5 unusual ideas for company parties

It’s both a blessing and a curse. What used to be, at most, a group outing to the local pub has now become a multi-option, multi-service event and entertainment industry. Back then, the choice was perhaps somewhat more limited, but at least you were spared the agony of choice. Today, there are hundreds of providers, each offering hundreds of options. We’re talking about corporate events. First things first: this article doesn’t provide an answer to the question ‘which event is guaranteed to suit my company’; rather, it serves as a guide to help narrow down the choices.

1 | Solving a puzzle as a team

Malicious tongues might say that every weekly ‘Jour Fix’ is, in its own way, an escape room – or certainly a puzzle hunt. Business sarcasm aside, however, escape rooms offer the perfect opportunity to escape from everyday life for a few hours – and to escape from the room itself whilst you’re at it. As there is now quite a wide range of escape rooms on offer, there should always be one nearby.

Whilst treasure hunts are in the same league as escape rooms, they can also be useful for full-day activities. For example, a treasure hunt through the city – because if team members are travelling in from other locations, it can double as a sightseeing tour.

Both activities are easily scalable in terms of time and budget – for example, with an escape room session in the afternoon followed by a meal in the evening, or a treasure hunt through the local area that culminates in a group dinner. However, the group size will need to be limited somewhat to avoid forty-five people solving puzzles together in a cramped room or roaming the streets in a ‘mob’ in search of clues.

2 | Step into a different role

Who hasn’t topped up the photocopying paper this time? Who’s nicked the lunch I brought from home from the fridge? Who’s adjusted the height of my chair again? Whose car is half-parked in my parking space? Even though everyday working life often resembles a criminal case, it has nothing to do with professionally organised ‘Dinner & Crime’ events. Whilst everyday cases do need to be solved, the murder mystery dinner should be limited to fictional scenarios.

Depending on your budget, you can choose between versions you organise yourself or professionally organised events, usually held as part of a dinner party. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that a self-organised ‘Dinner & Crime’ evening may work well in private or very small business settings, but also requires a great deal of preparation. Attending a murder mystery dinner organised by a professional provider is sometimes easier and probably more original. Depending on the theme, fancy dress is usually a social requirement and helps set the right mood – from tuxedos and evening gowns to medieval settings. More often than not, the fancy dress alone is enough to make for a successful evening.

3 | Outdoor Adventures

Outdoor adventures – that is, adventures out in the great outdoors – are, by their very name, a very broad concept. Rafting, high-rope courses, tobogganing, archery, survival courses, log cabin building, wood carving, paragliding, a day at the racetrack. The mere fact that one could go on listing these activities for pages on end shows just how vast this sector of outdoor activities is.

If you’re planning an event like this for your company, you’ll need to think ahead. How fit are the participants?

At what time of year should the event take place? How much time needs to be set aside – perhaps even an overnight stay? Outdoor adventures are great fun. But they can also be dangerous. If you don’t want to risk colleagues being left behind in tears during a canyoning trip or trembling in despair several metres above the ground, you might want to choose the right event – or avoid outdoor adventures altogether. However, if the group is a like-minded bunch, adventurous, physically fit and up for anything, it could even be a multi-day survival trip in the wilderness, where they’ll have to gather firewood, tackle rough terrain or even work together to get through ‘semi-dangerous’ situations.

The same applies to the costs. A woodcarving course is probably cheaper than helicopter skiing in Canada (to give a rather extreme example).

4 | Rollercoaster, langos and carousel

A relaxed option for corporate events, where participants’ families can even be invited if desired. Whether it’s Vienna’s Prater, Familypark or any other theme park, all you need to do is get there – the entertainment is, so to speak, already on site. From refreshments and activities right through to the option of a group meal. There’s no need to book far in advance, the costs are flexible, and if you simply want to get away from it all, it’s a good option. Downside: staff are likely to remember last year’s joint rafting trip followed by a mountain hike more fondly…

5 | Wine walks in the fresh air

It’s actually a must for every Austrian business – because there are wonderful opportunities to do so virtually everywhere in Austria. If colleagues from other countries are present, we may quickly be labelled a nation with a penchant for alcohol, but any such hard feelings are forgotten by the third ‘Achterl’ at the latest.

Weather permitting, you can plan side events during a wine walk, such as tastings, guided tours, sightseeing, stops at wine taverns or activities you’ve organised yourself. The group size is flexible; really, the only thing that needs to be arranged, if desired, is booking a table at a restaurant or pub. But you can also literally set off on a walk, have a natter and discuss matters in the fresh air that may have been simmering away for months in cramped office spaces. Unfortunately, it’s often necessary to remind participants that flip-flops or high heels aren’t suitable footwear for a walk.

druck.de tip:

As with planning company parties, it’s often worth asking around your immediate circle – such as colleagues, friends and family. Have they had any good experiences? Any bad ones? Have there been examples of best practice in other companies, and what has actually gone quite wrong? Does anyone have the opportunity to organise an event themselves (for example, are they a winegrower who can take the whole workforce on a tour of the vineyard, or do they own a luxury resort or theme park – admittedly, the chances of the latter are virtually zero…)?

Conclusion:

• The more exciting and unusual the project, the more planning and lead time should be factored in. 
• Planning, however, shouldn’t be a deciding factor – in other words, the effort pays off, because a successful corporate event is worth its weight in gold (though it doesn’t have to cost a fortune). 
• Creativity can save money.
• The activity should suit the workforce: a lack of fitness and steep rock faces can be a hindrance, whilst at the same time a fit team will quickly become bored with painting on porcelain.
• Company events often take place at the same time, so organisers and venues are quickly fully booked. For example: in autumn (conference season), before Christmas and before the holiday season. 
• Prices vary considerably, so it’s definitely worth comparing providers.