With the global economy recovering steadily from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are resuming normal operations. While a company reunion sounds nice, executives can take a chance and invest in building back the team spirit lacking in most virtual workspaces. Organizing team-building exercises like an office scavenger hunt helps engage employees in a fun way.

A scavenger hunt involves a series of challenges that teams must complete in order to earn points. The points after each challenge are tallied to determine the overall winner at the end of the competition. Setting up a scavenger hunt is no easy feat, so here are some things you should know before planning:

Understand Your Employees’ Preferences

Each employee has unique wants and needs, which you must account for. Knowing what everyone wants can be challenging, and it is even harder to implement their every desire. Going with the preferences of the majority of your workforce will help improve your event’s success chances.

Start by evaluating what everyone’s idea of a scavenger hunt should entail. Prepare an email survey with ideas about the scavenger hunt and let your employees choose. Employees feel valued when you seek their input in company matters, which can help boost workplace morale.

Comprehend Individual Abilities

Similar to their wants, employees have special abilities that are pivotal to their work. Some employees are better creative thinkers, while others have excellent interpersonal skills. Team building exercises should focus on helping everyone improve by learning vital skills from their counterparts.

Understanding each employee’s abilities helps you create balanced teams ahead of the event. A balanced team means everyone’s strength will manifest at a particular challenge within the scavenger hunt. This presents an opportunity for every team member to participate and have some input on the outcome. Balanced teams also help make the contest fair and harder to predict the winners.

Have a Goal in Mind When Planning

Scavenger hunts allow participants to practice key life skills in a tangible manner. Employees can use their training to play through challenges, increasing their ability to understand these lessons. The scavenger hunt should help your company grow, so have a specific goal in mind when planning these events.

Your goal will dictate the theme of your scavenger hunt. If you plan on building a critical thinking culture around the office, center your challenges to feature problem-solving abilities. Working with a particular goal in mind can help make organizing scavenger hunts easier and more functional.

Involve a Team in the Planning and Execution

Organizing office hunts involves planning, scouting locations, and overseeing the event. Planning and executing the hunt can be tedious, so have a team help out to make your event seamless. Your team should include executive members or outsourced help. Scavenger hunt experts can offer helpful insights into hacks that can help make your event a success.

Activities that the planning team will be responsible for include:

• Brainstorming scavenger hunt ideas.
• Scouting out locations within the office building or city to organize the event.
• Scorekeeping during the event.
• Selecting and registering teams.
• Checkpoint management to make sure teams follow scavenger hunt rules to win.

Outsourcing scavenger hunt planning services can offer you access to key items for a seamless process. Scavenger hunt companies can sometimes use apps to organize and manage your hunt, helping to increase efficiency.

Partner With Local Businesses Where Necessary

City-wide scavenger hunts are a great opportunity and a fun way for new employees to tour the city. When organizing such hunts, you can set up checkpoints across the city’s streets, which can be tricky unless you get permits. You can make the organization easier by partnering with local businesses.

Local businesses like pizzerias, music shops, and clothing stores can let you use their premises as checkpoints. This avoids the need for city permits or meeting up on busy streets. 

Organize a Successful Office Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a fun and engaging way of developing critical skills among your employees. These hunts also offer employees a much-needed break from monotonous office work. Organizing an office scavenger hunt  can be easy when you involve a team and incorporate employee abilities. You can also partner with local businesses to make managing the scavenger hunt seamless.