How to Organize the Best Team Building Outing: ART SMART Style
You may have noticed some droopy shoulders around the office, a yawn here and there, and generally low energy. So what better way to get everyone excited and back on track than a team building exercise?
Team building activities are essential: a team that works well together is more effective, more productive, and more successful. Not to mention a lot happier and more fun to work with!
But when you browse the web, searching for “corporate team building activities” or just “team building ideas” you may be overwhelmed with the amount of possibilities. And the at-work-activities may seem boring, awkward, or even deserve an eye-roll.
So, how do you organize a corporate event that is both interesting and effective?
One way to organize a team building activity that is both fun and effective is by taking your team out of the office: organize your very own team outing event.
But even then, you may not know where to start. Your co-workers may dread a corporate retreat. Who wants to sing Kumbaya in the woods with your boss, or have a blindfold on while being led by your co-worker to “build trust.” But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Below you can find the three components your outing needs to make your team building exercise a success: building up company morale and strengthening your team of professionals.
FUN
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you won’t engage anyone in your corporate team building activities if no one is having fun. So, how do you ensure everyone is having a great time?
With ART SMART your team will have to think and see things in new ways. This is how we do it: we make you talk with art historians rather than having to listen to rote lectures. We transform a boring experience into an informative, interactive and enriching one. Your team will feel like VIP art insiders, while you learn to connect ideas in innovative ways.
How: Our exceptional guides will ensure your tour through art galleries and museums is dynamic and highly interactive. Through art, you will experience and explore leadership, creative thinking, communication and more.
RELEVANCE
The main reason to have your team engage in team-building activities is to improve communication and teamwork to increase productivity and progress vital to your company. So, if you fail to link the activities to your business goals, you will not reach the goal you initially aimed at.
With ART SMART, you can bridge the activities with your objectives. Who knew a tour through a National Museum or contemporary galleries could bring your team closer together, help you understand common goals, and get energized to get the job done? Our guides will make your team’s encounter with art compelling and relevant.
How: With ART SMART, you can customize our tours to your specific needs and goals. Shape any existing tour we offer to make it relevant to your team and your business. The deeply engaging experience with art can teach your team about mankind’s innovation or successes, and provoke and challenge your team to reach for their own goals.
INSPIRATION
More and more people feel stuck at work. So, how can you use team building activities to turn this around? With the right tools, your team instinctively challenges themselves to be more innovative in their work – and, as a result, perform better. And one of the most important tools is inspiration. It does not come from something that is turned on and off, but is rather triggered through multiple ways.
ART SMART’s guides – highly qualified graduate-level art historians from top universities – have their fingers on the pulse of the art world. We choose them for their passion, personality and charm as well as for the depth and breadth of their art knowledge. And with that, they are able to inspire your team through the arts.
How: Whichever tour you opt for, our guides will connect you to the restorative powers of art. From Client Appreciation Events, to Slow Looking & Visible Thinking Art Tours, to Creativity & Innovation Workshops, ART SMART offers a vast range of team building activities that will inspire your team and bring positive energy back into the office.
Find your magic now with ART SMART’s corporate events, and build the team of your dreams through our innovative approach to art. You can create your very own ART SMART tour, based on your needs and goals, in New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, and Boston.
You can contact us here, for more information.
Museum tours are more than just ways to show visitors around the city. More and more companies are realizing how art experiences can be instrumental in helping them achieve some of the goals they’ve set, not just for their employees’ professional development but also for their overall business growth.
Businesses are able to make the most out of these tours when they’re specifically designed according to their objectives, interests, and nature of work. This is where Art Smart’s strengths lie – utilizing the expertise and extensive knowledge of our team of art historians to provide engaging art experiences that let business professionals discover the impact art and culture has on their work.
These are just some of the goals we’ve helped our former clients achieve through the customized private tours we provided:
Gather More Support for Your Awareness Programs
For businesses who are looking to launch a new program in the workplace (e.g. gender empowerment) or those who have long-running campaigns that are not getting enough traction, increasing your employees’ level of understanding of the importance of such programs can help ensure their interest and cooperation.
We design art experiences to further explore specific topics and issues you’re trying to address. A customized private tour itinerary comprised of artworks that represent values you want to promote (e.g. diversity and inclusion) and exhibits that discuss how social issues manifest in different periods of history can be developed to help you realize your goals.
Improve Engagement During Themed Corporate Activities
Businesses regularly hold themed events – whether to provide a space for employees to network with other people in their industry or to initiate discussions around relevant topics.
A museum tour is a great way to expose your participants to more real-world applications and representations of your chosen theme and spark discussions in a more engaging way. Art Smart’s team of art historians are well-equipped to handpick the perfect setting and activities to highlight any theme you have in mind and match your participants’ interests.
Increase Employees’ Appreciation of Their Own Profession
We’ve given private tours to organizations under diverse industries – medicine, automotive, technology, finance, cosmetics, advertising, food, and event planning to name a few. Regardless of the nature of your company, our team of art experts can provide you with an art tour that will help your team learn more about the work they do and the industry they’re in. How has their profession evolved through time? What historical events have defined or affected your industry? Seeing how much impact your industry and profession has in the world will help you and your team find a new level of appreciation of what you do and boost your productivity and confidence in the office setting.
Generate Concepts for Company’s Branding and Marketing
Branding and marketing strategies constantly evolve. Businesses need to find ways to constantly catch up with new trends and discover ways to present their products and services in a way that resonates well with their target market.
We can help identify art pieces and exhibitions that can help spark fresh ideas on how you can attract more potential customers or clients to your business.
Strengthen Cooperation and Communication among Team Members
Traditional team building activities can get boring. Sometimes, conducting these activities in unique locations and in unconventional ways help the participants stay engaged throughout.
Museums make perfect venues for a one-of-a-kind team building activity. We can help you gamify your sessions so you’ll not only ensure to hit the goals you set but also have fun at the same time.
Exceed Guests’ Expectations During VIP Networking Events
Have you ever had some of your most valued clients visit and you have no idea where to take them? Or maybe some high-level executives you want to show appreciation for? Skip the usual social events and cocktail nights and take them somewhere special – like the museum.
Our extensive experience working with corporate teams and VIP guests allow us to provide your distinguished visitors an elegant and entertaining art experience to show how much you value them.
Inspire Creativity and Innovation in Your Product Design Team
It is sometimes challenging to come up with amazing ideas behind an office desk. A museum tour can facilitate your creative team’s visualization process by guiding them through art pieces they can draw inspiration from. We can develop unique visual experiences and even gamified sessions to get your team primed to unravel great ideas for your brand.
No matter what industry you’re in, things your employees are interested in, or level of appreciation they have for art – Art Smart can create art experiences that you, your team members, and guests will truly find meaningful and enjoyable.
Get in touch with our team for your next corporate event and we’ll make sure to deliver a unique art tour that will meet (and even surpass) your goals.