Discover the secret to engaging and effective corporate events.
Scratching your head, wondering how to find an engaging, collaborative, and truly unique activity for your next corporate event?
Look no further, as we have you covered!
As a premier escape room venue in Chicago, we specialize in creating immersive, thrilling experiences that every single participant enjoys and that can truly refresh them from the stress of work.
If you've never heard of an escape room, it's a live-action game where teams collaborate to solve a series of puzzles and challenges to escape from a locked room.
The immersive and interactive nature of the experience has made them skyrocket in popularity, and nowadays, they are a go-to option for various special occasions.
Let’s delve into this blog post and discover why escape rooms could be the transformative element you've been searching for in your corporate events.
Do escape rooms really have a unique appeal for corporate events?
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay.
An escape room game - which could be something along the lines of players having to figure out how to escape a maximum-security prison (the storyline of our prison break-themed adventure) - does sound like a thrilling activity, in general…maybe for a weekend outing with family and friends.
But does it really have a unique appeal for corporate events?
That’s what we will look into now.
The immersive and interactive nature of the experience
Unlike traditional events, where passive participation is often the norm, escape rooms demand interaction and engagement from every single participant.
Every element in the room, from the decor to the puzzles themselves, serves to transport you into a compelling narrative.
Whether you're deciphering codes in a spy's bunker or masterminding a bank heist, escape rooms provide a wholly immersive experience that's hard to find elsewhere.
This combination of story, ambience, and challenge stimulates the mind and fuels the spirit of teamwork in a fun, enjoyable way.
A level playing field
Escape rooms break away from the usual hierarchy seen in the workplace. Your job title doesn't matter.
What's important is how well you can contribute to the collective goal of escaping the room.
This shift creates a level playing field, which encourages employees to interact, cooperate, and value one another's inputs in a way that's not always possible in a typical work environment.
Some advantages of incorporating escape rooms into corporate events
Escape rooms are adaptable, diverse, and customizable, making them the perfect choice for corporate events of all sizes and objectives. Whether you're looking to energize a small team or captivate a large group, an escape room can offer a unique and memorable experience that’s sure to be a hit.
Adaptability
Whether your group is small or large, there’s an escape room for your event!
One of the biggest advantages of escape rooms is their adaptability. No matter what the size of your corporate event, there are escape room experiences tailored to fit your needs.
Small teams can take on a single room, focusing on close-knit collaboration. And larger groups can be divided into multiple teams, fostering a sense of friendly competition as they vie to be the first to escape.
Diversity of objectives
Escape rooms offer a diverse range of experiences that can align with specific objectives.
If you're aiming to enhance communication within your team, escape rooms can offer challenges that require precise and clear communication.
If the goal is to promote innovative thinking, rooms with abstract and complex puzzles can challenge and encourage creative problem-solving, much like the brain-boosting science of puzzles.
You should contact the escape room to know your options.
Customizing the event to meet your needs
This group just wanted to have fun!
Escape room events also offer the option of customization to align with specific themes or corporate goals.
Whether you want to emphasize a particular value, such as teamwork or creativity, or you're celebrating a company milestone with a corresponding theme, escape room events can be tailored to reflect these elements.
This added layer of personalization can make the escape room experience even more relevant and meaningful for your team.
Again, get in touch with the escape room to know what they can do.
Thrilling and memorable
The thrilling challenges and immersive experiences of escape rooms can elevate your corporate event from standard to extraordinary.
Instead of the usual activities or presentations, your employees will be talking about the codes they cracked, the clues they discovered, and the exhilarating moment when they finally unlocked the door to escape.
This memorable experience not only makes the event more enjoyable but can also foster a stronger sense of camaraderie among your team members.
Looking to enhance team skills through your corporate event?
This group is picking up on a lot of skills as they tackle our bunker-themed escape room!
Corporate events have a unique power to shape and bolster a company's dynamic, especially when they incorporate team-building activities.
Among these, escape rooms stand out as a fun and engaging way to refresh and retrain teams while delivering an entertaining experience.
Refreshing and retraining teams through escape room games
Every corporate event aims to leave a lasting impact, and nothing does that better than an activity that encourages team skills while having fun.
Escape rooms are a fresh take on this concept, taking teams out of their comfort zones and transporting them into a fictional scenario where they must band together to succeed.
The result? Employees come away from the event feeling energized and rejuvenated, carrying with them skills they've honed during the activity.
Promoting communication, collaboration, and leadership
In the world of escape rooms, effective communication is the key to success - just like at the workplace. They create a high-pressure yet safe environment where the team members must relay information clearly and quickly.
It’s also a practical exercise in collaborative working, as every member's input is vital in solving complex puzzles.
Moreover, escape rooms often lead to the emergence of unexpected leaders. As roles aren't pre-assigned in the game, individuals naturally step up to guide the team, providing an opportunity to demonstrate and develop their leadership skills.
Stimulating creative thinking and problem-solving
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.
