The 13 Best Team Building Activities in Cleveland for 2024
Team building activities in Cleveland can be an excellent way to create strong bonds between your teammates while also giving you the chance to see the sights of this lakefront city. With amazing Cleveland foods to try and fun things to do in Cleveland, you and your team will have plenty of activities to get you bonding and having fun.
Are you local to Cleveland and looking to build community in your business? Are you visiting the city for a trade show or business trip and hoping to spark employee engagement through the perfect team building event in Cleveland? Whatever your reason for being on the shores of Lake Erie, there are opportunities to build your team and have a good time in the process.
This list of 13 team building activities in Cleveland will help you plan a great outing, no matter what type of business you are in or what type of event you are hoping to plan. From art museums to sporting events or more traditional team building activities like ropes courses and private event spaces, Cleveland is a lakeside city with a lot to offer.
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- 13 Fun Team Building Activities in Cleveland
- Yes, Your Team Needs Team Building
- Team Building Activities Help Businesses Thrive
- Benefits of Team Building
13 Fun Team Building Activities in Cleveland
1. Enjoy Culinary Team Building Activities in Cleveland
Boost your team’s morale by planning team building activities in Cleveland centered around food. Some great options for engaging their culinary taste involve chef-led cooking competitions, food tours or even a luxurious private chef meal. A cooking competition can bring out the competitive nature of your team members, while food tours offer the chance to enjoy all the city has to offer. If you’re looking to celebrate your team’s success or host a luxurious holiday party, a private chef meal might be the perfect team building activity in Cleveland for your group.
2. Take a Hands-On Cooking Class
Cooking classes can be a perfect team building activity for Cleveland teams who enjoy cooking or enjoying a meal together. You can book cooking classes in Cleveland that are led by a world-class chef. Your team will learn communication and problem-solving skills. Plus, it is fun and rewarding to learn a new skill and enjoy a new dish. Whatever cuisine your team enjoys, you’re sure to find a culinary team building activity in Cleveland that will fit their palate.
3. Enjoy an Online Culinary Team Building Activity
If your team is remote or hybrid, as many teams are, geographical distance doesn’t have to mean relational distance. You can still foster a sense of community and rapport by participating in online team building activities. Your team can even enjoy a culinary activity together via the internet with online cooking classes, virtual wine tastings and online mixology classes. No matter how remote your team might be, you can still enjoy time together learning something new and engaging your culinary interests.
4. Host an Event at the Great Lakes Science Center
The Great Lakes Science Center is a wonderful space for corporate team building activities in Cleveland. With plenty of options to choose from, like renting out the whole museum, just a floor or one of their special event spaces, there are event opportunities for teams of every size. Plus, their education staff can help lead an engaging event or challenge for your group that will get you working together as a team. If you don’t want to plan a corporate event at the science center, even visiting as a group will get the creativity and inspiration flowing on your team.
5. Go to a Sporting Event
Show your team spirit with this team building activity in Cleveland. Take your team to watch one of the city’s many professional or collegiate sports teams like the Cleveland Browns. With MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA teams to choose from at the professional level, you will be able to plan fun and casual team building events in Cleveland. This is a great way to create relationships between team members in a low-pressure setting. If your company is local to Cleveland, supporting the athletic teams by purchasing season tickets for your company can be a great way to incorporate frequent team building opportunities into your business.
6. Have a Drink on the Water
BrewBoat Cleveland offers unique sightseeing experiences from the water. Your team will be able to cruise down the Cuyahoga River together, either on one of BrewBoats’ unique paddle boats or in a pontoon boat. More than just a river cruise, these boat tours offer your group the chance to relax and enjoy a drink together while taking in the sights. Plus, if you book one of the pedal boats, you will have to work together to make it to your destination, making this team building activity in Cleveland the perfect combination of active and relaxing.
7. Hold a DIY Night
Cleveland has lots of offerings for creative classes that will engage your team’s hands and minds. Try Cleveland Candle Company for a private candle-making party that will have your team laughing and creating memories together. This is a great local establishment that will teach you the tricks of the trade, and everyone will leave with a handmade candle that can serve as a souvenir of the evening.
