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July 29, 2020

Organizing Friendly Competitions at Your Outdoor Company Picnic

Taking on the challenge of planning the ultimate team-building company picnic is exciting. However, if you have no clue where to start, this task may feel daunting. When it comes to planning a company event outdoors, it is your job to ensure everything is taken care of and runs smoothly while managing your other job responsibilities. Feeling anxious and stressed about how your event will turn out is common, but don’t be discouraged. The following information will provide you with insightful information on how to organize a successful and eventful company picnic.

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Steps for Planning a Fun Outdoor Company Picnic

If you’re looking for advice on how to plan a lively company picnic, you’re in luck. Depending on the type of picnic or event your hosting, there may be different details you’ll need to think about and prepare. However, with any type of team-building company event, there are four steps you must take to ensure it’s productive and consistent with your expectations. Read on to discover the best next steps to achieve just that!

Consider Your Goals

The main question to ask yourself when planning your company picnic is, “What’s the purpose of the event?” Before jumping into little tasks like searching for vendors, sending out invitations, and securing a venue, focus on identifying your vision and goals for the event.

If your goal is to produce a thoughtful and powerful getaway that encourages collaboration, boosts morale, and builds connections through engaging and friendly competition, then you’re already one step closer to organizing the perfect company picnic.

Set the Tone

After you conceptualize your company picnic, get your crew pumped up for a fun-filled weekend. When most people hear the word “team building,” they think of awkward and boring ice breakers. If people on your team go into the picnic with a negative outlook, others will start to feel the same.

Before you leave for the picnic, call for a company meeting. This is where you can set the tone, state your goals for the picnic, and show your team that this picnic will be memorable. Some things you can mention in the meeting to spur up excitement include:

Delicious catered food
Competitive activities
Entertainment
Other games and prizes

After all their hard work, this is an opportunity for your team to take part in a transformational and inspiring event– one that is sure to have them feeling like kids again.

Let Your Team Have Some Free-Time

Once your company arrives at the picnic, don’t try to rush it. Give your team the ability to adjust to life outside the office and take in the smell of fresh air. After all, this is an event for them– therefore, let them roam around, relax, mingle, and of course, get pepped-up once they see how much effort you put into making this picnic unique.

It is critical that members on your team have the time to engage in personal conversations face to face, especially if most of their work is independent or remote. Meeting in person, without the worries of work tasks, is now largely about connecting and bonding intimately, and less about focusing on work talk.

Incorporate Friendly Competitions

The most important thing you can do to make your company picnic one worth remembering is to incorporate friendly competitions to inspire employee engagement. There are several different types of enticing team-building activities and games that you can include in your company picnic that will spark up and challenge your team. Here is a list of company picnic game ideas and activities to help inspire employee engagement:

Cornhole tournament
Karaoke
Treasure hunt
Board game tournament
Sporting events
Water activities
Giant scrabble
Giant Jenga
Carnival like games
Putting greens
Company Trivia

The list goes on, but the main point is to include games that require your employees to get up, think hard, and collaborate with their peers. To make the thrill of winning even more attractive, include game winner prizes and incentives. Not only does a little competition never hurt anyone, but it can help your team build self-confidence and learn something new about themselves and their coworkers.

Still Not Sure Where to Start? Contact Frogbridge Picnics & Events for Support

An outdoor company picnic is the perfect opportunity for everyone at the office to take a break and feel appreciated for all that they do. Planning this by yourself might seem overwhelming, which is why the team at Frogbridge Picnic & Events is here to alleviate any of the troubles you have.

When you choose to host your outdoor corporate event or company picnic at Frogbridge Events, our devoted event planners will help with the details to make your event an exceptional one. From building the ideal menu to creating a personalized website, our comprehensive planning process provides an incomparable and care-free experience for your corporate event or company picnic. To start planning your company picnic at Frogbridge, please complete our contact form or call our office today at (609) 208-9475.

Joanna Brooks

July 15, 2020

How to Plan The Perfect Outdoor Team Building Company Event

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Having a strong company culture is crucial for the success of your business. Every step you take towards creating a positive company culture is a direct investment in your employees and clients. Teams who are recognized and rewarded for their achievements are more likely to perform and produce more effectively. When employees are more confident and passionate in their interactions, clients will take notice and will feel value in their relationship with your company.

Company events are one of the most effective ways you can drive growth, performance, and interpersonal relationships in your organization. Here’s some information to help you hit the ground running on planning the most exceptional team building company event of the year.

