24 Exciting Company Outing Ideas

By: | Updated: June 02, 2023

You’ve found our list of company outing ideas.

Company outing ideas are activities for workers to enjoy outside of the office. Examples of company outing ideas include cooking lessons, laser tag, and escape rooms. The purpose of these trips is to improve employee morale and help team members connect in a relaxed environment.

Team outings are similar to company offsites and corporate retreats. Company outing ideas make great team bonding activities and can incorporate team building skills. You can even host online company outings for remote workers.

company-outing-ideas

​This list includes:

  • company outings for big groups
  • company outings for small groups
  • group outing ideas for adults
  • team outing ideas
  • corporate outing ideas
  • company holiday outing ideas
  • fun work outing ideas

Let’s get things started!

List of company outing ideas

From solving a murder during a dinner party to exploring local attractions, here are some ideas for company outing ideas to bring your team together.

1. Axe Throwing

Your team can test their aim and strength with a few rounds of axe throwing. Axe-throwing studios provide a safe environment for some friendly competition. Guests can play one-on-one or break into smaller teams. Similar to darts, players aim for the bullseye, scoring points for hits in the surrounding circles. Some studios offer bar bites and drinks for players to enjoy after their session.

Though axe throwing is a safe activity, it does involve physical exertion. Teams with fit members are more likely to enjoy axe throwing as a company outing.

2. Go-Kart Racing

Teams with a need for speed can get their engines revving with go-kart racing! You can reserve a track near your office and get your crew strapped in for a few high-octane laps. The heart-pounding thrill of driving at top speeds is excitement enough. However, watching your teammates edge toward the top of the leaderboard will bring out the competitive spirit in the whole gang!

As a fun bonus, fill a small trophy from the discount store with candy and treats to present to the winner.

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3. Escape Rooms

Escape rooms make great outings for teams with a taste for puzzle solving. Guests enter a chamber where secrets abound, and every item is a possible clue. Players must interpret hidden messages, crack codes, and collaborate on decrypting the greater riddle of the room. The clock is ticking, adding more pressure to the task with every passing second!

Most escape rooms have capacity limits, making them better company outings for small groups. To accommodate larger teams, you can request multiple rooms for simultaneous events.

Read about the types of escape rooms.

4. Spring Training Games

Baseball fans on the team will enjoy spending the day at a spring training game. If you have teams in your area, then you can plan an afternoon of preseason fun. Many stadiums provide spring training specials, including ticket discounts and special memorabilia. Snack bar treats or a catered lunch will provide refreshments during the seventh-inning stretch if your crew can hold out that long!

5. Trivia Night

No fact is insignificant when trivia night rolls around. These fun work outing ideas let the team put their odd and unusual knowledge to great use. Bars offering trivia sometimes run specials on food and drinks, a budget bonus for your trivia night team event. You can choose a spot near the office to make travel easy for the crew or pick a special location for a destination outing. With a few beverages and an order of sliders, your workers can get primed for trivia victory.

Check out trivia night ideas.

6. Indoor Skydiving

If you have thrill seekers on your team, then an afternoon of indoor skydiving will get their blood pumping. Indoor skydiving facilities use an industrial fan to recreate the sensation of falling to Earth. With help from a guide, divers learn to maneuver in the tunnel for a series of breathtaking lifts and spins. The feeling of flying creates bonding moments your crew is sure to remember, with videos and photos to prove it happened!

Though a safer option than real skydiving, indoor skydiving is best for fitter teams to enjoy. You can consult with the facility before deciding on your activity.

7. Indoor Rock Climbing

A test of both mental and physical skill, indoor rock climbing becomes a team sport when your crew takes to the wall. Climbing studios provide coordinated team building activities that require communication and coordination. Instructors will help get climbers prepared for their challenges before setting them loose. Even simple climbs require two members, the perfect opportunity for your crew to help one other reach new heights.

8. Pottery and Ceramics Classes

If your workers are okay with getting their hands dirty, then a pottery-throwing class is a fun company outing to try. In pottery-throwing classes, students use a potter’s wheel to create pieces such as vases and bowls. These pieces are then dried, glazed, and fired, resulting in colorful works of art your team can take home. You can find beginning classes that are ideal for showing new potters the process.

