The start of a new year often means new employees or employees transitioning into new roles within the same company. This translates to what can be an adjustment for everyone in the work place. To alleviate any feelings of anxiety or stress that such changes may bring, we suggest getting on the right track with a fun event that includes everyone from the top brass to the newest employee. Encouraging fun in the workplace strengthens relationships between co-workers and helps break the ice for new hires.

Mention improv in almost any business setting and people think of “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” “Saturday Night Live” and pretty much any Judd Apatow film. The idea of getting up to perform in front of a group of peers can be terrifying. The idea that improvisational acting is only about being funny is a common misconception.

Challenge/Opportunity:
This pharmaceutical company wanted to provide a meaningful charitable team event for 1,200 attendees during their National Sales Meeting. The event would support the client’s larger overall Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative and annual day of service, benefiting local non-profit organizations in the Las Vegas area where the meeting was taking place.

Conference opening receptions are a perfect opportunity for guests to meet and greet each other before the meetings officially kick off. In this casual setting, participants can get to know each other, get a feel for the venue, and even get a taste for the host city. With more and more people working remotely, an opening reception can also offer a face to face networking opportunity for colleagues who may not see each other at the office. Here are some tips to set your conference reception above the rest.

Good communication is a key ingredient for a successful company. Employees experience an increase in morale, productivity and commitment if they are able to communicate effectively with one another. Here are some do and don’t tips to improve communication in your workplace.

Company culture plays a big role in employee satisfaction and retention. Some companies embrace a work hard, play hard ideology, others embrace giving back to the communities in which they are located. Deloitte, Salesforce, Stryker and others listed in the March 2015 Fortune article by Benjamin Snyder (@WriterSnyder) pay their employees for their time while they give back. Employees are encouraged to get into the community and share their talents. They do good works for others, they can feel good about their achievements and proud of their company for supporting their efforts. This is a triple win!

Food brings people together. Inspire team building by gathering everyone for some fun around a prep table! We encourage friendly competition at our events so teams compete in challenges to win bonus ingredients. Of course taste testing is also a requirement! We hope you get inspired to try some of these mouthwatering activities!

Mobile Room Escape
Room escapes are popping up all over the US and becoming a popular twist on the traditional team building exercise. A typical room escape involves a small group of people literally locked in a room. In order to get out, they must find clues and solve puzzles to locate the hidden key within a set period of time. These challenges are excellent team building opportunities because everyone has a chance to contribute at different levels to solve riddles, put puzzles together or flip over chairs to find the way to escape!

The Holidays are upon us! Looking for teambuilding activities to engage your employees all the while giving back to the community you work and play in? We’ve got them!

On November 4th, 2015, Corporate Event Interactive (CEI) produced Feeding Chicago for its client, the Meetings & Incentives Worldwide. It was a team building meets CSR event during their Annual Meeting. M&IW employees took part in a series of team building challenges and trivia while building camaraderie and at the same time, giving back to the community. After each challenge was completed, teams received food vouchers which were redeemed at the “general store” for food items. Teams assembled and decorated boxed lunches and wrote inspirational messages to be included. How fitting!

When was the last time your Corporate Feud was a funny, engaging one? Our teambuilding activity (based on the widely-known, long-running Family Feud game show) was exactly that for one of our valued clients, Brightstar Corp. On October 15th, 2015, we ran The Brightstar Game Show Medley at the welcoming DoubleTree Hotel.