The Benefits of Hosting Outdoor Corporate Events

The Benefits of Hosting Outdoor Corporate Events

Hello from Action Days! With three decades of experience under our belts, we're your go-to experts for standout corporate events, nestled right here in Nottingham and extending our services across the UK. Why settle for the usual boring boardroom meeting when you can take your team outside? At Action Days, we're passionate about the power nature has and how it can unlock creativity in individuals, build stronger teams, and breathe new life into our events.

Hosting your corporate event outdoors is a change of scenery and an opportunity to engage your team in a setting that's as open and a polar opposite from the usual office environment. From high-energy team building activities like inflatable obstacle courses to Yoga Disco, the great outdoors invites a fresh take on team building events that inspire team bonding.

As seasoned planners of both fun and formal gatherings, we've got the insights and the know-how to turn any outdoor space into an idyllic corporate event venue. Let's dive into why moving your next event outside could be the game-changer.

What are the benefits to outdoor corporate events?

Spark Creativity with a Change of Scenery

There's something freeing about stepping outside of the office and into the outdoors. Outdoor settings transform the creative output of your team. Moving a team building session from a boardroom and into the outdoors can bring new perspectives to the table, innovating thinking and problem-solving in ways that indoor environments never will.

Enhance Well-being with Outdoor Activities

There's undeniable value in incorporating a bit of nature into the workday. Simple outdoor activities, whether it's a strategic game or a group challenge, will both invigorate the body and itch the mind. Participants often report feeling more energised and positive, which translates into improved productivity and a happier workplace.

Strengthen Team Bonds in a Relaxed Setting

Imagine your team collaborating to navigate a new trail or solve a problem together outside the office. These interactions in a casual setting can dissolve barriers and foster a sense of togetherness and understanding. It's these connections made during shared experiences that enhance team cohesion and make lasting impressions.

Create Memorable Events That Stand Out

Outdoor events are inherently memorable. They provide a unique setting that transforms a routine gathering into an extraordinary occasion. Whether it's a themed outdoor dinner or a team building adventure, such experiences are not quickly forgotten. These events don't just entertain; they build loyalty and a sense of belonging among staff.

Tailor Your Event to Perfectly Suit Your Needs

The flexibility of outdoor venues is unmatched. From serene garden parties to dynamic field activities, each event can be customised to reflect your team's personality and your company's objectives. This versatility allows for a truly personalised event, crafted to foster engagement, and achieve specific outcomes.

Innovative Outdoor Corporate Event Ideas

Sustainable Soap Box

The Sustainable Soap Box Derby is a team-building event that sharpens key workplace skills through creative challenges and competitive racing. The activity starts with teams receiving kits containing all necessary materials to build their soapbox cars, fostering communication, problem-solving, and resourcefulness.

Key Skills Developed:

• Communication: Clear coordination is crucial as teams plan and execute their vehicle construction.
• Creative Problem-Solving: Teams tackle unforeseen challenges during both the build and race phases.
• Leadership: Effective leadership and role delegation are vital for managing tasks and driving team success.

Event Dynamics:

After constructing their vehicles, teams must pass a "MOT" safety check before competing in a series of races that test different skills:

• Speed Slalom: Focuses on agility and precision.
• Traffic Light Burn-off: Tests quick starts and acceleration.
• Hill Climb: Measures power and endurance.
• Grand Prix Finale: A comprehensive test of speed, strategy, and teamwork.

This event is ideal for teams seeking an out-of-the-box experience that combines fun with functional skill enhancement, leaving participants with some good memories and stronger team bonds.

Bee Involved

Step away from the usual team-building activities and try something that really makes a difference. With "Bee Involved," your team will come together in an outdoor setting to build insect hotels, bird feeders, and more, turning your office surroundings into a sanctuary for bees, butterflies, and other helpful critters. This event builds teamwork and creates a lasting positive impact on the environment.

Key Skills Developed:

• Effective Communication: As teams design and build their insect sanctuaries, clear and open communication is needed. Everyone needs to pitch in ideas and listen to each other to ensure the project's success.
• Innovative Problem-Solving: The challenge isn't just to build something, it's to make a functional and visually appealing product. Teams need to think outside the box to turn their ideas into viable habitats for insects.
• Awareness of Environmental Impact: Participants will learn about the vital role of pollinators and how even small contributions can lead to significant environmental improvements.

