Corporate events ought to serve a few purposes: first, they should function as a team-building exercise, encouraging employees to work as a unit; next, they should strengthen the relationship between management and employees; and, finally, they should function as a bit of stress relief, a fun outing that diverts attention from work for a little while. Too often, corporate events are dry as a bone. Trucking employees off to a daylong conference where they have to sit through presentations does not tick off any of the above purposes, nor does a trade show or even a golf tournament. If you want to throw a party that employees actually like, which will bring everyone closer together, you have to think outside the box.
Of all the great ideas for a corporate party that are out there, a more recent phenomenon that actually works perfectly is axe throwing. No longer just the domain of woodsmen and Vikings, axe throwing is legitimately a great teambuilding exercise that ticks off all the boxes. As mentioned, a corporate event needs to encourage employees to work well together, and there’s really no better way to achieve that than to have people learn a skill together. Whereas something like golf starts with an imbalance of skill (there’s a high likelihood that some employees will have played the game, while others are left to flounder), axe throwing, it’s safe to assume, is new to everyone. When you book an axe throwing party, generally you get an expert who shows you how to properly throw an axe, and it’s this process of learning together that strengthens everyone’s “unit mentality”.
It’s for this same reason that axe throwing also strengthens the relationship between management and employees. The last thing you want to do with a corporate event is deepen the rift between work levels, and unfortunately cocktail events and conferences do that – they reinforce the disparity between higher and lower level employees. Something like axe throwing, which everyone comes to inexperienced (and, importantly, in their informal clothes) communicates more of an egalitarian approach. Allowing employees to see everyone struggle the same way to achieve the same goal breaks down those unspoken divides and reinforces a more human approach to work and business. This isn’t something you’d expect from axe throwing, but it really does work!
Finally, axe throwing is just plain fun. It seems almost mischievous to be hurling axe through the air and trying to chop your way into a wooden target. Corporate events shouldn’t feel like work; they should achieve the above two purposes in a way that is absorbing and fun. It’s important that employees feel a sense of good will toward their company, and the easiest way to do that is for the company to provide them with a fun outing – axe throwing is certainly that kind of outing.
Next time you have to plan a corporate event, don’t go the traditional route. If you want to bring everyone closer together and ensure everyone enjoys themselves, look into booking an axe throwing party.