Author: Carly Syms

Our friends at Museum Hack recently posted an article we love and want to share with you at Team Build NYC!

Museum Hack took a look at the seven team building lessons we can learn from animals. Check out some of the best team building that happens in the wild below!

The Cattle Egret: Teamwork for the Win

The Cattle Egret is often seen perching on cattle or other grazing mammals. The egret eats parasites off of the cattle’s body and often warns about oncoming predators. Cattle shake up grass and dust, disturbing insects for the egret to eat.

Tip: Teamwork between different departments can foster success while communication between different departments builds stronger relationships.
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Nothing brings people together like sharing an amazing meal, so it’s no wonder cooking classes are one of our most popular team building activities for companies in NYC.

There’s no shortage of great choices in the city, but below we’ve compiled a list of five of our favorite team building cooking classes. Do you have a favorite that’s not on the list? Let us know!

1. My Cooking Party

They are all about fun! Team building is going to be a party where everyone goes home happy.

2. Brooklyn Wineries

Bring on the wine! This is a classy spot for team building, where your team can learn about the finer points of enjoying a great glass of wine, all while toasting each other.

3. ICE

Learn to do it like the the pros. Institute of Culinary Educatio will impress even the most serious cooks in your group.

4. Brooklyn Kitchen

Brooklyn Kitchen is all about keeping it fresh and local – and completely delicious!

5. Pizza School

There’s nothing like amazing New York Style Pizza so why not learn the art of dough making, topping and cooking a perfect pie?

Since the turn of the new year, we’ve been introduced to several awesome team building companies in New York City that we’ve been so impressed with, we’ve added them to our list of top companies for local team building activities. Today, we wanted to take a minute to highlight some of our new favorite companies. Check out the list below and, as always, don’t hesitate to let us know if there’s a great team building company out there we should try!

1. Escape Entertainment – Escape Entertainment is all about the heart-pumping team building activities! This international team building company is one of the top live escape the room businesses out there, earning rave reviews from The New York Times:

2. Ahoy – Ahoy is all about tapping into people’s love of food and turning it into a bonding experience. Ahoy offers incredible food tours of one of the best culinary cities in the world. Walking tours include tasty meals and stops at local historical sites and iconic businesses and landmarks.

3. Brooklyn Zoo – Brooklyn Zoo is a new parkour facility in New York City that emphasizes activity and adrenaline as a team building experience. According to Brooklyn Zoo, their “experience inspires members to overcome obstacles both physical and mental.” Their methods focus on progression and attention to detail.

It’s no secret there’s an engagement problem in today’s workplace. A 2015 Psychometrics Engagement Study found that a jaw-dropping 69% of employees believed their company had an engagement problem, while 82% felt it was critical for their organization to address this issue. That’s a lot of unhappy employees – and a lot of unhappy employees who want their company to fix the problem.

It’s also no secret that better engaged employees are better performing employees, and that’s crucial to your business’ success. Studies have shown almost 80% of employees who considered themselves highly engaged trust their managers, and those employees who feel as though their company values them are 60% more likely to feel motivated to do their absolute best for the business. So what is there to lose by rededicating your company to improving employee engagement?

Below are three great ways to boost employee morale and help ensure you have a dedicated, committed team.

1) Have fun together. Team building is a proven strategy for increasing employee engagement and morale, and it doesn’t have to be boring or cheesy. Take Museum Hack’s renegade scavenger hunts of one of the world’s best museums! Museum Hack will have your employees uncovering the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s hidden treasures and hurrying through the museum’s halls in a race to mimic their favorite sculptures. Their incredible tour guides will have your team laughing, competing, and relaxing, all while recharging their batteries as they return to work focused and ready to go.

2) Volunteer together. Paying it forward is never a bad idea, and what better way to inspire feelings of camaraderie than with a team building volunteering event? Spend a day building houses with Habitat for Humanity, serve food at a local soup kitchen, or head down to the animal shelter to get in a little exercise with adorable pooches in need of walks.

3) Celebrate success. Always ensure that your employees’ achievements don’t go unnoticed. Celebrating successes, both big and small, can have a hugely positive impact on your workforce – and that’s critical to keeping your employees happy, engaged, and committed to your company.

The key is to make your employees feel valued. A happy employee is, in all likelihood, an engaged employee, and it’s clear that engaged employees are better for all facets of your business.