Choosing the Best Type of Team Building Event for Your Team

There are countless types of team building events that you can plan for your company. From picnics and sporting events to seminars and conferences, there’s one thing each of these events have in common: establishing connection. When choosing the best type of team building event, keep in mind the goals you have for your company and how certain events can meet those goals better than others.

Company Retreats

Company retreats offer your group the opportunity to gather, unwind, and participate in several activities. Some ideas for fun retreats include:

Outdoor picnics: give your company the opportunity to network and share stories through comforting foods
Resort style amenities: show your company that you’re thankful for their hard work and dedication
Exciting recreational activities: allow members of your company to work together in a competitive and fun way
Relaxation and reflection moments: allocate time for your team to de-stress and practice mindfulness
Team-building exercises: present members of your team with the ability to interact and come up with creative problem solving strategies together to overcome challenges

The chance for your employees to bond with one another outside of the workplace allows them to identify their own strengths and weaknesses while learning about their coworkers. The office environment, especially around busy times in the year, can be stressful and hectic. Planning something as special as a corporate retreat outdoors shows your organization that you care about the well-being of your workers, improving company morale and trust. If you’re looking to plan an office getaway, even if it’s just for a day, consider planning a retreat for your next company event.

Outdoor Company Appreciation Events

Similar to company retreats, appreciation events show your company that you’re thankful for all that they bring to the table everyday. However, appreciation trips might be targeted more towards rewarding your team, whereas retreats look to both develop and reward teams. Still, appreciation events will encourage your employees to communicate and relate to one another. You can show your appreciation for your company in any of the following events:

Holiday parties
Celebration of company milestones
Lunch or dinner picnics
Sporting events
Incentive trips

You can choose to share your gratitude for your team through multiple appreciation events, or, for a more cost-efficient way of admiration for your team, set aside a budget to throw one or two company appreciation events a year. This gives your team something to look forward to and is the ultimate way to praise your company.

Executing the Perfect Team Building Outdoor Event

Preparing and executing a big company event is going to take time and patience, but in the end, it will be so worth it! The key is to first conceptualize the specific elements that you want included at your event and then you can pull all of the pieces together to make it one of a kind. Once you have choose a venue, some tips to help plan a company event that your employees will remember forever include:

Outline the goals and purpose of your event
Set aside a reasonable budget
Create a planning checklist and project timeline
Decide on themes, decorations, dates, and times
Plan to incorporate team building activities throughout the day
Promote your event with invitations and flyers
Hire caterers and/or speakers

As you can see, executing a successful company event takes preparation, dedication, and hard work. Consider choosing a venue that has event planners and different types of packages that you can include in your company event. This would mean that all you have to do is go through one company, establish a vision of what you have in mind, and let them get to work on making that vision come to life.

Let Frogbridge Picnics & Events Plan Your Successful Outdoor Company Event

The entire staff at Frogbridge Picnics & Events can take care of all those details outlined above and more. When you want to plan a company event in the Central Jersey area, let Frogbridge Events be your exceptional venue of choice. Our skilled event planners will work with you and listen to any concerns you have to ensure you host the perfect company event. Frogbridge Events is the perfect place to recognize your employee’s perseverance and present goals you have in mind to continue advancing your business. Our Central NJ corporate event venue sits on 86 acres of breath-taking scenery, complete with all the features you need to make your company event unique and unforgettable. To learn more about the many packages we have to offer for company events, complete a contact form or call our office anytime at (609) 208-9475.

Joanna Brooks

June 16, 2020

12 Team Building Activities To Create a Tight-Knit Work Culture

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There’s nothing more vital to the health of a company’s culture than having strong teamwork and partnership values. Managers have the responsibility of keeping team members in sync, on the same page and working toward the same goals. Sometimes, it may be a challenge to create a tight-knit work culture if team members don’t understand each other or see eye to eye. One way to overcome this workplace obstacle is by organizing fun team-building activities. Starting at an early age, we all learned how to play and share with others. When it comes to working and collaborating with others in a corporate environment, however, there’s little information on the best ways of promoting a collaborative working environment. One method that we know first-hand to be useful for a positive work culture is through team-building activities. These can be done in the middle of the workday to invigorate the office after lunch or it could be a full day of fun! Start planning your perfect day team-building activities by considering some of the favorites here at Frogbridge.

Team-Building Activities that Emphasize Communication

The goal of team-building activities is to build synergy between team members. One of the best ways to start is through activities that emphasize communication. The more team members understand each other, the more productive they’ll be while working together.

