7 Company Culture Event Ideas 

Don’t go! Company culture & company culture events — two of the biggest reasons for feeling loyal or surfing LinkedIn. Nearly two-thirds of employees say it’s the deciding factors in staying with a company.

As HR, marketing or event planning professionals, it’s your job to be the creative connectors — the bread that squishes the Skippy’s peanut butter and jelly together. 

If you’re ready to put together brand experiences that create inseparable teams and massively loyal employees, check out these 7 company culture event ideas.

Table of Contents

1. Team-Building Events
2. Professional Development Workshops
3. Volunteering and Community Service
4. Cultural and Diversity Celebrations
5. Health and Wellness Events
6. Remote Team Engagement Activities
7. Annual Company Retreats
8. How We’ll Help You Build Community
9. Create an Immersive Brand Experience with Imprint Engine

1. Team-Building Events

Help your company find team-building events that turn the boring suit-and-tie norms of the boardroom into active, skill-building events.

• Take a trip to an escape room. While counting down until the imaginary timer runs out in a tucked away library surrounded by mystery bookcases, your team will band together for some problem-solving shenanigans. 
• Organize a themed scavenger hunt. This activity marks the spot for collaboration, creative problem-solving and exploration. Pair teams that don’t usually work together. Hide the treasure—like company merchandise and goods—near the office and let the hunt begin.
• Plan an outing to a team sports event. Sports are a great way to bring your team together — even if you aren’t physically inclined — it gets the adrenaline pumpin’ … Try handball, shooting hoops or flag football, and award tickets to local sports games or give out the home state’s team jersey. Who will win? Probably the kid who took gym too seriously. 

Check out “Global Team Building: Initiatives That Work.”

2. Professional Development Workshops

If you’ve ever swiped up on your LinkedIn feed, you’ll see how much employees post about wanting to learn and grow. From small soft skills to ultra- sharpening and honing their craft, it’s a fantastic idea to offer opportunities to learn on a workday. 

• Provide leadership training. There are plenty of leadership and communication styles out there. (We’ve all had that boss.) Test what motivates your team with the Birkman Method. Results will include different colors for different communication style types, creating a cohesive culture in the workplace. 
• Host industry-specific seminars. These workshops can sharpen your employees’ skills, teach them specialized knowledge, and help them track the latest trends. For example, your onsite and virtual tech wizzes could dive into specific languages (Python, JavaScript or Java) or popular frameworks (such as React, Angular or Django).
• Offer soft skills development sessions. Presentations getting your employees down? You can teach tried-and-true storytelling techniques or confident body language to nail their next sales pitch to clients.

3. Volunteering and Community Service

A great company corporate culture idea: lending a hand. Not only are you serving the community, but you’re also strengthening team bonds and showing what your company values.

• Partner with local organizations for a day of volunteering. Pro tip: Look for bulletin boards when you go to coffee shops. There are generally a ton of volunteer ops pinned to the cork boards. Or pick up the phone and dial local community centers like the Boys and Girls Club or a food pantry. 
• Organize a company-wide charity drive. Don’t make kids ask the kid in front of them for a pen (been there). Organize a drive-up and drop-off for needed items like pencils, pens and paper so our future leaders can take notes. Make it a “Senior Skip Day” by picnicking outside, playing kickball and chilling on your company-branded blankets. 
• Run an online workshop — an excellent idea for companies that want to involve remote employees in volunteering. Team up with a school or after-school program like Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and give your departments the chance to teach what they’ve learned from years in business. They’ll feel empowered and important. Not to mention, this is great company PR. 

4. Cultural and Diversity Celebrations

It would be so boring if we were all the same. Host celebrations that show gratitude for each employee, their unique perspectives and their killer ideas. 

• Host an international food potluck.From spice and zest to sweet and savory, encourage employees to sign up and bring their favorite dish. Food brings people together, starts conversations and sometimes — provokes uncontrollable laughter. 
• Offer quarterly cultural intelligence workshops. Pay for a company-wide lunch as employees learn about cultural norms, communication styles and etiquette (no elbows on the table!). Encourage participation by having senior leadership partake, and employees will chime in following the leader. 
• Invite guest speakers to discuss topics related to diversity and inclusion. Spark insight by bringing in cultural thought leaders to inform your people about unconscious bias, how to support each other and what makes up identity (oh, psychology!). 

The guarantee? Your employees will feel known.

