Because of its always-sunny designation, it's easy to find fun team building activities in Scottsdale. In a desert city known for spa retreats, golfing and gorgeous red rock hiking, you’ve got access to world-class activities in your backyard.
For small and close-knit colleagues or big, corporate groups, planning team building activities in Scottsdale (or even remotely) is an important way to advance your business proficiency and keep your team happy. From boosting morale to increased productivity and employee retention, there are so many benefits to investing in your team.
Sometimes, an afternoon outside of the office does more for your bottom line than a full week worked. Indeed notes that team building activities in Scottsdale (or anywhere) can have nearly 20 positive effects, including things like boosting motivation and encouraging creativity.
If you need more convincing that fun can be good for business, read on to be tempted by some of the most incredible classic and modern team building activities in Scottsdale.
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- Indoor Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
- Outdoor Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
- Fun Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
- Sports Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
Indoor Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
1. Cooking Classes
Rather than just treating your team to a meal, book cooking classes in Scottsdale or cooking classes in Phoenix for an immersive culinary and team building experience. Your group still gets to enjoy an incredible meal, with the added bonus of collaborating and learning some new skills along the way.
You can even request friendly cooking competitions for some added motivation. From kneading handmade pasta to rolling colorful sushi or stirring up Korean street food, the options for these team building activities in Scottsdale are large and varied.
2. Art Classes
While it may be out of their comfort zone, art classes near you are a fun way to get your team to think differently. For many, art classes ended in high school, but there are plenty of benefits to using your mind in a new way, not the least of which is a sense of calm and peace. From photography classes in Phoenix to pottery making, beading or paint and sip in Pheonix, there are many ways to get involved and inspired.
3. Tour Taliesin West
Take in the beauty of the Sonoran Desert from a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, Taliesin West. You don’t have to be in the field of real estate, architecture or building to enjoy these team building activities in Scottsdale. An ideal way to beat the heat: strolling through the house on a guided tour or at your own pace with an audio tour.
4. Butterfly Wonderland
Escape the stress and fast pace of the office with an afternoon at Butterfly Wonderland. The largest indoor butterfly conservatory in the world is one of the most breathtaking and peaceful team building activities in Scottsdale. Situated in the desert, inside the glass building you will feel like you’ve stepped into the tropics, surrounded by lush greenery and colorful butterflies fluttering.
5. Play Shark Tank
Give your employees a chance to showcase their creative ideas by setting up your own Shark Tank panel. They can present ideas to improve the company, source new leads or request perks at work they’d like to see.
If you can, have the actual CEO, COO or CFO on the panel. These team building activities in Scottsdale encourage creativity and an open line of communication among employees. You never know who might have a winning idea that leads to company-wide success.
6. Set Up a Memory Wall
Employees that love where they work and feel valued there are more likely to work harder and stick around longer. Create the kind of work environment that employees love by setting up a memory wall in a common area. Fill it with photos from company events, placards or even framed thank-you notes.
You can start by having a ribbon-cutting ceremony and letting the group attach photos of their choice. After each team building activity in Scottsdale, you can add more photos to the wall. Not only does it cover what is likely a plain white wall, it’s a reminder of great memories made.
7. Life Timeline
This simple yet engaging team building activity in Scottsdale will help your group get to know one another on a deeper level. Pass out pieces of paper and markers and instruct everyone to draw out their personal and professional life timeline, highlighting big events. Best in a smaller group, let everyone go around the room and present their timeline. This helps team members understand and appreciate a variety of unique backgrounds.
8. Museum Hopping
When the desert sun is beating down and temps climb over 100 degrees, you have to look for indoor team building activities in Scottsdale to engage your group. Thankfully, this stunning corner of the Southwest is bursting with special museums to explore. The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) will take your mind off work for a few hours, while the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) showcases over 5,000 instruments to captivate you.
9. Creative Think Tank
Put your industry spin on the beloved cooking show Chopped. While contestants must create a meal featuring a handful of required (and surprise) ingredients, you can create your own workplace version. For example, challenge small groups to create a social media campaign featuring cinderblocks, a sailboat and matches. An app featuring three other random ingredients can work too. You can always use a random item generator for help with these team building activities in Scottsdale.
Outdoor Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
10. Afternoon in Old Town
Plan a rewarding afternoon outside the office with a team getaway to Old Town. After lunch at a local restaurant, give your team the afternoon to roam around and window shop. While the whole group might not be in one place at the same time, this encourages new friendships and deeper relationships with existing office friends in the workplace. Doing an everyday task, like shopping, gives you a chance to view your coworkers differently than you do in the office.
You can also create a mini Amazing Race around Old Town, providing small groups with clues and riddles to find hidden treasures at different locations.
