Holiday business cultures can either be hit or miss. Some businesses choose to skip any holiday interaction to fear alienating employees from different backgrounds, while others opt for the usual ugly Christmas sweater party. If you are looking to keep your employees at the end of the day, you shouldn’t let the holidays intimidate you.
Holiday team building activities are a great corporate mission to develop your employees’ positive and personal work culture. Considering that you have to work with them side by side for years, they can also be ample opportunities to give your employees an excellent chance to get to know each other. Enhancing social connections at work goes a long way in establishing highly desirable work environments.
Instead of settling for the same holiday activities like papering the office with candy canes and snowflakes, consider trying Wonderlead team building activities, or these alternative activities that will get your employees into the holiday spirit and enhance your business’s growth:
Volunteer for Charity Events
Holidays are always the best time to give back to society. They are the best time to remember those who are less fortunate, and you and your employees can use this to put a smile on people’s faces. Once in a while, it helps encourage your team to open their hearts and give back to society over the holidays by volunteering for charity events or participating in charity-related activities such as working to build bikes for unfortunate kids.
You and your team can also volunteer for activities like food banks or soup kitchens for homeless people. You can also choose a local cause like building food baskets and delivering them to senior homes. You can also allow your team to extend beyond their comfort zone and do an activity of their choice to experience something worthwhile. Giving back to the community will help your team engage and bond while benefiting society’s greater good.
Secret Santa
Secret Santas can be held all year long and not just during the holidays. However, it is always a great way of allowing your employees to learn a bit more about their co-workers. If you set on this team-building activity, then you should make sure that you inform your team ahead of time to allow them enough time to do their research. It would be best if you also let them know of any guidelines beforehand.
By defining the expectations ahead of time, you avoid hurt feelings amongst your employees. The idea is to reveal each person’s secret Santa at the holiday party. However, because there could be employees who don’t believe in Santa Claus or Christmas, you should consider calling it ‘Secret Pal.
Break Bread
You can also reward your team with a culinary team experience. Some of the best ways to bring your team together in a delicious yet engaging activity are through culinary challenges, classes, dining events, and tours. Saying thank you to your employees with a tasty culinary experience can make for a perfect holiday team building activity.
Rock Climbing
Whether indoors or outdoors, rock climbing is a team-building activity that incorporates activity and fun. Indoor rock climbing can also be equally effective as the aim is to bring team bonding, focus, and feeling accomplished. It helps your team learn trust amongst themselves, translating into their work culture in the office.