The words “team building” can elicit groans from management and staff alike. Visions of The Office float through everyone’s head…that awkward forced intimacy that everyone would rather avoid. What if team-building didn’t have to be like that at all! The absurd thing about escape rooms is that being locked in a room with your co-workers is actually the best way to learn how to enjoy their company, and fast!
Like many exercises that build camaraderie (office birthday parties or social events connected to holidays) there is an enormous amount of evidence to suggest that despite initial reactions, overall morale and employee satisfaction is in fact greatly improved. Team building boosts revenue. Period. Contented, well-connected employees will communicate better, want to come to work, and feel as though everyone in the office is doing something important, together.
According to Forbes Magazine, team building “builds trust, mitigates conflict, encourages communication, and increases collaboration. Effective team building means more engaged employees, which is good for company culture and boosting the bottom line.” Escape rooms happen to be the world’s fastest growing industry that is perfectly aligned with the principles of team-building. You simply HAVE to communicate well in an escape room, and respect (or at least consider) someone else’s ideas or opinions. You need to work together or you will never escape with your group within one hour.
We are proud that the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University saw the potential of one of our escape rooms for research into exactly this connection. “The Doctor’s Redemption,” our most recent creation, involves multiple puzzles that require teamwork to be solved and only one that you can solve completely on your own. You need to match up clues from opposites sides of the room, sometimes on the other side of a locked door or wall. For 6 weeks in the Winter semester of 2019, we had flocks of students going through this room while a moderator studied and recorded their reactions.
Here is what one recent company owner said about her experience: “Our escape experience was a big hit with everyone in our group. I was surprised, actually, that it worked so well. In one hour we were all laughing and yes, we did know each other better. We’ve had weekend retreats that were not as effective as this one hour was. I would highly recommend this to anyone!”
If you want to book your company into our escape rooms to enjoy a rapid transformation of workplace amity, connect with us today by calling the number below. We would love to figure out exactly what your needs are, which room would best suit your group, and how we can make your team-building go far beyond the “groaner” it otherwise could be!