Escape games require teams to think creatively, look for non-obvious clues, and make connections where none seem to exist.
This is an excellent practice in creative problem-solving, a skill that's immensely valuable in the modern workplace.
The high-pressure scenario of an escape room can also mirror work situations, teaching teams how to troubleshoot effectively under stress.
Incorporating escape rooms into your corporate event
With the features and benefits (including team building skills) of including escape rooms in your corporate events covered, let's delve into the process of how you can actually do that.
Planning the event
Image by GraphicMama-team from Pixabay.
Planning an escape room event begins with identifying your objectives.
Is your goal to foster stronger coworker relations, stimulate creative thinking, or perhaps create leadership opportunities?
With these goals in mind, you can select the right escape room that aligns with your objectives.
Remember to book your escape room and discuss any specific requirements or preferences with the escape room well in advance.
This ensures that the game, theme, and difficulty level of the escape room are suitable for your event.
Setting expectations and promoting teamwork
To ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience, it's crucial to set clear expectations for the participants.
Provide them with a rundown of the rules, time limit, and safety procedures of the game.
Encourage participants to communicate, collaborate, and problem-solve together.
The importance of debriefing
Once the escape room activity concludes, hosting a feedback and debriefing session is invaluable. We also discussed this in our blog post on the role of escape room game masters.
Post-game analysis and feedback allow participants to reflect on their experiences, the challenges they faced, and the strategies they employed.
Moreover, it provides a platform to reinforce the skills and lessons learned during the activity, ensuring they translate back into the workplace.
Virtual escape room games - bringing together remote teams
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.
As the corporate world embraces remote/hybrid work and distributed teams, maintaining a sense of unity and camaraderie among employees has never been more important.
Enter virtual escape rooms, which are specifically designed to bring remote teams together.
In a virtual escape room, team members collaborate online to solve puzzles and escape the room, all while located in different parts of the world.
These digital adventures are an excellent opportunity for employees to interact with colleagues they may not regularly communicate with, fostering relationships and strengthening bonds across the virtual workspace.
Furthermore, just like their physical counterparts, virtual escape rooms also promote communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Which is why they can serve as a dynamic tool for those who want to run a SWOT analysis of their team through an escape room challenge.
Corporate events at Fox in a Box Chicago
As the premier escape room event venue in Chicago, we at Fox in a Box have delivered numerous personal, professional, and private escape room experiences that captivate all, from families and kids to groups and companies.
Our escape room games
The Bank: An electrical fault in a bank offers a golden opportunity. The challenge? Retrieve a hoard of diamonds from the manager's office within 60 minutes.
Zodiac: Trapped in the lair of a notorious serial killer, your goal is to escape before you become the next victim.
The Prison: Wrongfully condemned to a high-security prison, can you orchestrate your escape amidst the chaos of a prison riot?
The Bunker: It's the height of the Cold War, and your task is to infiltrate a military bunker to prevent a catastrophic nuclear strike.
Our corporate event packages
We offer various packages tailored to suit different kinds of corporate events.
Just Rooms: Designed for groups of up to 35 per session, this package focuses solely on the escape room experience.
It is perfect for organizations with tight schedules who just want to boost team morale and break the monotony of the work day.
Food, Drinks & Rooms: Add a layer of hospitality to your event with refreshments. We partner with local restaurants to offer appetizers and both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, along with our top-rated escape rooms.
This is ideal for companies that want to encourage informal networking and camaraderie among team members.
Full Retreat: Our Full Retreat package combines the excitement of our escape rooms with team-building exercises led by a renowned organizational psychologist.
This package is perfect for teams facing communication or collaboration issues or companies planning a retreat focusing on team development and performance improvement, especially if you're considering whether managers and supervisors should go for team-building activities.
Top corporations such as J.P. Morgan and Pepsi have chosen Fox in a Box for their events.
Whatever your specific needs, we are always open to customizing our offerings to ensure your corporate event is an unforgettable one.
Transforming corporate events with escape rooms - key takeaways
As we've explored, escape rooms provide a unique, engaging, and interactive experience that can enhance the quality of your event.
They offer a blend of critical thinking, communication, and collaborative problem-solving challenges in an immersive environment; furthermore, they can be easily adapted to different event sizes and objectives.
If you're looking for a tailored experience, our popup escape room can be easily adapted to different event sizes and objectives.
Escape rooms break away from traditional corporate events, allowing employees to bond, laugh, and learn together.
It's a fresh approach to corporate events that can leave a lasting impression on your teams and contribute to a positive and collaborative workplace culture.
Start planning your next corporate event!
Our team at Fox in a Box Chicago is ready to assist you in planning an event that your team won't forget.
Whether you're looking for a simple escape room experience or a full day of team development, we're confident we can meet your needs.
Companies like JP Morgan and Pepsi have entrusted us with their events - and you can too!
Reach out to us for more information, and let's create an amazing experience together.
BLOGS
Please wait