The Top Three Team Building Trends for 2018

The Top 2018 Team Building Trends

Here are our predictions for the top three team building trends for 2018.

TREND 1: The Rise of Indoor Team Building

Back in 2012, about 75% of companies were participating in outdoor team building, and only around 25% were interested in activities that were run inside. In 2017, we saw almost an exact 50/50 split of customers purchasing indoor versus outdoor team building activities. For indoor activities, this is a 50% increase in popularity compared to just five years ago.  

Why Is Indoor Team Building Trending?

More corporate groups are realizing that you don’t have to go outside to have a fun, exciting, and memorable team building experience. Plus, a lot of customers are looking for a more convenient, cost-effective way to run an activity during their conferences, retreats, or day-long meetings.   Activities like Minute to Win It, Team Pursuit, and Charity Bike Buildathon are all indoor options that are engaging, entertaining, and can be run right in your meeting space.

“Charity Bike Buildathon was a great, new way to do team building. Many of my employees were surprised by how much they enjoyed it!”

— Ancestry.com

TREND 2: Who Wants to Be on a Reality TV Show? You Do!

Since 2012, our team has seen the interest in reality-TV-inspired activities almost double. Sales of Corporate Castaways and The Amazing Chase – inspired by Survivor, and The Amazing Race, respectively – have grown by about 40%.

In response to this increase in popularity, our team revamped Corporate Castaways in 2017. The improvements made to the event lead to a 47% jump in sales for this activity from 2016 to 2017.

Why Is Reality Team Building Trending?

These activities are modeled after shows that are made for entertainment – so, of course they’re exciting to participate in! Also, if you’re a long-time fan of a reality series, taking part in one of these activities can seem like your shot at being a participant on your favorite show.

While the craze of actual reality TV may have died down, many of our customers love that these activities are unique, and offer a team building experience that’s a little bit different.

“The event was different from activities we’ve done before. I felt like I was on a reality show! It’s a great way to do team building.”

— Woodland Acres 

TREND 3: Teams Working on Collaboration Skills

From 2016 to 2017, interest in collaborative-only team building activities more than quadrupled.

Since introducing Escape Room: Jewel Heist and Domino Effect last year, the number of customers purchasing these types of events increased by a whopping 400%.

Why Is Solely Collaborative Team Building Trending?

While there are plenty of positive things to say about a little friendly competition – engagement, team camaraderie, and excitement, to name a few – sometimes groups enjoy bonding over having one shared goal.

Activities, such as Escape Room: Jewel Heist, offer groups an opportunity to work towards a single objective as a team, and make use of colleagues’ different strengths.

“Escape Room: Jewel Heist was such a fun event. It delivered on its promise to show how groups with individual talents can work together to solve problems.”

— Coca-Cola

How to Make the Most of These Trends in 2018

Outback Team Building & Training offers fun and exciting team building activities all across North America. Reach out to our Employee Engagement Consultants to get more information and recommendations for your budget, location, and group size.

Don’t forget, you can also tune into Murray’s interview by subscribing to our podcast, Outback Talks: The Employee Engagement Podcast, on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your podcasts: