sharing a laugh together! Our advice for this Team-building event? Look for comedians who:
Alternatively, you can organize improv sessions for improved communication and collaboration between and within teams:
We have three variations for this type of entertainment:
Variation #1: Feature local bands or musicians
Variation #2: Karaoke—physical or virtual (see below)—with awards for participation
Your karaoke playlist:
There are also readymade lists on YouTube for you to use.
How to plan a virtual karaoke night:
Variation #3: Bandeoke—Add some oomph by having a live band play backing tracks live!
If music and laughter fail to bring your team around, the idea of giving back definitely should! As you’ll see below, there are different approaches you can try with such initiatives. We’ve tried to cover as many as we can:
Dedicate a day to volunteering for local charities or community projects.
Your staff can help people out:
Collaborate on initiatives to clean up local parks or public spaces.
One of the best advantages of organizing such an event is it costs little to nothing! So, if you’re looking to plan one, here are some pointers:
Organize fundraising activities and donate the proceeds to a chosen charity.
Here are some ideas your team can try:
P.S. You can turn any of the entertainment ideas for events we’ve mentioned above into a fundraising event. For instance, cooking/baking classes at the end of which your chefs can take up their offerings to a shelter.
Similarly, transform your company's outdoor scavenger hunt into a Random Acts of Kindness hunt. Using the Outback app, teams can do tasks that benefit community members to win challenges.
Organize nature hikes followed by a relaxing picnic to promote cohesion and healthy work-life balance.
That said, such a team outing will come with potential risks. Therefore, follow these steps to ensure everyone’s safety:
Team-building exercises to try—and why—while on a hike:
Fosters trust and communication
Encourages teamwork
Increases employee engagement & interaction
Fosters creativity and teamwork
Plan water-based adventures to encourage teamwork.
Use Google Maps to find kayaking or canoeing spots nearby. Plan the trip using the instructions mentioned above. Assign 2-3 team members to each vessel. And then sit back and watch how teams come together in a literal sink-or-swim situation!
Design outdoor challenges and games in a competitive Olympic format.
A corporate Olympiad can be a valuable opportunity for promoting positive qualities and interaction within teams and companies. For instance, individuals learn to work together, show off, and win challenges with skills they excel at, all while engaging in a friendly competition.
We’d recommend adding both physical and mental challenges to your ceremony. That way, the differently abled can also join in.
Below, we’re outlining the general structure of an Olympiad event. You can use it as is or modify it according to your team’s needs:
Opening Ceremony
Gaming Zone
Medal Ceremony
Closing Gala
In short, your participants will be using physical strength, teamwork, creative thinking, and logic to get through the hurdles. They’ll also get to know each other better.
One thing many companies fail to understand about fun corporate event ideas is the need for post-event follow-ups. And one way easy way of doing that is through an Event Wall.
Why do it?
Because it’s important that employees revisit the good times they had for several reasons:
So, for instance, if one of your business entertainment ideas involved a game of Pictionary, you can ask employees to share their team’s pictures with you, which you’ll then pin on a physical wall or pool in an album on DropEvent.
How do you do it?
Having trouble collecting pictures for your Event Wall? Find an easy solution here.
Executing a fun corporate event idea comes with so many positive outcomes. But it won’t be wrong to sum them up by saying they all translate into team cohesiveness and overall productivity. In other words, happier employees are more engaged and stick around for longer.
Which of these unique events did you like the most? Let us know how well it worked out for you, if you do try it.
Host a fun office event with the help of these simple steps:
You can make your event fun and engaging if you:
Start an office fun activity by aligning preferences and objectives. Then choose activities to promote both. Iron out the details, like resources, venues, timings, for smooth execution. Finally, put the event on repeat, so people will look forward to it.
You can entertain a crowd if you give them a reason to listen to you. Some ways of doing that are:
If you have to provide creative concepts for a business event, use this strategic approach:
DropEvent makes photo-sharing easy, even for a group of strangers. Upload, share, and show moments from your events with one link. No accounts, no apps, no limits.