Office Trivia

Everyone loves a good old-fashioned game of trivia to liven up the workday! Stick to workplace categories about the company culture, around the office, and well-known “inside jokes.” Or you can switch to other categories, like history or pop culture, to keep everyone engaged.

Scavenger Hunt

A team-building activity that can be as elaborate or as simple as you’d like is a scavenger hunt. Team members get moving and collaborate to find the hidden objects that open the door for fun and easy-going conversation. Organize a smaller hunt indoors or one of epic proportions outside.

Pair Up

Help new team members break the ice and bond with this fun pairing game. Start by writing the names of famous duos on separate pieces of paper (e.g., Tom and Jerry, salt and pepper, Batman and Robin). Take the sheets of paper behind employees’ backs and have them walk around asking clues from others to learn their identity and find their missing pair.

Problem-Solving Activities for Team Building

Get your team thinking about ways to come up with creative solutions to various challenges with these team-building activities:

Business Simulations

Simulate a real-life problem that might occur in the workplace and challenge team members to develop solutions. For instance, academics at Buyessayfriend writing company prefer to create hypothetical workplace problem that reflects real-life problems, encouraging team members to collaborate and develop innovative solutions through critical thinking. To start, come up with a problem in a business task or project, gather team members into a room, and split everyone into teams. Explain the details of the business problem, rules, goals, and the deadline. Then see who can create the best solution.

Office Style Escape Room

Escape rooms are an excellent activity for solving problems as a team while under pressure. Because not every company can expense a local escape room, try creating your own within the office or meeting room. Position clues and small activities throughout the room and let team members collaborate to find the way out.

Team-Building Activities That Boost Creativity

Get the creative juices flowing with these team-building activities that can spark innovation between team members:

The Dinner Party

Get to know members on your team better through this fun Dinner Party game. Each member of the team shares which three people they would like to have dinner with and why. The dinner guest can be anyone past or present.

Office Pictionary

A classic game for groups, Pictionary boosts creativity and provides a healthy dose of competition. Split the entire team into two or three groups. A person from each team selects a card and, without saying a word, draws the object on a whiteboard for their team to guess. Each round usually lasts for one minute, and the team with the most correct answers wins.

Jeopardy at Work

Jeopardy is always a favorite for team members, young and old! This is an excellent tool for learning new concepts and team-building. Create five questions for six categories that are related to your business. Break the group up in teams with one moderator to play the role of Alex Trebek!

Other Icebreakers & Activities for Team-Building

Consider these activities as icebreakers for new team members or fun ways to promote a tight-knit work culture.

Go Kart Racing

Go-kart racing is exhilarating fun that can incite a bit of friendly rivalry. Get the adrenaline pumping on a professional go-kart track, like our figure-eight course at Frogbridge Events.

Office Potluck

An office potluck is the perfect combination of food and camaraderie. Team members can show off their cooking skills or favorite store-bought treats. Schedule this as a quarterly event, so your employees always have something to look forward to!

Water Balloon Toss

Cool off on a hot day in the summer by filling a bunch of water balloons and splitting employees into pairs. Each pair tosses their balloons back and forth while taking a step back each time. The team that’s the driest at the end wins.

Community Service

Talk to your team and choose a cause to serve for a day that resonates with everyone. When time allows for it, giving back to the community builds bonds between team members as they do good in the world.

Discover Team Building Activities at Frogbridge Events in Millstone, NJ

Investing in team-building activities can reap extraordinary benefits in creating a tight-knit work culture. These activities are proven to improve productivity and communication, while team members get to learn how to work with each other more effectively. Frogbridge Events is the perfect location for corporate team building activities. Our Central NJ company picnic venue sits on 86 acres of countryside and freshwater lakes, complete with all the amenities to make a fun-filled day of camaraderie your team won’t soon forget! To learn more about team building packages at Frogbridge Events, complete an online contact form or call our office at (609) 208-9475.

Joanna Brooks

June 9, 2020

New Jersey Non-Traditional Corporate Retreat Ideas

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When it comes to planning your corporate retreat, you don’t want the same old style as years before. Break with the past and try something new by including these fun ideas for a non-traditional corporate retreat. At Frogbridge, planning events is what we do best. We know that adding a few creative touches can turn a humdrum event into an extraordinary experience that everyone will remember!

