The Five Dollar All Staff Lunch

Looking for a simple way to build the team and have some fun? Here is a time tested outing that is perfect for your team building program. It is all inclusive and easy to set up and manage. You can use this in all sorts of settings; small business, corporations, non-profits, churches, and other type businesses. I used it in a church setting with about 30 total employees and had great success with it. Here is the premise of why I chose this event. I invited all the paid employees to lunch once a month at a local restaurant for some fun and casual dining. To entice them to attend, I asked them to just pay $5 and the church would cover the rest. That way no one could complain it was too expensive for them. I asked them to order off the lunch menu and keep the cost modest. They paid in advance at the office and signed up and then we chose a location. I would send an office email the day of reminding each employee to pay up and then meet us there. Some would carpool and if a small group we took the church van. Here was the results I pleasantly discovered.
It became a "look forward to" event and many times we had upward of 25-30 in attendance. I saw employees that normally don't interact much at the office sit together and have fun. I saw employees that worked outside of the main office come and have fun. We laughed and mainly talked about life and not so much work. I feel it built our team up and gave them an outlet to build a casual relationship with other employees. The cost to the church was nothing compared to the value of the event for the whole team. Need some fun at the office? Try this event and see what happens.

Your comments? Suggestions? Did you try it?

Make Team Building Affordable

I am a team builder and I am always looking for new and creative ways to build relationships within the team. While leading a church staff of over 25, I sensed a great need for a way to get us all together in a casual atmosphere, away from the office. I noticed that we were in meetings at the church so much and comments from the team members were they were tired of so many meetings. I also noticed the administrative assistants were frustrated at not being included around the office in staff lunches and impromptu and random gatherings. What we needed was something that would build the team as a whole.


I wanted to create something that everyone could attend, was affordable for everyone, and was casual and not structured. I called it the "All Staff $5 Lunch". We chose the first Tuesday of the month and selected a local restaurant. The whole team was invited via email and all it cost them was $5. Each person paid in $5 and the church covered the rest, within reason. With most lunches costing around $10, the church basically covered the other. It was a hit! The goal was 100% attendance but that was unrealistic. We settled for whoever could make it that month and enjoyed great casual fellowship away from the office.

There were no expectations from the team, just show up when you can and enjoy each other. We chose a new place to each each month and would try and choose a new restaurant when possible. The team loved it since they knew there cost was always going to be just $5 no matter where we ate. We carpooled each month and added that fellowship aspect as well. The event quickly became a staple in our team building strategy and was looked forward to by all. I can assure you this; if I ever forgot to line up a place and send the email, I was quickly reminded a few days before.

The idea mushroomed into more; whenever a new team member joined us or when a team member left, someone called "All Staff Lunch". You just can't go wrong with this team builder.

Comments? Suggestions? Have you tired this before?

Yes Office Golf is a Team Building Game

If you are not playing Office Golf at work, you are missing one of the best team building exercises ever thought of. I have been playing for years and every time we play we laugh hard and play for keeps. It doesn't matter who you are, you will love Office Golf.

Fact #1 There is no way to be mad at someone when playing Office Golf. When you get the staff together to play, all dissension and drama disappears for a while. There is just no way to play Office Golf and be mad at someone while playing.

Fact #2 Even though it is played in the office, its always competitive play.

Fact #3 No matter who you are, you will laugh hard when playing Office Golf

So what are you waiting for? If you have never played this incredible team building game, start today. We have a portable Office Golf game but you can use a Styrofoam cup for the hole and everyone brings a putter and ball. That's all you need. Set the hole down hallways, down several hallways, or even in another room. Things in the way like chairs, water fountains, benches, and the like are all hazards and traps. Leave them in play! Each person tees off and plays wherever their ball lands. If you are up against the wall, you can pull it out a club head length out. Make up a par and count your strokes.

So, here is a glimpse of our latest Office Golf initiating two new employees to the game. It was a long putt up hill and this guy nailed it! Take a peak....

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Comments? Do you play Office Golf?