20 Years Of Being Wildly Different
Established April 1, 2003
Team building has become an essential component in the modern workplace, helping employees to work better together, communicate more effectively, and achieve common goals. Over the last two decades our team building company, Wildly Different Team Building Experiences has been a huge part of this movement, creating connections and fostering collaboration between team members across the corporate world. As we celebrate our 20th year in business, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the importance of team building and the impact it has on dynamics in the workplace.
We Serve Many Industries
Over the last 20 years, Wildly Different Team Building Experiences has worked with countless businesses in industries including Healthcare, Software and Technology, Financial and Banking, Energy, Insurance, and everything in between. We’ve put our “Play Outside the Cubicle” tagline into practice during our team building events with thousands of people in locations such as hotels, convention centers, theme parks, city centers, and beyond to build more cohesive teams while having FUN!
Adapting To Industry Trends
It’s important to note that since opening our doors in 2003, the corporate workplace has evolved significantly. In offices across the globe, organizations have shifted from traditional, hierarchical structures to literally gutting offices and tearing down walls in an effort to become more collaborative. Thus, the need for hosting team building activities regularly has become a vital part of organizations’ success. As a top team building company, Wildly Different has adapted to the ever-evolving corporate cultures and team dynamics. We have stayed ahead of emerging trends and remained a top provider of team building events.
Over the years, team building has evolved from company picnics to include Olympic-themed relays on private beaches and hotel lawns. Simple scavenger hunts have gone from a paper list of objects to collect to photo-scavenger hunts, to iPad driven hunts, and now they are GPS enabled hunts that can be done from your own phone in city centers, theme parks, and resorts. Simple game shows have evolved into technology-driven programs with teams working together in groups to compete rather than a few contestants watched by an audience. Team building has grown to include charitable activities where participants come together to build red wagons for families in need, assemble snack packs for hungry children, assemble golf holes out of canned goods for a creative and competitive experience that fills the shelves of food pantries, and so much more.
Custom Team Events That Surpass Expectations
Beyond the typical icebreaker and team builder, Wildly Different has differentiated itself by partnering with clients to create hands-on, interactive, and engaging activities that enhance training programs. With the increasing demand for experiential learning, our custom team-building events truly set us apart from our competition. For example, our in-person and virtual escape rooms, custom game shows, and other one-of-a-kind events are often used by our corporate clients as experiential learnings. They provide unique and fun experiences that allow participants to interact with training content or corporate branding in memorable ways. Time after time these unique offerings have proven to be highly effective, as participants are more likely to retain insights gained through experiential learning than they are through more traditional training.
Remote Team Building
What has evolved the most in the last 20 years has been technology. With the rise of virtual and remote work, team building activities have had to adapt to accommodate geographically dispersed teams. As a result, many team building activities take place entirely online, using video conferencing such as Zoom to bring team members together. Wildly Different also offers remote-led events utilizing technology to monitor teams’ progress from across the globe.
Real Benefits From Team Building
Although it’s evident that team building is necessary for the corporate environment, we also recognize that is a hard metric to track. The fact is that the benefits of holding team building events for businesses and organizations are numerous and far-reaching. Some of the key benefits that team building can bring to a company include:
- Improved Communication: Team building activities can help employees to communicate more effectively with one another, building stronger relationships and reducing misunderstandings.
- Increased Collaboration: By bringing team members together to work on a common goal, team building activities can help create a sense of collaboration and teamwork that can improve overall productivity.
- Enhanced Problem-Solving: Many team building activities are designed to challenge participants’ critical thinking skills which, in turn, develops creative problem-solving strategies.
- Boosted Morale: When employees feel connected to one another and engaged, morale and job satisfaction tend to be higher.
- Greater Innovation: Team building activities can encourage employees to think outside the box (or Play Outside the Cubicle) and explore new ideas, leading to greater innovation and creativity within the workplace.
- Higher Rates of Employee Retention: Team building activities should be FUN and serve as an opportunity for your organization to show appreciation to your employees. Providing employees with an opportunity to take a break from their job duties and bond with their teammates, will build a greater sense of community within your organization while motivating your workforce.
Wildly Different Team Building Experiences has been producing fun and exciting team building events for the past 20 years, working with businesses such as Google, General Mills, Pfizer, Apple, GE, and more to create more collaborative, engaged, and energized teams. Through our innovative and unique team building activities, we continue to help build stronger workplace relationships, enhance communication and problem-solving skills, and improve overall team performance. By tailoring our team building events to focus on the unique needs of the clients that we work with, Wildly Different has been able to create memorable team building activities that meet specific business objectives and drive results. In addition to that, our charity team building events have impacted thousands of people across the world.
Lessons Learned
As a team building company with 20 years of experience, we have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in helping teams to work together more effectively. Some of the most important lessons we have learned include:
- The Importance of Tailored Solutions: Every organization has unique needs and challenges, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to team building. In order to book a team building event that fits your needs, it’s crucial to understand your goals and objectives. Sometimes a standard team builder is a perfect solution, and sometimes a custom team building event is the best fit for your specific needs.
- The Power of Experiential Learning: Traditional training methods can be effective, but experiential learning through hands-on team building activities can be even more impactful. When team members are engaged in real-world experiences, they are more likely to retain and apply the skills they learn.
- The Value of Collaboration: Collaboration and teamwork are essential components of effective team building. When team members work together to achieve a common goal, they build stronger relationships and improve overall team dynamics.
- The Need for Consistency: Team building activities should not be viewed as a one-time event. Instead, team bonding events should be conducted regularly to ensure that the collaborate mindsets and working relationships gained through team building activities are maintained.
As workplaces continue to evolve, team building will become increasingly important in helping businesses to build stronger, more effective teams. Some trends that may shape the future of team building and workplace dynamics include:
- Emphasis on Soft Skills: As automation and artificial intelligence become more prevalent in the workplace, the importance of soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and problem-solving will continue to grow. By hosting team builders at your meetings regularly, your team will continue to develop these skills.
- Giving Back: In an increasingly diverse workplace, one thing that all demographics unanimously agree upon is the importance of giving back. Team building activities that include a philanthropic or charitable component unite colleagues while working together to give back to the local community.
- Remote and Hybrid Teams: With the rise of remote work, team building activities will need to continue to adapt to accommodate virtual and hybrid teams. Additionally, without the ability for groups to have casual “water cooler” conversations, these team building events should be offered on an on-going basis. Whether a virtual escape room, virtual murder mystery, or another virtual game, online team building activities for the entire group will be around for a while.
After 20 years of business, Wildly Different Team Building Experiences is looking forward to many more to come! As a female-owned business, we will continue to adapt to the corporate world by staying on-top of current trends, continuing to innovate, and creating programs based on our client’s needs. We will continue to brainstorm regularly and develop new team building activities that are fun and exciting for our corporate groups including our charity team building activities. Who knows what the future will bring for Wildly Different, but we are here to welcome it!
Wildly Different