If pottery throwing is too challenging, then you can find many studios offering ceramics classes in addition to pottery. With ceramics, guests paint pre-made clay pieces with colorful glazes. After firing, these glazes glow with vibrant hues, providing fun souvenirs for your budding artists to keep.

9. Paint-and-Sip Classes

Teams interested in exploring their creative impulses can step up to the easel in a paint-and-sip class. These courses feature vibrant canvas images created with guided instruction from a qualified teacher. Painters without prior experience can test their abilities, while experienced artists on the team will have no problem completing their paintings. Every guest takes home their finished canvas as a souvenir of their artful company outing.

For larger groups, studios sometimes offer onsite events that bring the fun to your workplace. You can ask about this option when researching your paint-and-sip company outing.

10. City Tours

Residents sometimes overlook special aspects of their own cities, making a city tour an eye-opening company outing. With a professionally guided excursion, your crew can become tourists in their own town. You can choose special districts or historical areas to visit or select a site that may be meaningful to your company. Team members are bound to learn new facts about the place they live.

If your town has no tour companies to offer guided tours, then you can plan a tour of your own. All it takes is a little research to find exciting spots and notable regions. Your plan may require rental transportation to accommodate the crew, something you can factor into your budget.

11. Museum Hack

For many US cities, company outing possibilities include an exciting trek called Museum Hack. These excursions lead teams through local museums for a fast-paced educational experience filled with fun. With help from guides who keep the tour hopping, groups can learn about the works on display and the creators who made them. Museum Hack brings your team into the art culture in a high-energy way that makes these spaces come alive!

Learn more about Museum Hack to see if your city is on the list.

12. The Great Guac Off

Guacamole making competition

Your team can enjoy some friendly culinary competition in a customized guacamole contest. Engaging hosts get the crowd fired up with avocado trivia and fun facts about this beloved dip. Then, guests get the chance to create their own take on guac to present to judges for consideration. The best guac on the block takes the top prize!

The Great Guac Off is a company outing for teams to enjoy just about anywhere. You can designate a location or bring the fun onsite for a workplace outing with no travel required.

Learn more about The Great Guac Off.

13. Smash Rooms

The best company outings allow employees to let out built-up stress. Smash rooms take stress relief a step further! These facilities allow guests to crush breakable items in a safe, controlled space. Guests use bats to bash objects like old television sets and ceramic dishes into piles of rubble. This activity can provide a much-needed release for workers under pressure. The thrill of breaking objects is an unmatched experience for blowing off steam, especially when your team wears approved safety gear to avoid injury!

14. Laser Tag

The excitement of laser tag means your team has an exhilarating company outing ahead of them! In laser tag, players divide into teams and strap color-coded sensors onto their chests, arms, and legs. Then, teams spread out in a darkened arena, aiming their laser guns at the opposite team’s color. Each shot that connects with a sensor earns the player’s team points. The concept is simple enough, but the practice becomes a game of cat and mouse played in the dark!

Laser tag involves a fair amount of physical exertion, making this a company outing for teams in good health.

15. Karaoke

Singers on the team will love belting their favorite tunes with a karaoke company outing! Karaoke sessions can take place in a public lounge or a private room, depending on the comfort level of your singers. As long as your team members are game for performing in front of each other, the crew can have a pitch-perfect outing—even without having perfect pitch!

For a festive get-together, add karaoke to your company holiday outing ideas to get your crew into the spirit of the season. Singers can choose Christmas classics and beloved carols, songs that even novice vocalists will enjoy singing.

16. Murder Mystery Dinners

Murder mystery dinners bring a touch of intrigue to a catered, multi-course dinner party. These dinners combine the excitement of an interactive performance with great food and lots of laughs. Team members with a talent for sleuthing may even get a chance to solve the murder or play a role in the cast of characters. More reserved guests will enjoy watching the mystery unfold around them while enjoying a meal with their workmates.

Check out more team building murder mystery ideas.

17. Wine Tasting

With wine tastings among your team outing ideas, your employees can learn the art of choosing wines based on more than just shelf level! Expert sommeliers will lead your group through a lesson on what makes wine worth drinking. You can learn about body, bouquet, and vintage while tasting new flavors.

