Field Trips for the Office

Why Field Trips Aren’t Just For Summer Camp

Deborah Sweeney

Remember when going to camp was the biggest adventure of the summer? A fresh faced 10-year-old ready for adventurous hikes, canoe rides and campfires with s’mores! School field trips were the same. It was exciting to hear the announcements. Maybe a museum was on the agenda or a local ice cream parlor – either way, the prospect of exploring someplace new for the afternoon was a thrilling alternative to routine.

Fast forward 30 years, summertime is not quite so active, nor are the field trips as plentiful as they once were. The cabin has been traded for an office and the bunks for desks. However, business owners can still have field trips and there are purposes for them.

1. It’s great for team building – Limit the expensive weekend retreats with less costly and more regular team building activities in the form of a field trip. One company threw a spontaneous ice cream social/team meeting where everyone on the floor went around and shared their favorite summer activity and a word that comes to mind when starting a business. It got the entire team talking and laughing and everyone learned a little bit more about each other.
2. Everybody Needs a Break – It seems there is a late afternoon lull. Turns out, the perfect cure is… a field trip! Plan a 10-minute “everyone outside” field trip. It’s amazing what being outside for a bit, walking, and taking a quick snack break will do for an employee’s motivation. In summer it might be walks outside, in the winter it might be hot lattes during a “Decorate your office space” field trip.
3. Add to the Office Atmosphere – Being known as an office that goes on the occasional field trip can do a lot for employee morale. An employee who knows she works at a place friendly and fun enough to indulge in the occasional walk and treat can make tough days enduring.

Watching kids after a field trip, where the overall mood is electric, is just the adventure to create in business. It makes the dull, dynamic; the boring beautiful; and the performance, positive.

Here are some field trip ideas to get the ball rolling:

1. Walk to get ice cream, snow cones, Slurpees, iced coffee, or anything cold and sweet.
2. Treat the office to a nice, light lunch. A sandwich shop is always good.
3. Have a potluck picnic – everyone brings munchies to eat in the shade at a nearby park.
4. Have lunch in the courtyard or outdoor space right outside the office. Have a deli cater and enjoy an hour outdoors.

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO and owner of MyCorporation, an online filing services company that specializes in incorporations and LLCs. Find her online at mycorporation.com and on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.