Unconventional Central NJ Corporate Retreat Concepts

Adding a little flair and originality to your corporate retreat will encourage employee attendance and create an inviting atmosphere for employees to get to know each other better. Raise the bar by infusing these alternative suggestions at your next corporate retreat:

Unique Venues for your Corporate Retreat

The first thing to plan for any corporate retreat is the location. Swap the boring and all-too-popular reception hall or event center in exchange for a unique atmosphere. Consider a lakeside or beach setting that features recreational and leisurely activities.

A few off-the-wall venue options include:

Recreational resort
A historic site
Golf course
Farm field or barn
Bowling alley
Aquarium
Museum
Botanical garden
Boat or cruise

Pick a company picnic venue in Central NJ that fits your company culture so employees feel relaxed and comfortable to unwind. If you have a competitive bunch, choose a venue that offers options for games and team-building activities. If your team is under a lot of pressure, look for a place in the beautiful outdoors that includes serene landscaping and leisure activities.

Choosing Your Corporate Retreat Theme

What’s more exciting than an event with a theme? Having a theme for your corporate retreat generates buzz around the office in the weeks leading up to it, and employees can dress up to really get in the spirit.

Consider these out of the box theme ideas:

Hollywood
Murder Mystery
Gangsters
Roaring ’20’s
County fair
Star Wars Fairy Tales
Zombie Apocalypse
What happens in Vegas…
Rodeo

We suggest gathering props to enhance your theme and create a photo booth area! Employees can socialize and snap photos together to remember the day.

Crafting Your Corporate Retreat Menu

Once you choose your theme, the rest of the planning decisions are simple! Build onto your theme with a specialty menu to delight the taste buds. For example, if you have a carnival or county fair theme, include funnel cakes, corn dogs, and perhaps deep-fried Oreos! If you’re having a Hawaiian luau, infuse your menu with pineapple and tropical notes.

If you’d rather skip the theme, you can still get creative when crafting your menu! Consider serving finger foods that guests love like mini-pulled pork sliders, beef kebabs, and crab cakes. If you want a more nutritious option, try a “wrap buffet” where guests can choose their own meats, veggies, and fixings.

Employees and guests will happily welcome novelty snacks and desserts to enjoy throughout their corporate retreat experience. Consider gourmet cookies, shaved Italian ice, or an ice cream sundae bar for a sweet summertime snack!

Plan your food and drink selections with a professional event planner who can bring all of your ideas and wishes into a real-life extravaganza!

Games & Activities for your corporate retreat

While some in the office may jump at the chance to participate in highly competitive sporting games, others might shudder at the thought. Be sure you consider the varying tastes and preferences when planning activities and team building exercises, so everyone finds something to enjoy.

A few of our favorites include:

Scavenger hunt
Extreme ziplining
Tug-of-war
Cornhole
Laser tag
Sports (beach volleyball, golf)
Water sports (kayaking, bumper boats)
Professional go-karts
Carnival-style games
Inflatable bounce houses

Everyone loves to win, so why not take it up a notch by including prizes to award the winning teams? Customized gifts with your company logo are ideal for a corporate retreat. Popular, high-quality ideas include lunch bags, sunglasses, and cell phone chargers.

Employee Gifts for your corporate retreat

Your employees work hard for your company day in and day out. Surprise them with a genuine show of gratitude by gifting your employees with something special at the end of the retreat. A little bit can go a long way, and your staff will be sure to return to work refreshed and re-energized come Monday morning.

Two ideas to show employee appreciation include:

Gift cards to the local coffee shop, car wash, or happy hour spot is always a good idea, plus it stimulates the local businesses in your community
Custom golf umbrellas with the company logo will be cherished by your staff for years to come.

Start Planning Your New Jersey Corporate Retreat with Frogbridge Events Today

Corporate retreats are more than a fun getaway for everyone at the office. These experiences have many benefits like increased teamwork, less stress in the office, and galvanized employees ready to work toward a common goal. When you’re ready to plan a non-traditional corporate retreat that your employees won’t soon forget, the professional event planning team at Frogbridge Events is prepared to help!

Our New Jersey Event Planners have helped numerous Fortune 500 companies, like L’oreal and Johnson & Johnson, plan their corporate events. We know what it takes to pull off an extraordinary corporate retreat experience and can plan yours too. Our corporate event planning team will walk you through your event step by step until we’ve created the corporate picnic, retreat, or event to enthrall and delight your whole team! Schedule a call to learn more at Frogbridge Events by completing an online contact form or call today at (609) 208-9475.