Team Building in Atlanta

I was there, in my cube at work when the email came in saying “ Please reply with suggestions for team building this quarter ” Oh, no.. not again.

Maybe you have been there too? Why is there always a bit of cringe factor when this comes up in the office ? And it seems the same cycle of activities that feel like forced fun are pushed out for a vote. What will it be this time ? Top Golf, MainEvent, an Escape Room, a scavenger hunt, building a bike, building a boat (out of carboard) or something where someone shows up to the office with a box of “ games “, bowling, chips and queso at 4pm. Or the dreaded ” we are all meeting up at XYZ at 5:30pm” Noooooooo!

After a decade in the corporate world, my wife and I saw it all, and I am sure you have experienced much of this as well. And one of the most difficult things to do is asking your team to do something outside of work hours. It’s almost never a winning option.

(Unless at a destination convention for a few days where its all on the company dime?).

We are all asking ourselves, is this fun? Will people like it ? Have they done it before? is it inclusive of everyone ( age/fitness level ) and is there an actual ROI ? The second big mistake is probably inclusive options. One day they sent us an email with an address (they said it was a surprise) and to please not look it us, “be a sport” and just show up. We all drove out, mostly in separate cars. I got to a parking lot and say about half the sales team standing and looking up, shaking their heads and showing a bit of frustration. It was a huge zip line. Hmmmm not so inclusive. And yes, about half the team got back in their cars and went home or didn’t show up at all. I thought “ what were they thinking ”

I also went home. HR was a little disappointed as they have paid for everyone in advance and lost a good of money on this one. Then again while at a pub style event for work I looked around and said “ what are we doing? ” where is the team building? A few people are throwing axes at a wall, some are eating nachos, quite a few are off by themselves staring at their phones, and I passed 4 people outside smoking/vaping on the way in. This is not team building. This is team outing. But they said let’s do a team building event, and this for sure was not going to make us a better team.

Atlanta like most cities has a wide range of options when you are looking for an employee event. And research shows employees know what they like, and what absolutely know what they don’t like.

One of the top complaints from employees is they do not like events outside of work hours. A 2023 HRD ( Human Resources Direction ) survey found that 68% of employees want to connect with colleagues within their normal work hours. With 31% saying after work events mean losing family or personal time, and over half said they made up and excuse to skip these such events. Does this mean they don’t like team activities, surprisingly no, 81% said they wished their employer offer more team building/team bonding activities during work hours. Also, they love a free lunch! 87% said wish free lunch was included. You can read more about this survey here HRD Survey - No More after-work events

Also- No forced fun. This one is in lots of reddit posts, and other blogs, and random complaint comments about employee events. Take note of this as if it feels forced, and you are getting groans from the crowd, it may be worth choosing something else, or doing a survey to see what might be a better choice.

We also found great info in this article from the UK that has a wide range of stats on what employees like and don’t like in work place activities or outings.

Nulab- Team bonding: Exploring how mandatory and optional activities

Next, inclusion and ROI. Ask, can everyone do this ? Will most of my team want to do this ? And finally will my team work better together after this?

These are all questions to ask when researching and booking your next team building event in Atlanta or your local metro area. Remember, your employees come first, and find a solution that works that best for everyone and your goals !

We offer a unique in depth workshop “What is team building” that goes hand in hand with our team building challenges. To learn more about our workshops visit Our Workshops or our sister site DoTeamBuilding.com for more details.

To learn more our team building experiences visit us at Adult Big Wheel Club Team Building Atlanta