A department of 30 is several small teams working on the same things who don't always know each other. Engineering knows product from emails, sales knows operations from the phone. In a small team everyone already talks, and at a company-wide event nobody gets round to everyone. A department evening sits in the middle, and for it we picked ideas that get people from different teams talking by the end of the night.
What makes department team building different
Teams that don't meet
They talk in meetings and on chat, and really meet once or twice a year. A team building evening is the chance to finally see who's behind the email.
The department head is the host
Not the CEO and not HR. The department head opens the evening, says thank you and gives the teams the stage. Usually that's the only speech.
The size of one room
20 to 50 people is enough for energy, and not so many that people end up in different rooms: everyone is in the same space, by the same bar. Above that, the evening splits into groups that never meet.
10 department team building ideas
1. A quiz in mixed groups
Split everyone into groups of 5 or 6, with one person from each team. 20 questions on the screen, about the department, the clients and the people in the room. This is the idea that connects most, because to win you have to talk to people you don't know.
2. One minute per team
Each team puts up one slide: what it did this quarter, and one thing the rest of the department doesn't know about it. After this round, people know who to call the next morning.
3. Best mistake of the year
Each team tells one mistake it learned from, in a minute on the microphone. It sounds odd, and in practice it's the part that gets the biggest laughs and opens conversations between teams.
4. The dependency map
On the screen, a simple diagram: who waits for whom, and who gets work from whom. Each team adds one arrow it would like to improve. 10 minutes that explain a lot about the weeks ahead.
5. Awards that cross teams
Only awards for joint work: "collaboration of the year", "the question that saved a project". 5 to 7 categories, read out by someone from the teams, not the department head.
6. A 10-minute talk from a colleague
Someone from the department talks about something they know deeply that has nothing to do with work. A projector, a microphone, and 10 minutes of seeing a colleague from a new angle.
7. One question per table
On every table or standing spot by the bar there's a card with one question, like "what was the first thing you learned here". Whoever is standing there answers, and that's what starts a conversation between people who don't know each other.
8. Karaoke in pairs
Two microphones and lyrics on the screen. At a department evening it works best in pairs from different teams, after the food, once people have some courage.
9. The department playlist
Each team adds five songs in advance. When one team's songs come on, everyone knows where they came from.
10. A dance floor with a DJ
At the end of the night, after the shared part. At a company party with a DJ it becomes the main part of the evening.
What the department head says first
3 minutes, no more. A structure that works:
- Why we're meeting now
- One thing the department did together
- A thank-you to one team by name, for work with another team
- What happens tonight, in two sentences
- A toast
A 5-hour team building evening schedule
- 18:30 the teams arrive, the bar is already open
- 19:15 the department head opens, 3 minutes
- 19:20 the buffet, conversation
- 20:15 one minute per team on the screen
- 20:45 the quiz in mixed groups
- 21:30 awards, and the music goes up
- 23:30 finish at the agreed time
Two shared parts, the team round and the quiz, are the maximum for a 5-hour evening. Any more, and team building turns into a to-do list people wait to finish.
What to prepare
- The mixed groups
- 20 quiz questions
- A slide from each team, a day ahead
- Award categories and prizes
- Question cards for the tables
- Five songs from each team
Department team building at Ezra
Ezra has a track built for exactly this: Team Day. A 5-hour evening with a rich buffet and a full bar, and the track most companies choose. The space closes for one department, for groups of 20 to 50, and the room already has a projector and fold-out screen with a computer connected for the quiz and the slides, two microphones and a PA.
The buffet is varied and made for sharing, all dairy-vegetarian: pizzas from the taboon oven, big salads, breads and dips, and bruschetta trays. Details and live dates are on team events at Ezra and the company events page.
The bottom line
A department team building evening works when people from different teams are talking by the end of the night. So build it around one activity that mixes them, like a quiz in mixed groups, and one moment per team on the screen. 4 to 5 hours, the department head as host with a 3-minute opening, and music at the end. Book 3 to 4 weeks ahead, and 4 to 6 for December.
Department team building at a private bar, 20 to 50
5 hours, a rich buffet and a full bar, a projector and microphones for the quiz. Live dates online.
Team events at Ezra Message us on WhatsAppFrequently asked questions
What is a department team building activity?
An activity for the whole department, usually 20 to 50 people, meant to connect the teams inside it. It differs from small-team building because it has to mix people who don't work together every day.
What do you do at a department team building evening?
A quiz in mixed groups, one minute per team on the screen, awards for joint work and music at the end. Two shared parts are enough for a whole evening.
How long is a department team building evening?
4 to 5 hours. That's enough for food, an hour and a half of shared programme and an hour of music.
How do you connect teams at a team building event?
Split people into mixed groups with one person from each team and give them a shared task, like a quiz. A card with one question by each table helps start conversations.
How far ahead should you book department team building?
3 to 4 weeks ahead for a regular evening. For December and the holiday season, 4 to 6 weeks.