8. Take a Walking Tour
Learn more about the history of Cleveland by taking a group tour together. This Is Cleveland offers historical tours, art tours and even themed tours in October and December. You will learn more about the city while also getting out and about as a group. This team building activity in Cleveland is perfect if your team is in town on a business trip and hoping to learn more about the city in a short period of time.
9. Visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Cleveland is the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which is a must-see destination when you’re in town. Take your team and tour the museum, or go as a group to one of their live events or concerts. This team building activity in Cleveland is great for the musically inclined, or any of your team members who love rock and roll.
10. Laugh Together at Pickwick and Frolic
Pickwick and Frolic is one of Cleveland’s most unique venues, offering interactive events like comedy shows, murder mystery dinner theater and more. Enjoy dinner together and then bond through laughter. Improv comedy, stand-up and even special New Year’s Eve events are all on offer with this fun team building activity in Cleveland.
11. Tackle a Ropes Course
Trying your hand at a ropes course might just be the ultimate team building activity in Cleveland. It takes lots of trust to work together to conquer a ropes course and zip line. Try a location like Go Ape Cleveland for team building activities that include traditional ropes courses, zip lines and other fun outdoor activities that will really bring you and your team closer together.
12. Visit a Museum Together
Team Building activities can be highly planned events with challenges or guest speakers, or they could be a simpler cultural outing for your group. Cleveland is home to many museums, like the Cleveland Museum of Art, that could serve as the perfect backdrop for your team building activities in Cleveland. Whether you attend one of their events or simply go as a team to enjoy the art, your team members will build their cultural awareness while also gaining inspiration from the artworks on display.
13. Try Axe Throwing
Axe throwing has quickly become a popular event idea for bachelor parties and birthday parties, but it also makes for a great team building activity in Cleveland. This city boasts many great axe throwing spots that can challenge your team and put their strength and accuracy to the test in a fun environment.
Yes, Your Team Needs Team Building
No matter what size team you work with, it takes time and effort to get all of the team members on the same page. When your group is more connected with each other, you will see improved communication, increased engagement and a more collegial work environment. Team building activities in Cleveland don’t have to be done every day or even every week, but you will find that putting in the effort to plan a great event really will bring your teammates closer together. Try starting out with quarterly events and go from there. No matter what industry you’re in, if you have a team, they need to be connected in order to achieve success.
The importance of team building is especially true as more and more teams and companies switch to hybrid or virtual teams. With fewer chances to connect in person in the office, it’s important to schedule in time where your team can connect face to face. If your team is so remote that in-person team building activities aren’t an option, it’s still important to plan virtual team building events that aren’t meetings to create connection and engagement with members of your team.
Team Building Activities Help Businesses Thrive
Aside from the personal connections that are fostered between teams of every size during team building activities, studies have shown that team building exercises like the ones on our list actually help businesses perform better from the ground up.
According to Chief Executive, ensuring that your team is connected and engaged can increase sales and impact the way customers view your business. It’s important to leverage your corporate social responsibility by encouraging your employees to be connected and feel at home in your company. By planning intentional team building activities, you are showing them that they add value to your company and that you appreciate and understand the work they do.
Studies have shown that consumers take note of how well or how poorly corporations treat their employees, and this knowledge does affect their purchasing decisions, so be sure that you emphasize employee engagement and enjoyment to help your brand grow stronger.
Benefits of Team Building
If increased rapport and heightened business success aren’t enough of a benefit, there are plenty of other ways that team building activities in Cleveland (or anywhere!) can support your entire workforce. Team building has been shown to:
- Improve communication
- Boost teamwork and collaboration
- Create stronger relationships between peers
- Build productivity among teams
- Establish a connection between managers and team members
- Encourage productivity
- Teach creative problem-solving
- Enhance company morale
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We hope that this list of 13 team building activities in Cleveland has given you some inspiration for your next company outing. Planning great corporate team building activities in Cleveland doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and the results of your outing will help improve your team and your business. For even more team building activities in Cleveland and beyond, check out other experiences happening on Cozymeal.
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