Event Dynamics:

During the event, teams will roll up their sleeves to build one of several eco-friendly structures:

• Insect Hotel: Provides a buzzing haven for insects, enriching local biodiversity.
• Bird Feeder: Draws a variety of birds, bringing nature closer to your office environment.
• Bee House: A specialized sanctuary for bees, crucial for pollination and biodiversity.
• Bat Box: Offers a safe roosting spot for bats, aiding in local insect control.

The activity kicks off with a practical session on the ecological importance of each structure. This is followed by the construction phase, where creativity and teamwork turn raw materials into beautiful, functional habitats. Each piece crafted not only supports local wildlife but also serves as a daily reminder of the team's efforts and commitment to sustainability.

Treasure Hunt

Our Treasure Hunt Team Building activity is one of our favourite outdoor team building activities, perfect for firing the team up and getting the competitive energy going. This activity is an ideal balance between fun and challenge, encouraging teams to sharpen their communication and time management skills in a race for a bottle of champagne.

Key Skills Developed:

• Time Management: Teams learn the importance of managing their time efficiently to navigate challenges quickly.
• Communication and Collaboration: Clear and constant communication is key as teams decipher clues and strategies.
• Trust Building: As team members rely on each other to solve problems and share tasks, trust is naturally built.
• Recognition of Individual Roles: The hunt highlights each member's unique contributions and shows how these roles fit into the larger team dynamic.
• Problem-Solving: Creative thinking and problem-solving are essential as teams encounter a variety of cryptic and logical puzzles.
• Leadership and Delegation: Participants experience firsthand the benefits of effective leadership and the strategic delegation of tasks.

What's Involved:

The treasure hunt begins with a briefing from our experienced event coordinators, who explain the rules and objectives. Teams are then formed and equipped with all necessary tools, and a list of intriguing clues. The challenges include:

• Solving Cryptic and Logic Clues: These clues lead teams to specific locations where they must decipher their next steps.
• Location-Based Questions: Teams answer questions at each clue location, adding layers of challenge.
• Photo Assignments: Creativity comes into play as teams capture specific scenes or items with their cameras.
• Shopping List Completion: Teams collect specific items, requiring strategic planning and resource allocation.

This event teaches practical workplace skills in a new fun and engaging way.

Creative Corporate Event Ideas for Memorable Outdoor Events

Human Logo

"Human Logo" is a unique and engaging outdoor event designed to boost team morale and promote unity. This activity is a hit at corporate events and conferences. Teams are tasked with creating a giant version of your company's logo from memory. With only their teammates and a set of instructions and props provided by us, participants are challenged to think creatively and work efficiently under time constraints.

Key Skills Developed:

• Time Management: Teams must manage their time effectively to complete their segment of the logo before the deadline.
• Leadership and Delegation: Choosing the right leader and allocating tasks wisely are crucial for success. This activity enhances participants' ability to lead and delegate effectively.
• Enhanced Communication and Collaboration: Clear and concise communication is essential as team members coordinate to piece together the logo accurately.
• Recognition of Individual Contributions: This activity underscores the importance of every team member's role within the larger group, reflecting their significance in the organization.

What's Involved:

The challenge kicks off with a thorough briefing from our skilled events coordinators. Teams are formed and given a series of instructions along with coloured props to construct their portion of the logo. The key to success lies in effective delegation, strong leadership, and open communication:

• Strategic Planning: Each team selects a leader best suited to manage the project and communicators who can direct their teammates efficiently.
• Rules and Restrictions: Teams can only view the original logo image at specific times, adding an element of memory and interpretation to the challenge.
• Coordination and Assembly: One person from each team is responsible for positioning their group correctly and ensuring all parts align perfectly.
• Time Constraints: The pressure of a ticking clock adds intensity as teams strive to recreate a recognizable version of the logo.

At the event's conclusion, we capture the final product from above. The teams then gather for the grand unveiling, where they can see how their individual contributions have come together to form a cohesive and impressive representation of the company logo. Each team receives a photograph or video recording of their creation, serving as a lasting symbol of what they can achieve together.

Claim of Thrones

Dive into the world of "Claim of Thrones," where leadership, alliances, and strategic prowess come to life. This team-building event challenges participants to channel their inner monarchs as they compete for the supreme honour of the Throne of Steel and victory in the race to Westeros. Teams, or 'Houses', must prepare for an epic series of battles by creating their own house flags, armour, and even constructing ships, all while honing their skills in ancient warfare tactics.

