Our group of experts annually reviews our most popular activities, analyzes customer data, crunches the numbers, and predicts the team building trends to come.
This year, our team was also lucky enough to sit down with Murray Seward, President of Outback Team Building & Training, for our podcast. In the episode Murray discusses the biggest trends he’s seen, and the type of activities he thinks will be popular in 2018.
Read on to find out what the top three team building predictions are for the year ahead. Or, tune into our latest podcast episode of Outback Talks: The Employee Engagement Podcast to hear from Murray on the trends that have come and gone, and the ones you should take note of in 2018.
“Organizations are going to continue building stronger company cultures…That’s just the way business is now. Every stat out there shows the benefit of having a strong, engaged team. — Murray Seward, President of Outback Team Building & Training
Here are our predictions for the top three team building trends for 2018.
“Charity Bike Buildathon was a great, new way to do team building. Many of my employees were surprised by how much they enjoyed it!— Ancestry.com
Since 2012, our team has seen the interest in reality-TV-inspired activities almost double. Sales of Corporate Castaways and The Amazing Chase – inspired by Survivor, and The Amazing Race, respectively – have grown by about 40%.
In response to this increase in popularity, our team revamped Corporate Castaways in 2017. The improvements made to the event lead to a 47% jump in sales for this activity from 2016 to 2017.These activities are modeled after shows that are made for entertainment – so, of course they’re exciting to participate in! Also, if you’re a long-time fan of a reality series, taking part in one of these activities can seem like your shot at being a participant on your favorite show.
While the craze of actual reality TV may have died down, many of our customers love that these activities are unique, and offer a team building experience that’s a little bit different.
“The event was different from activities we’ve done before. I felt like I was on a reality show! It’s a great way to do team building.— Woodland Acres
From 2016 to 2017, interest in collaborative-only team building activities more than quadrupled.
Since introducing Escape Room: Jewel Heist and Domino Effect last year, the number of customers purchasing these types of events increased by a whopping 400%.
While there are plenty of positive things to say about a little friendly competition – engagement, team camaraderie, and excitement, to name a few – sometimes groups enjoy bonding over having one shared goal.
Activities, such as Escape Room: Jewel Heist, offer groups an opportunity to work towards a single objective as a team, and make use of colleagues’ different strengths.
“Escape Room: Jewel Heist was such a fun event. It delivered on its promise to show how groups with individual talents can work together to solve problems.— Coca-Cola
Don’t forget, you can also tune into Murray’s interview by subscribing to our podcast, Outback Talks: The Employee Engagement Podcast, on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your podcasts: