If you’ve been following us for a while, you know how important team culture is for us at Foxy. It’s the glue that keeps this company together and makes work a fun place to be (even when the work is hard!). So today we’re going to share with you some of our favourite team bonding activities that fosters a strong team spirit.

Building a great team starts with the hiring process, and we try to ensure that we’re bringing people on board who match energy with the rest of our team. Enthusiasm and attitude go a long way in cultivating a healthy team fit. Also having the team members who’ve been with us for a while lead by example, and be the friendly faces you see on our social media all the time, makes a massive difference to the newcomers feeling comfortable quickly. I can speak from experience here, that after one week at Foxy I already felt like I was part of the Foxy family. And that comes down to the people who work here, and the bonding that happens onsite, at the warehouse and outside of work! 

Feeling included makes it easier to be up for an after work drink or little basketball game. You’ll often find the team out the front of the warehouse after knock off, shooting hoops and cracking jokes. There’s also a Foosball table in the break room, which is another simple way to build team relationships. These are just the beginning of our team bonding. But it really goes a long way for team morale and helping us be comfortable with each other outside of work.

Another way we bond as a team is through our fortnightly team meetings. It’s clear that Jake and Phoebe put a lot of thought into these meetings, because these aren’t anywhere near as boring as other work meetings I’ve been to. Funnily enough I actually look forward to these meetings, because we always have a laugh. Even if it’s just giggling at Phoebe who still hasn’t quite figured out how to work the projector. Phoebe and Jake often involve a game, quiz, or some practical learning which helps us loosen up after the educational part of the meeting. Watch this video to see an example of some of the activities we get up to in team meetings! And a new app we’ve found recently called KAHOOT makes quizzes a lot of fun. We learned furniture names and prices and there were prizes up for grabs for the winners! 

There’s also a quarterly social meet up, which isn’t mandatory, but pretty much everyone shows up because it’s always a bit of fun. Last month we did an escape room at Escape Manor and went for dinner and drinks after. Before that, we did a high ropes course and a long lunch. We’ve also been bowling and rock climbing together. There’s always something new to try and always a lot of laughs!

Phoebe and Jake occasionally take the team out for breakfast before work. It’s another small gesture that goes a long way in building morale and facilitating social comradery with the team. Last time we went to Little Dreamer Cafe, we had coffee and their insane breakfast towers (no lie, it’s a tower of a variety of breakfast foods!). So we all left very fat, happy and ready for another fantastic Foxy day.

Although we strive to build a fantastic team culture, some of our team have life goals that reach beyond Foxy. So whenever a team member is finishing up with us, we celebrate their time with dinner and some drinks. It’s an awesome way to show appreciation for their contribution to the team. And often they still catch up with their friends from Foxy on a Friday night, even after finishing up with us. Which is just a true testament to how some of the work relationships that are built here, outlast the ‘work’ part itself!

We centre Foxy around team culture because it has so many benefits:

• When morale is up, the team is happier to come to work and get the job done
• Building relationships with the team means everyone is happy to go lend a hand when it’s needed (if your mate is having a tough day, you’ll go out of your way to help!) 
• It makes a massive difference to have smiling faces at work, the days feel quicker when you’re laughing through them
• Having a strong team culture builds loyalty

Thanks for joining us on the Foxy blog! If you have questions, comments or feedback don’t hesitate to reach out on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. Let us know if you try any of these team building activities, we always love to hear from you!