Key Skills Developed:

• Enhanced Communication and Collaboration: As houses forge alliances and plan battle strategies, effective communication and teamwork are critical.
• Problem Solving and Lateral Thinking: Participants face challenges that require creative solutions and strategic thinking, from decoding cyphers to tactical game play.
• Time Management: With multiple tasks to complete and a final race against the clock, teams learn to manage their time efficiently.
• Leadership and Delegation: Identifying strengths and assigning roles within each house is crucial for leading a team to victory.
• Competitive Spirit: The event's structure encourages healthy competition, driving teams to outperform their rivals for the ultimate prize.

What's Involved:

• Armour Acquisition: Teams recover items from a shipwreck, using clues to unlock the codes needed for their armour.
• Ship Sinkers: A dynamic take on battleships where teams launch attacks on enemy waters and strategize to protect their own vessels.
• Axe Throwing: After learning the art of axe throwing, teams compete to hit the bullseye, earning points for precision.
• Battleship Boats: Teams build seaworthy ships from scratch, destined to compete in the grand finale race.
• Archery: Participants are trained in the use of longbows, practicing their aim to prepare for any skirmish.
• Kubb: This ancient Viking game tests tactical skill as teams try to topple the opponent's king after knocking down their guards.
• Decipher the Dialect: A challenging puzzle set that requires understanding the language and culture of the Dothraki to progress.
• Race to Westeros: The climax involves teams parading into battle with their Armor and flags, competing in a dramatic boat race to determine the ultimate champion.

Claim of Thrones s an immersive adventure that plunges participants into the world of strategy, team spirit, and competition. This activity strengthens team bonds, sharpens critical thinking, and brings out leadership abilities, arming participants with skills that can be transferred into the workplace.

Motion Machine

Remember the designs of Meccano or the antics of the classic board game Mousetrap? If so, you'll love "Motion Machine," a team-building activity that blends nostalgic fun with a modern twist. This activity is designed to put your creativity, coordination, and strategic skills to the test under the pressure of a ticking clock.

Key Skills Developed:

• Enhanced Communication and Collaboration: Success depends on seamless interaction and collaboration as teams work together to construct a complex machine.
• Problem Solving and Lateral Thinking: Each team faces unique challenges that require inventive solutions and adaptability.
• Efficient Time Management: With a strict deadline and only a few attempts to succeed, time management will need to be managed.
• Leadership and Delegation: Identifying strengths and assigning tasks based on an individual's skills is key to teamwork.
• Resourcefulness: Teams must make the most of the materials provided, often thinking outside the box to utilise every component effectively.

What's Involved:

Participants are grouped into teams, each receiving a flight case filled with parts and instructions. The goal is to construct a section of a larger machine. However, the challenge doesn't stop at assembly:

• Tight Deadlines: Teams must complete their part of the machine within a limited timeframe, adding intensity to the task.
• Limited Trials: With only three opportunities to get their machine working correctly, precision and accuracy are paramount.
• Collaborative Construction: Each segment must seamlessly integrate with the others. If one part fails, the entire machine could malfunction.

The activity culminates in a grand finale where each team's machine is put to the test. Success triggers a chain reaction, ideally resulting in a spectacular display of mechanical prowess. Regardless of the outcome, the event closes with enthusiastic applause, celebrating the effort and ingenuity of all participants.

The Environmental impact: Why Choose an Outdoor Corporate Event?

Opting for an outdoor corporate event offers a variety of benefits, especially considering the growing emphasis on sustainability in business practices. These outdoor events and activities reduce resource consumption by requiring less artificial lighting, air conditioning, and non-reusable resources, therefore lowering energy demands.

With minimal need for elaborate decorations or structures, outdoor gatherings also generate less waste compared to indoor venues. Moreover, by choosing locations near attendees, travel distances are minimised, further reducing the event's carbon footprint.

More than just practical, hosting your event outdoors embodies a responsible decision that aligns with broader environmental goals. Holding outdoor events demonstrates your company's commitment to sustainability, with the positive consequence of boosting employee morale and engagement through nature. This not only enhances overall satisfaction but also strengthens the company's reputation as a progressive, eco-friendly organisation.