11. Explore the McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Explore the magic of the Sonoran Desert at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve for one of the most picturesque outdoor team building activities in Scottsdale. You can find a variety of easy, moderate and difficult hikes here.
A morning hike is the perfect way to clear your head and get those endorphins flowing before a relatively sedentary afternoon at work. If your team is local but works from home, this is an enjoyable way to encourage camaraderie and relationship building.
12. Spend the Day at Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend
Take the whole day off and head out to explore Lower Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, either on your own or with a guide. Make sure to pack lunch and snacks to refuel your group on this somewhat challenging multi-hour hike and exploration.
The views are well worth the effort and your team will bond with one another throughout the course of the day. This group team building activity in Scottsdale is truly unique.
13. Go to TopGolf
Even for those who don’t love the idea of 18 holes, TopGolf is more like an arcade in some ways. As one of the most engaging team building activities in Scottsdale, it has everything you need from food and drinks to fun games. It can be enjoyed rain or shine and is sure to be an office-wide favorite.
14. Cardboard Boat Challenge
The desert certainly isn’t known for bountiful open water areas, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this classic team building activity in Scottsdale. With some re-purposed cardboard and lots of tape, challenge your group to create a sea-worthy vessel in just 90 minutes.
Test it out in a pool or in a neighboring lake like Saguaro, Bartlett or Lake Pleasant. This is reminiscent of high school activities involving marshmallows and spaghetti and requires your team to think outside the box.
15. Take a Brewery Tour
Head to one of many local breweries for an afternoon of conversation and relaxation, sipping on locally made brews. This team building activity in Scottsdale is casual and comfortable for all. Hop over to Pinnacle Brewing or Fate Brewing Co. for some beer and snacks in a laid-back, welcoming environment. You can even set up a brewery-hopping event with a bus that shuttles the group from one brewery to another.
16. Team Cycling
Set up a scenic bike ride around town or through the desert for one of the most active outdoor team building activities in Scottsdale that gets your group moving. This can be on a weekend or an afternoon after work. Set up an agreed-upon route and ending point, like a restaurant. Enjoy some snacks and beverages after exercising, open to the whole office.
17. Rent a Cabana
Rent out a few cabanas at a local hotel and pool, like the OH Pool Bar + Cabanas or The Scott Resort + Spa. These outdoor team building activities in Scottsdale will help you beat the heat while still enjoying each others’ company and making the most of that desert sun. Cold drinks and a refreshing dip in the pool is tough to beat!
Fun Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
18. One Continuous Line Challenge
Set up this special drawing challenge to get your team thinking differently. Designed to challenge the perfectionist mindset, there’s no real winning or losing here. With just markers and a piece of paper, challenge your team to draw a self-portrait (or a teammate) without lifting the marker off the paper.
While challenging and maybe even silly at first, it’s one of the most fun and artistic team building activities in Scottsdale that anyone can enjoy. For posterity, you can even turn their final drawings into office coffee mugs for a fun keepsake!
19. Ink Blot Test
Unlike the real psychological test, this team building activity in Scottsdale has no right answers. Set up pieces of paper and paint stations for your group to create their own ink blots and turn them in anonymously. Once every piece has dried, present them to the group one at a time and take turns discussing what you see. It’s always fascinating to see how everyone’s mind works differently.
20. A One Hour Gift
Give each employee a small notebook or piece of paper to plan their ideal hour. They should leave clear instructions to complete the task, designed to relax and replenish them. Each member designs the hour based on what they love, but they will ultimately gift that hour to another team member.
This team building activity in Scottsdale creates a sense of excitement to receive something, some vulnerability in sharing a personal joy with someone else and improves your curiosity. For example, a piece of paper that states, “You are going for a walk, bring headphones and walking shoes; turn on this podcast."
21. Tower of Inspiration
A multi-year or even multi-decade career can feel long and certainly requires a lot of commitment on a daily basis. This team building activity is extra fun when you’ve got a huge team of people. After a bit of planning on management’s part, each team member is handed a piece of cardboard that fits into another piece. Each person writes one of their favorite work memories on the piece.
In a shared space, fit each cardboard piece together to build a large structure, ideally a tower of some sort. This is a great visual to see how everyone’s shared commitment makes something wonderful that doubles as an employee engagement idea.
22. Golf & Give
This two part team building activity in Scottsdale is a great way to give back to your local community. Start by hosting a non-perishable goods collection over the span of a couple of weeks. After the collecting is done, break up into small groups and task each player with creating a mini putt hole using the non-perishable goods. Spend some time having fun playing each hole before donating the goods later that day.