5. Health and Wellness Events

Sideline-cheer your teams toward better health with events dedicated to total wellness. Why? Endorphins are best released outside the office. 

• Organize company-sponsored health challenges. Turn wellness into a game marked by competition, achievements and rewards, through gamification. Whether your team strives for better sleep, hydration, or financial wellness, you can bet your salary there’s a challenge for it. Host a ceremony day for winners and participants after a 30-day challenge, with different prize tiers. 
• Host wellness seminars. Ohmm. Contact local universities and colleges, as they have staff dedicated to mental health and managing stress. You can arrange relaxed sessions where practitioners use Tibetan sound healing bowls that ring at 428 HZ, scientifically proven to have healing effects on the body.
• Provide group fitness classes. From strength training classes with free weights to body-moving. Browse local spots in town that offer group workout or dance classes to help your teams grow stronger. Offer fitness giveaway incentives such as shirts, shorts, or water bottles for signing up.

6. Remote Team Engagement Activities

Living halfway around the world from your co-workers can make it challenging to find connection! The solution: games and get-togethers. Try these company culture event ideas and remote team appreciation ideas to spark social connection between distant employees. 

• Host virtual team-building games. Turn traditional games into an online party: Try Jeopardy, Charades or guess what other team members have doodled. On Reddit, a popular team event is playing Jackbox from Stream — for the more laid-back teams.
• Plan online happy hours. Send your entire team a handwritten note and goodie bag inviting them to happy hour online. Prep icebreaker questions for bubbly conversations (last thing you need is crickets). For those planning, ensure you pick a convenient time across time zones. 
• Provide remote learning sessions. Many companies find that quizzes, real-time feedback, and breakout sessions turn training programs (yawn) into ones that employees want to level up.To inspire your team, ask thought-provoking questions like, “What trends in our industry excite you the most and why?” or “What project would you initiate if you couldn’t fail?”

7. Annual Company Retreats

It can be challenging to maintain a culture in a global organization — similar to getting kids in line at recess. Fly in your team for an actual fun retreat, whether it’s an outdoor digital detox or spot tucked away in the city. It’ll foster trusting relationships among colleagues, encourage open communication and renew commitment to your company’s vision. 

• Share a meal together. Breaking bread at a company retreat goes beyond simple eating; it’s a powerful act of community-building. Make a communal spot with goods always on hand (think strawberries, avocado toast, and more). You can have a casual breakfast in the a.m., and at night, have a dedicated time to gather around the table, exchange stories, celebrate successes and look toward the future. 
• Organize small-group time. Gather your team to discuss department challenges, brainstorm ideas and align efforts. Or create groups based off shared interests. You can make sessions even more memorable by bringing personalized gifts for each group, placing them at the table. Fitness enthusiasts might appreciate branded water bottles, branded bookmarks for those book lovers and branded organizers for parents. 
• Make time for employee appreciation and recognition. Dedicate an evening to recognize their outstanding contributions. For example, award selfless employees with tech gadgets. Attach a note saying, “Keeping Us Connected.” 

Check out “How to Maintain Culture in a Global Organization” for more ideas.

How We’ll Help You Build Community

You’ve got a lot on your plate … Coordinating events involves picturesque locations and rewarding your hard-working employees, but it also involves making your dollar go a 100 yards and planning delicious food around 19 allergies. That’s where we can step in.

We are all about building the brand experience and brand culture without the noisy, overdone brand merchandise most companies make. Here’s what you get when you work with us:

• Checklists? No more. From dreaming up the perfect product for your events to picking the colors, materials and so on that make your employees feel actually appreciated, we’ll get to building while you get to business.
• Consistency. We source from hundreds of partners making products people want. Have you ever received a company item so cheap, it almost felt like an insult? You risk people feeling disconnected. But we’ve helped big companies with big employee bases, like Google and Uber,  provide quality items their employees appreciate.
• Effortless event coordination. We have a super easy app that lets you collaborate, select, share, and ship, and get a hold of us whenever.Your brand experience with us is just as important as the one you deliver to your employees. We have a live, real-time, real-people global account management team to support you in every gifting experience.

Create an Immersive Brand Experience with Imprint Engine

United teams, steadfast loyalty, and employees who are proud to work for you. At Imprint Engine, we bring your company culture event ideas to life and create memorable experiences with gifts that are tangible, real, and high-quality — just like your people. Drop us a line; we’d love to collaborate on making your brand experience live on, beyond just the opening.