Team building activities Los Angeles

If you’ve been put in charge of pulling together a company staff event in Southern California, the task can be daunting. Unless you’re a professional event planner, chances are you’ve volunteered (or more likely been asked) to make it happen, often with little or no guidance. I’ve been there myself, so I know the familiar feelings: stress, anxiety, frustration, all tinged with excitement, but still you can’t really wait for the planning part to be over. And details! So many details! Determining the geographic location, identifying and visiting potential venues, setting the menu, clarifying goals and objectives, and on, and on.

But we haven’t even gotten to the biggest part: choosing the activity.

How does one go about selecting corporate team building in Los Angeles? The options available to groups here are truly staggering. I’ve only just arrived here, having recently opened TrivWorks’ West Coast office in Long Beach, CA (click here to find out more about that). But already, I can tell you that the options for SoCal group bonding activities are through the roof.

There are a lot of things out here which are different from the East Coast. The weather is always gorgeous (although I’ve been told about something called “June Gloom,” which I understand means there’s overcast days in the beginning of summer. I’ll let you know next year whether this actually qualifies as “bad weather”). You can get different types of sushi out here which you can’t get back East. And as previously noted here on my blog, the people are generally a lot nicer (follow this link for a quick illustrate story).

The same can be said for the different types of offerings available to planner of team events. The weather alone opens up tremendous options which aren’t available in other parts of the country. You can basically do stuff outdoors all year long, which I as a guy who has spent his entire life in the Northeast think is absolutely bonkers. If you wanted to do a company scavenger hunt in L.A. in February, you could do it! Spend an afternoon doing competitive sailing in November? Why not! So many options, which us native East Coasters only realistically have available to us for a certain number of months throughout the year.

Then let’s factor in the entertainment industry. Again, a tremendous amount of opportunity to select from, for those who are charged with producing team bonding exercises. This isn’t the middle of Iowa: no, this place is awash in stars, excitement, and “stuff” happening all the time. From the perspective of somebody looking to create a positive shared event with a lot of memorable impact, this is pure gold. Do you want to have a celebrity make an appearance? Visit a famous place for a “behind the scenes” tour? Surely there must be a zillion film and Hollywood-themed things out there, which would serve well as a means for engaging and entertaining groups of all sizes.

So there real question, then, is determining FROM WHICH of the many choices out there is the right one for your team, department or company. Here is a useful guide to help you winnow through the possibilities, and narrow in on the one which would be the best fit:

• Know Thy Audience – I keep hammering away at this point on my blog, again and again. But that’s simply because it’s true: you MUST know who you are dealing with, before deciding what they’re doing! My specific business and area of expertise is trivia events – however, I know well that my offering, no matter how much I believe in it, isn’t the right fit for everybody. When choosing what to do at your team event, you’ve got to ask yourself: what kind of people are these? What’s their personality type? What are they interested in? What do they dislike? Because I’m telling you, despite the most sincere of intentions, if you select something which is a bad fit for the people actually participating, it will NOT be a success.

• Set Clear Goals – Another one of my mantras, which again is so critically important, especially here. I’m very much aware that Los Angeles is all about entertainment, and that there must be fantastic pressures on planners of team events to do something glamorous, glorious, and buzz-worthy. Well, I’m here to tell you that that’s just plain silly. Remember WHY you’re doing it in the first place. Write it down, repeat it, keep it front and center from the moment you start planning, right through until it’s all over. Are you seeking to improve productivity and teamwork? Motivate and boost morale? Integrate new staff? Are you looking to help build trust, or foster better collaboration and communication skills? Of course this is supposed to be fun, but it’s also supposed to have an actual impact, and create a lasting impression which people will carry back with them to the office. The only way to ensure that happens? Set clear goals from the outset.

• Keep It Short – Los Angelinos are busy people. In addition to working long hours, they’ve got families, possibly second jobs, almost certainly a long commute ahead of them, and other plans they’re trying to keep. If you’re going to ask them to commit a portion of their workday, stay after hours, or even come in on a weekend to bond as a team, you must be mindful and respectful of their time. To do otherwise and book a long event runs the risk of turning your folks off – the exact opposite of what you’re trying to do! Keep an eye on the clock when preparing for the gig, and they will appreciate it.

In the end, you know your group better than anybody. Take advantage of that! When planning your L.A. team building activity, keep the above three tips firmly and mind, and you will be well on your way to fostering an environment which promotes a healthy, social group bonding event.

Here’s another article on how Southern California teams can benefit from structured group events.