23. A Night at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Enjoy the arts at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, an engaging team building idea in Scottsdale. Encourage your team to dress up before a nice meal before the performance, celebrating local music, theater and dance. Check their schedule to find an upcoming show that interests your team.
24. Visual Stimulation at the Phoenix Art Museum
Treat your team to a visual journey with a visit to one of the many exhibitions at the Phoenix Art Museum, one of the most awe-inspiring team building activities in Scottsdale. One example from a past exhibition is the Yayoi Kusama infinity mirror room. With flickering and flashing lights reflected by seemingly endless rows of mirrors, it's like stepping into a kaleidoscope. Exhibits like this will ignite creativity and bring a sense of wonder to all who experience it.
25. Make a Social Media Wall
While your team may or may not have social media or even be “friends” with their coworkers, they can still enjoy the camaraderie that a social site like Facebook or Instagram provides. Create a dedicated “social media” wall in a public place like a breakroom.
Employees can tape up a photo and caption from an event they want to share with the office. Clear the wall at the end of each week to make room for the following week’s team building activity in Scottsdale memories.
26. Explore the Queen Creek Olive Mill
Just outside Scottsdale, you can find the Queen Creek Olive Mill, a stunning and engaging site for team building activities in Scottsdale. Your group can enjoy a tour of the farm fields and facility as they learn all about the processing of cold-pressing olive oil.
After learning, they can kick back and enjoy a beverage and some charcuterie featuring stuffed olives or local honey. Their products make great gifts for employees around the holidays as they are local, artisinal Arizona gifts.
Sports Team Building Activities in Scottsdale
27. Group Golf Outing
In a state with so many stunning desert vistas, the golf courses are really top notch. Treat your team to a round that’s purely for enjoyment. You can include fun games like “longest drive” or “closest to the pin” for extra prizes. Even putt-putt counts if your group isn’t big on the idea of 18 holes.
This is one of the top team building activities in Scottsdale for the golf fanatics. Just make sure to call your local course ahead of time and arrange for several tee times. Plus, a gift card or comped tee time makes a great employee appreciation gift for someone who has gone above and beyond.
28. Play Pickleball
The fastest-growing sport in the world is available to you for a team building activity in Scottsdale. Choose between indoor or outdoor courts for your office-wide playoff. This can be done after work hours or as an early end to the day with pickleball and happy hour.
This will stoke people’s competitive spirit and since it’s a doubles sport, they will bond and make memories with new people. Check out The Orchard at Jigsaw Health for state-of-the-art indoor courts.
29. Fun 5k
Whether you want to establish a weekly or monthly walk/run club or just host a charity 5k every once in a while, these team building activities in Scottsdale can have multiple benefits. If you want to go the charity route, your team will have a blast raising money for an agreed-upon cause.
Branded T-shirts are always a nice touch, and the run itself is great for encouraging physical activity and getting some fresh air. Even on a Saturday morning, you’re bound to have a great turnout.
30. Summer Camp Throwback
Head to your local track for a day filled with engaging group team building activities in Scottsdale. Divide your office into teams of 10-12 and hand out team T-shirts for a greater sense of togetherness. Host a day filled with outdoor fun like tug of war, relays, flag football, kickball and more. Don’t forget to provide water, Gatorade and other snacks.
31. Ropes Course
Head over to Pecan Lake Entertainment in East Phoenix for some old-school team building activities in Phoenix. A popular getaway in high school or college, completing a ropes course instills a sense of confidence in your team members. The rush of adrenaline makes for a fun afternoon, but the sense of accomplishment and facing their fears makes this truly memorable.
32. Salt River Kayaking
Spend the day on the Salt River in Tonto National Forest for one of the most unforgettable team building activities in Scottsdale. Kayaking or canoeing in sets of two is great for building an open line of communication between team members and encouraging collaboration as they will need to work together to move in the right direction. Plus, everyone gets to enjoy the natural beauty of their state.
33. Hike Camelback Mountain
Camelback Mountain is one of the most iconic peaks in the area and is the perfect site for outdoor team building activities in Scottsdale. Your group will love the sense of accomplishment they get from reaching the top. Set up groupings based on desired pace and encourage people to hike with someone new as they get to know them, and maybe even offer a helping hand, on their way to the top.
If you’ve ever wondered is there anything fun to do in Scottsdale for teams? Or what is an example of a team building activity in Scottsdale? Now you have your answer! From enjoying the outdoors to activities reminiscent of high school field trips and fun, your crew will delight in these team building activities in Scottsdale and Phoenix.
They might not even realize they are improving their office skills as they engage in sports competitions or art-filled adventures. Whether that’s discovering they have a knack for creative thinking or creating more open lines of communication within the office, these fun activities are really an investment in your business.
For even more fun team building ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!
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