Author: Moira O'Connell

Queen of Food Tours Team Building

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

 

What They Do: They are a culinary walking tour company in New York City focused on New York’s largest and most diverse borough, Queens

How They Do it: Queens Food Tours showcases the borough’s most exciting feature, its diversity, through a side of history, a dash of culture, and a whole lotta good eats. Come hungry and get ready to discover Queens’ one bite at a time!

What makes them Special: They provide a very different experience of New York City that includes some of the best and authentic cuisines in New York City.

Quotes from website:

“[Queens Food Tours] was one of the best I’ve ever taken. Our guide was knowledgeable, interesting, funny and took us to some great places to eat! I hope they expand to other parts of Queens soon.“ Robert C. –Tripadvisor

“A perfect combo of great food and history…hands down, the best tour in NYC outside of Manhattan!“ Kimberly T – Yelp

Who should you contact: [email protected]

Check out their website here: https://www.queensfoodtours.com

3 Simple Team Building Exercises

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

Taking time for team building exercises at your company is a great way that to ensure your entire staff is on the same page and working together. If you are looking for some simple team building exercises, that you can do on a break or during a meeting, here are some ideas! These top team building exercises need minimal equipment and planning.

 

Two Truths and a Lie:

A great activities that to use for introducing new employees, as well as encouraging teams to learn more about each other.  Hand out sheets to each player and have them write down one lie and two truths. After each player has written down their list, each member will be asked to read out the truths and the lie in a random order. Participants will need to guess which response are true and which one is the lie. This game is great for creating constructive conversation and for learning more about employees.

 

Blind drawing:

In this activity, communication skills are important. Divide players into teams of two and have a stack of pictures for the players to describe. One player is given a photo and while sitting back to back with another player, they describe the image without using words that could it away. The end goal after 20-30 seconds is to have the person who guessing to successfully describe the main subject in one sentence.

 

Use what you have:

This activity involves creating a challenge for your employees to think on the fly. Create two teams. Each team will be given the same set of supplies. Their end goal will be to solve a particular problem. The first task could be sending an email to someone with certain members of the group only being able to touch certain keys. Or creating a new logo design with nothing but a few simple materials. Divide up into groups, create a time limit and see what amazing things each group comes up with.

If you are looking for excellent activities to use at work, keep these company team building exercises in mind.

 

7 Tips for Creating Successful Team Building Exercises:

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

Many businesses are interested in introducing team building activities to their staff. The problem you may face, if you have never done team building, is that it can be an overwhelming and scary task.  Your employees might resist team building activities or you may feel like you don’t have the proper resources. Here are some tips on how you can unite your workforce and introduce fun team building activities.

  1. Integrate team building activities during work hours: One of the biggest problems that many small businesses face when planning team building activities is scheduling. If activities are scheduled outside of work hours, your teams may be resistant to participate, especially on a weekend or after a long day at work. If you are committed to introducing team building activities to the general work day, then you make sure everyone is able to participate.
  2. Make the experience collaborative: rather than establishing a tough competitions that break teams up, think of the team building exercises that ensures everyone needs to work together. This will encourage team bonding and collaboration!
  3. Consider volunteering as a group: Team building activities take the form of group volunteering! Set time aside to volunteer as a team for a local charity or help out with an activity like a food drive. No reason you can’t improve as a team while improving your community as well.
  4. Get out of the office: Getting your employees outside of their comfort zone and helping them interact more freely can create productive and happy teams.
  5. Make sure the activity is accessible: Think about all your employees. Make sure that the activities you plan have social and health benefits, but don’t plan activities that might leave a certain team member out. Ensure that all employees can participate so that the team can truly work together.
  6. Set your intentions: Let your staff members know the intent of the activity. If your goal for a specific team building activity is to introduce new people in your business, let everyone know. If your goal is simply to increase employee morale by taking part in some fun outside the office, make that intent known.
  7. Get feedback: It’s important to know what works and what your employees enjoy doing. A few days after team bonding event or team building exercise, gather feedback. Ask your employee if they would be comfortable doing a similar activity again, this will help you understand what to plan for the next time.

Keep some of these top tips in mind for scheduling successful team building exercises.

The Painting Lounge

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

What They Do: A Paint & Sip company with three studio locations (Midtown, Chelsea, Williamsburg). They offer relaxing and fun step-by-step painting classes paired with wine or beer.

How They Do it: Their classes are designed for all skills levels, making the classes completely stress free. Your instructor will teach you basic techniques in a step-by-step approach to painting.

What makes them Special: It’s BYOB! Bring your own wine or beer (just not hard alcohol). They provide the cups, bottle openers, etc.

Quote from the Website:

“I have been to several classes at Painting Lounge.  They are awesome!  If you have not been there, you need to go.  SO much fun!  Great pieces.  Kevin is awesome; friendly personality and patient.  Even if you think you have no artistic ability, when you leave you will have a beautiful piece of artwork.” – Jennifer D.

“In a relaxed, social setting, an experienced artist will guide the class step-by-step through replicating the night’s featured painting. It’s easy, fun, and totally stress free. Many people find our classes therapeutic and convenient way to tap back into their creative side. These classes are perfect for beginners, so grab your friends, coworkers, plan a unique date night, or fly solo and meet some creative people. It’s also a great way to decorate your apartment because you are sure to go home with a painting you can be proud of. Also, our classes are great for all kinds of events, parties and team building workshops.”

Who should you contact: [email protected]

Check out their website here:  http://www.paintinglounge.com

3 Tips for Keeping Teams Happy and Productive

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

We all know team building is extremely important. It helps make teams more efficient and can improve the overall success for your company. Here are 3 awesome tips to help you make more productive and happy teams!