If you have a vineyard or winery in your area, then you can plan a wine-tasting company outing with spectacular scenery. If wineries are unavailable, then you can research local bars offering wine tastings. These sessions often include small bites like charcuterie or bread selections in addition to the wine samples.

18. Volunteering

Helping your community offers a variety of thoughtful corporate outing ideas. You can check into local food banks, senior centers, and city improvement programs to learn what sort of services your crew can provide. Because these opportunities sometimes call for many volunteers, consider a volunteering session when planning company outings for big groups. A lunch afterward is a great way to thank your team for contributing their time and energy.

Many companies offer paid volunteer time, a generous benefit that encourages community spirit. If available, then you can check with your HR department to ensure your team can use this benefit.

Here is a list of group volunteering ideas.

19. Brewery and Distillery Tours

Tours of local breweries and distilleries make excellent group outing ideas for adults. Visitors get a close-up view of how raw ingredients turn into some of their favorite beverages. The tours sometimes include free samples of beer and spirits. You can also choose locations with tap and tasting rooms for trying out final versions as full-sized drinks and cocktails.

20. Local Attractions

Familiar local attractions become new and fascinating when included in your company outings. Landmarks, state and city parks, and historical sites are custom made for group events. You can schedule a tour to get the inside story or plan an open visit that lets your team wander freely. For sites with picnic areas and snack bars, plan a lunch to bring the crew together to share what they have learned.

21. Cooking Classes

Teams with a taste for gourmet dining will enjoy learning to cook. Live sessions with talented chefs make learning new techniques and recipes easy for home cooks. In-person courses allow guests to collaborate on dishes in the kitchen before sitting down together to enjoy their creations. For remote teams, online cooking lessons let you stream the session to your crew wherever they are.

22. Dinner and Dancing

A night of dinner and dancing is a fun company outing with a bit of grown-up glamour. You can prepare a list of restaurants and nightclubs for the team to vote on. The list can include hip hotspots or Latin-style dance halls for a more energetic crowd or jazz clubs for more subdued swinging to classic tunes.

For a fun bonus, invite your team to dress in more formal attire. These outfits will lend a touch of sophisticated style to your outing.

23. Cookouts

A cookout is a simple company outing that food fans can sink their teeth into. Whether you cater the event or assemble a potluck, free food is always a hit with a hungry crowd. For non-catered cookouts, recruit leadership figures to man the grills as a thank-you to their hard-working staff. Designating leaders as chefs will give executives face time with workers who they might not interact with regularly.

Check out this list of company BBQ ideas.

24. Beach Day

For teams with a beach nearby, a beach day is a no-fail team outing the whole crew can enjoy. Warm weather works best for beach activities such as bodysurfing, seaside barbeques, or picnics. Teams willing to brave the chill can enjoy volleyball or frisbee on a colder day, with a soup and bread bar to warm them up afterward. For an evening beach outing, plan a bonfire with roasted marshmallows, s’mores, and even live music if your budget allows.

Read about team beach party ideas.

Conclusion

Company outings allow workers to enjoy time together while engaging in exciting activities. These outings allow teams to enjoy special moments that are unlikely to happen in a work setting. By planning outings with your team’s interests in mind, you can show your appreciation and get the crew out of the office for some memorable fun. The result is a refreshed crew that understands and appreciates one another better.

Learn more about company outings by checking out team building events and team building resorts.

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FAQ: Company outing ideas

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about company outing ideas.

What are company outings?

Company outings are fun or educational offsite activities for teams to enjoy together. These activities provide a nonwork environment for workers to relax and interact with one another while having a good time.

What are some good ideas for company outings?

Some good ideas for company outings include karaoke, trivia night, and laser tag.

How do you plan a good team outing?

To plan a good team outing, consider the interests and abilities of your team members. Your outing should allow the whole team to participate. Considering each team member’s needs may rule out challenging physical activities. You may also need to consider seasonal and weather conditions when choosing your outing.

Author avatar

Author:

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.
Grace is the Director of People & Culture at teambuilding.com. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

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