How to run a great teambuilding scavenger hunt: Debrief
With this 3-part series, I’ll be looking at how to run a great scavenger hunt team building event. If you have any questions on how to use specific concepts, ask away and I’ll do my best to answer them. For this final post, I’ll be looking at the post-hunt wrap up and how you can make it more engaging and exciting for the participants. Part 1: Preparation can be found here and Part 2: In-Hunt can be found here.
I have a very good memory, but it’s short. Thank God for photography. -John E. Burkowski
Just like many of us are forgetful with everyday tasks, team building events often suffer a similar fate. Awesome in the moment, but the shine of them dissipates rather quickly afterwards. In order to get the most out of your events, here’s a few tips for a strong wrap-up.
Penalize late teams
Ensuring teams arrive back at the rendezvous point at the same time is a really easy way to ratchet up the excitement after a hunt. From a participant’s perspective, it’s effective in two different ways. First, being part of a big group that comes together all at once is a really cool feeling. The banter between teams leads to great excitement and anticipation for the final scores. The second reason is if everyone is back at the rendezvous point, no one can still be out there taking pictures. When it comes to competitive activities with adults, perceived unfairness is one of the easiest ways to get complaints. By making sure that nobody gets an unfair advantage, you can keep the mood light and energetic.
In order to achieve this magical, synchronized reunion, penalize teams for every minute they are late. We suggest a penalization of 200 points, or approximately a half the value of a standard mission, for every minute late. This way if a team is a minute or two late, it’s not a gamechanger, but it’s still stiff enough that teams usually make it back on time.
Have something for teams to do when they get back
Assuming teams are penalized for being late, there’s bound to be a few teams that will show up to the rendezvous point early. To prepare for these teams, make sure there’s something for them to do. Even if it’s just a table with beverages and snacks, having something there will prevent everyone from standing around.
To help prevent excessive standing around after the hunt, try using a smartphone app that automatically uploads the photos throughout the hunt. It eliminates the time wasted transferring photos from digital cameras and then scoring them by hand. It’s more efficient for the facilitator and prevents wasted time for the participants.
Look through pictures first!
We get it. All the teams have just come rushing back after a high paced, entertaining scavenger hunt and are clamoring to see the pictures. You want to throw them up there ASAP and receive the adoration of the masses. Don’t do it! Without properly screening the pictures, you have no idea what you’ll be putting up there.
Admittedly, the odds of someone taking a shockingly inappropriate photo during a company event are low, but it’s not worth the risk. Take five minutes. Go through the photos and look for two things. One, check that all the pictures are appropriate. Think about both now and in the future when they could be taken out of context. Two, make sure they achieve the minimum specifications for each mission. It’s a simple step, but it’s something that has to be done.
Slideshows
The slideshow is the grand finale of a scavenger hunt. Not only is it the first time everyone sees all the pictures, it’s also how the event will be remembered. When putting together the slide show, make sure you pay attention to three slideshow components.
Photo Organization
For photo organization, we find the most impactful arrangement is according to the missions. Show all the pictures for one mission and then move on to the next. It may be tempting to arrange via team or randomize the pictures, but great videos tell a story, and the most compelling story for everyone comes from a mission-based theme.
Accompanying Music
If you’ve ever seen a slideshow where the music seemed out of place, you’ll understand how important having the proper music is. Choosing the right music is an art that depends on the feel of the hunt, so we can’t give a single blanket recommendation. With that said, here are few of our go-to songs for a given mood:
Intense: Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
Funny: Always Look on The Bright Side of Life by Monte Python
Relaxed: Viva La Vida by Coldplay
Video Duration
Keep it under 5 minutes and have the slideshow length match the song length. Any longer and you’ll lose the attention of the viewers. iPhoto is a great photo management program the allows you to easily sync the slideshow length with that of the accompanying song. With larger groups, fitting all the pictures within 5 minutes can be challenging. If this is the case, try collaging pictures to shrink down the video time. If this still doesn’t work, feel free to remove some of the less interesting photos. No one will be upset if all of their photos aren’t included as long as two or three of their awesome pics make it in.
Since you now know how to run an awesome teambuilding scavenger hunt, get out there and start hunting!