  1. Have Fun!: Do some FUN team building! Whether you are at a weekly meeting or planned team building adventure, the activities shouldn’t feel like work! When you teams are having fun, they’ll be more open to being creativity. The playfulness might even inspire new ideas! Plus, fun activities act a stress relievers.
  2. Get Everyone Involved: Make sure all your employees are involved in office events and team building activities. If your teams are remote or don’t work together all the time, getting everyone on board will be critical to team success. An easy way to do this is to ask icebreaker questions before meetings or conference calls. This gets everyone involved and won’t leave anyone on the sidelines.
  3. Introduce Flexibility: Flexibility can be key when it comes to building an efficient and strong team. Flexibility can often increase work ethic, employee morale and productivity. Simple ways to introduce flexibility to the workplace: Let teams work from home one day a week, give them flexible hours one day a week. When your employees feel like they have control over their work, they will feel empowered to take initiative and be more productive.

 

Unarthodox NYC Team Building

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

 

What They Do:  A creative space for experimenting with art, dance and technology, Unarthodox has an large array of immersive and creative activities for teams. Think blind sculpting, awesome improv games, and serious digital storytelling.  Examples: Paint & Sip Party, Intuitive Art,  Sculpture without Sight, Improv Land, Virtual Reality Storytelling, and Imagine Picture This.

How They Do it: Unarthodox combines all the arts into one immersive and exciting experience. By promoting creativity and relaxation, Unarthodox gets your team thinking, bonding, and collaborating.

What Makes Them Special: They combine everything from improv to art to writing! They don’t just help your team get creative with one medium or art form, they give you endless opportunity! Plus, making a virtual reality short film – that’s the coolest thing ever!

Quotes From Their Website:

“Just get your team together and come to Unarthodox for a unique, immersive experience that will bring you and your coworkers together like never before!”

“Team Bonding through improvisation is both fun and effective. Our instructors will design interactive improv games specifically for your team that will start with fun, ice-breaker games, and transitions into storytelling and collaboration exercises. Whether you’re integrating new employees, hosting a summit with people from different departments or just looking for a fun, collaborative day with the team, then the  Improv Team Bonding Series at Unarthodox will be a sure hit!”

“Imagine a creative space where you can experiment with different forms of art, explore your body through movement and dance, and tap into your creativity using modern technology.”

Visit Their Website: http://www.unarthodox.com/team-building-group-outing/

Contact: [email protected]

547 West 27th Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10001

 

6 Movies To Get Your Teams Motivated

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

Sometimes the best way to motivate your team is through good old fashioned storytelling. Stories transform our thinking and inspire us to do great things. Great stories not only entertain, but they bring people together through shared experiences and help build strong connections.

Movies at their core are just stories with actors and moving images, that’s why we love them! Sure, they act as a form of escapism, but they also offer a way for us to see new places and experience things outside of our own reality. Want to build stronger teams and inspire them to do their best? Show them examples of teams that struggle, overcome and ultimately succeed. An easy way to do this is to simply show them some kickass movies!

Check out the 6 movies Museum Hack picked as awesome team building flicks:

1. The Mighty Ducks

Leave it to beautiful-haired Coach Gordon Bombay to give epic team building advice. This classic 90s movie covers everything from teamwork to building focus. The Ducks may have started at the bottom but they fly to the top. Why? Because of awesome leadership and primo teamwork, of course.

What other movies did Museum Hack pick? Read the full post here: https://museumhack.com/6-team-building-movies/

6 Reasons to Get Your Teams Out of the Office

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

Your teams need frequent changes to their environment. Especially if they are stuck in a office or cubicle all day. Don’t be afraid to mix things up. Encourage your teams to ditch their desks or give them the option from working from home or a coffee shop. The difference you’ll see in work ethic and team morale will be totally worth it.

Here are 6 reasons why getting your teams outside and out of the office is awesome for business – and employee happiness.

 

  1. New environments inspire creativity.

  2. Out-of-the-office activities encourage team building.

  3. Flexibility and choice of our work environments boosts productivity.

  4. New ideas and interesting places can help spark better ideas.

  5. Field trips, scavenger hunts, team adventures are just fun! They will encourage laughs and boost morale.

  6. Ditching the office can make teams happier and get them excited!

 

Your teams deserve awesome rewards for their hard work! Do fun activities outside the office as groups or give them some flexibility to find out what works for them.

 

5 Icebreaker Questions That Won’t Stress Out Your Teams

Posted on | by Moira O'Connell

Icebreakers have a bad reputation for being stuffy and stressful. But when you have an early meeting or a conference call with a diverse group of employees, a simple icebreaker question can get the energy flowing. Rethink the traditional icebreaker. Develop questions that keep your teams relaxed but also inspire them to share things about themselves. A great icebreaker is not only relevant but requires people to share meaningful answers.

Here are 5 awesome icebreakers to help get your team chatting!

  • If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be? This question may sound superficial but it will give team members insight into what their coworkers enjoy outside of work.
  • If you had to try out for a reality TV show, which one would you choose and why? Pop culture questions are fun. They get people laughing and connecting. Plus, you can learn a lot about a person from the type of reality TV they like.
  • Who is the better businessman or business woman and why? Timberlake or Justin Bieber? Modify this question to fit your industry or the department you are working with. There may be critical thinking involved, but the veil of humour makes it fun.
  • What was the worst job you ever had? A basic but personal question. Background information like work history helps teams understand one another. If two people had the same job, it will help boost camaraderie!
  • What would your superpower be and why? Everyone loves a good superpower. A fun but insightful icebreaker, this question inspires teams to share what they value in a relaxed way.

The greatest thing about icebreaker questions is that they involve zero planning! Keep a list of icebreakers on hand. Use them to welcome new employees, boost morale mid-day, or start a stressful meeting.