25 August 2020

10 Work Social Event Ideas Your Team Will Actually Enjoy

Whether you’re looking for social work team building activities, or it’s coming up to Christmas and you are planning your annual party, thinking of work social event ideas can be challenging. You have to try and find something that the whole team will enjoy, and this can be stressful.

Luckily for you, we’ve been host to a whole array of corporate work events and have seen a tonne of excellent ideas that will keep your employees buzzing and talking for long after the day has ended. We have put together a list of the very best work social event ideas to help ease the stress of planning a corporate or work event.

Importance of Social Work Event Ideas and Corporate Team Building

Corporate team-building events and social workdays out are an essential part of any company’s overall health but thinking of the ideas can be difficult!

Taking a break from the office and getting your employees to interact with each other in a relaxed and fun environment is vital for employee engagement and productivity. A highly engaged team shows 21% greater profitability, so having a great employee engagement strategy is vital for your business’ success.

There are so many activities you can choose from for your work social event ideas and finding something that all employees will love doesn’t have to be difficult. At Yarnfield Park, we have hosted a range of work social events and have seen everything from annual awards nights, team-building days out, and even epic gala dinners. Our events venue is based in Staffordshire, so if you are looking for a friendly and welcoming place to host your work social events, get in touch!

Ultimate Work Social Event Ideas

Today’s agenda is all about work social ideas. So, get your thinking caps on, and let’s get creative…

Board Game Tournament

Fun, creative, and challenging. The first on our list of ideas for work socials is an epic board game tournament. Everyone in the office will have a board game that they love, whether it’s a childhood classic such as Monopoly or a modern twist on Cluedo.

Ask each employee to bring in their game of choice and set up board game stations. Each department can participate, and you can even team up and make it a competition. This is a great way to stimulate employees’ brains, encourage light competitiveness, and get the whole team together. Opt to host in the office and order a buffet lunch or hire out a function room at a local venue and get an all-inclusive package that includes lunch, coffee, and light bites.

Scavenger Hunt

A classic that never gets old! Scavenger hunts are awesome and get the whole team active. This will involve some prep beforehand but will most definitely be worth it. Scavenger hunts can vary, and you should incorporate a range of different activities such as trivia challenges and local treasure hunts.

This is a great daytime corporate activity and will help with team bonding. It’s perfect for summer work social ideas as more often than not it involves being outside. If you find yourself busy with your work project, then you can hire a company such as OffLimits who can offer fantastic team building activities and work social event ideas.

Work Sports Day

An easy work social event idea that encourages teamwork and getting active is a sports day! This is a great low-cost option for smaller businesses and promotes healthy competition and communication.

If you work in a traditional office, then your employees will spend most of their day sitting at a desk in front of an office, so getting outside for the day will be an exciting thought for the whole office, even if they don’t like playing sports!

Go to your local park and set up an area where you can play a range of quick games. This can include activities such as 5-a-side football, wheelbarrow races, and the classic egg and spoon race. Split your team in two and get some t-shirts printed for each team! The winning team can get a prize such as a half day’s holiday or a complimentary dinner somewhere fancy.

Escape Rooms

A phenomenon that has only been around for the past few years but escape rooms have hurtled into the team-building limelight due to its creativity and mind-bending riddles—probably one of our very best social ideas for work due to the variations available.

OffLimits offer corporate escape room options including crystal quest activities based on the hit TV show. Solve riddles and complete challenges within a set time to escape the room or complete the quest! You have to work together as a team and this social work event idea encourages creative thinking, co-worker relationships, and time management.

Go-Karting

Often a favourite among team members, this fun and thrilling activity will add a hint of competition to the day. Gear up and get the adrenaline pumping with an ultimate go-kart race.

This is a great corporate team-building day out and is relatively easy to plan. With there being go-kart courses around the whole of the UK, this is a fun social event idea readily available to anyone and everyone – just make sure your employees pay attention to the safety lecture beforehand! You can also turn this into an evening event by going to your local pub for a few drinks afterwards.

Office Bake-Off

Another favourite on our list of fun social event ideas takes inspiration from the TV classic, The Great British Bake-off. Get each member of staff to whip up a tasty treat and bring it into the office for your very own cook-off competition. Have a dedicated food table where each employee can place their delicious dish and get others to judge which will be the winner.

Try to plan beforehand so you have a range of sweet and savoury treats available. Once the winner has been chosen, you are left with a whole array of buffet food for the team to enjoy. If you want this to be an out-of-office event, then going to a park or open public field is always a great idea and you can turn the event into a picnic with games and bubbly.

Gala Ball

This is a work social event for a larger budget and is best suited for an occasion such as Christmas or your annual summer party. Hosting a gala ball at an event venue is a great way to reward your employees. You can also make this a themed event such as a black and white bow tie, murder mystery, or 1920’s Gatsby.

At Yarnfield Park, we offer fantastic banqueting rooms complete with tablecloths, centrepieces, and drapes for a beautiful dining environment. We have the flexibility to include a dance floor and DJ. Your employees can enjoy a lavish 3-course meal with drinks and socialise with each other out of the office. You can also turn this into an awards night where you reward the office clown, biggest revenue taker, and most talkative employee. We also have ensuite bedrooms available so that you have somewhere comfortable to crash after a night of corporate partying.

Film-a-thon

Perfect for a winter work social event, film-a-thons are a great way to chill and relax. Hire a projector screen, move all the desks to one side, and bring in bean bags, snacks, and all of your employee’s favourite films! To go above and beyond, get some takeaway pizzas in.

This is a great way for your employees to zone out and escape work for a day. It’s important that your staff have opportunities to take time out from their usual schedule and rewarding them with team-building days out, or relaxing film days in are perfect for retaining employees and enhancing staff satisfaction within the workplace.

Charity Fundraising Events

Always a great cause! Charity fundraising events are fun and you are doing some good. There are so many charitable events you can host, ranging from walks to charity balls, and organised events such as Tough Mudder.

Simply pick your charity and get raising! We’ve hosted charity events at our venue including conferences, balls, dinners, and team-building charity days. We offer discounted rates for charities and work hard to tailor a package to your budget to make sure that you get what you need.

Thrill-Seekers

The grand finale is something for the thrill-seekers. A great work social event idea is to organise something daring and adrenaline-pumping for your employees. Theme parks are always a good idea and everyone loves a good rollercoaster to get them screaming.

If you want to go all out and are a team of daredevils, then rewarding your employees with the opportunity to do a skydive or bungee jump will go down a treat. This is also perfect to turn into a charitable cause as well as being fun and adventurous. Once the deed is done, you can all celebrate your bravery by going for some drinks or dinner and chat the night away about the awesome challenge you have just accomplished.

Work Social Event Ideas Overview

We hope you have enjoyed reading our list of work social event ideas that are guaranteed to get the employees excited! Hopefully, you have some takeaway notes from this blog and are ready to get planning. To recap, our list of ultimate work social event ideas are:

Boardgame tournament
Scavenger hunt
Sports day
Escape rooms
Go-Karting
Cook-off
Gala ball
Film-a-thon
Charity event
Thrill-Seekers

Work social events are vital for employee satisfaction and will massively benefit your company. Your staff works hard for your business and they should be rewarded for this. Employees need to feel as if their hard work is appreciated, or else they will start to look elsewhere or there will be a negative vibe in the office.

If you are interested in hosting your corporate team building day out or work social at our event venue, give us a call and one of our friendly team members will be happy to discuss your requirements. In the meantime, you can find more information and fun tips from our blog.