DEI-themed ideas for your next team-building event

Team-building exercises in the workplace can help build trust among employees, improve camaraderie, and increase collaboration, innovation, and morale. These are many of the same goals that DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs aim to achieve, so it’s well worth integrating DEI into your next team-building event.

In fact, when organizations incorporate DEI into team-building events, they can help to foster a greater understanding of the diverse backgrounds and experiences of employees, which in turn can cultivate greater empathy and respect.¹

DEI team-building ideas

There are many ways to not only celebrate diversity at your organization, but also cultivate a better appreciation for and understanding of DEI within your organization. Here are some DEI themed ideas to consider incorporating into your next teambuilding event:

Guest speakers: Bring in guest speakers who specialize in DEI topics, such as cultural awareness, understanding stereotypes, and unconscious bias. Events can be held in person or online but be sure to leave time afterward for questions and discussion among employees.²

DEI book club: A fun way to explore different viewpoints is through a book club, where books are chosen based on DEI themes such as race, gender, disability, etc. Make sure the books selected are engaging (you don’t want it to feel like homework) and give employees plenty of time to read the book (at least a month). Then hold an in-person or virtual meeting to discuss.³

Team-building games: Games aren’t just fun; they can be educational. A trivia session, for example, can be done either in-person or with remote teams. By divvying employees up into teams and encouraging friendly competition, the event will be more engaging—helping employees retain what they learn. The idea is to highlight lesser-known facts about DEI to encourage discussion and learning.⁴

Celebrations: Year-round, organizations can honour observances such as Black History Month (February), Mental Health Awareness Month (May), Pride Month (June) and Women’s History Month (October), as well as a diverse range of religious and cultural holidays.⁵ These could be ideal times to share educational resources, demonstrate allyship, and amplify the voice of non-profits or charitable organizations working in this space.

Volunteer: Another option is to offer volunteer opportunities for employees—as a team—in the community, such as serving food to the unhoused or helping at a charity event, which can create camaraderie while fostering greater understanding and empathy for others.

Sovereign: DEI in action

Sovereign Insurance put DEI into action during a team-building event at its 2023 Claims Conference in Calgary, which brought together 52 team members from across Canada. The conference’s theme, ‘The power of connection,’ emphasized the importance of building strong relationships with peers and with the community.

One of the highlights of the conference was a team-building activity that included participants simulating accessibility challenges. By experiencing first-hand the limitations of loss of sight, hearing, or touch, the team gained a better understanding of the widespread need for differently abled and disability accommodations.

The team also built wheelchairs for the Calgary Drop-in Centre, to create a meaningful and tangible impact for the community. As a result, nine wheelchairs were donated to those in need, and the team was proud to show their commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“For our Claims Conference, we wanted to select an activity that allowed us to both collaborate as a team and reflect upon our commitment to making a positive impact in our communities,” says Larissa Maclean, Assistant Vice-President of Claims at Sovereign Insurance.

“The challenge activities supported our ongoing commitment to DEI, allowing us to gain insight into the challenges faced by those who are differently-abled, and resulted in the donation of nine wheelchairs to a local organization—a win-win!”

These activities were organized through Outback Team Building & Training, a team building and employee training provider in North America that offers more than 60 team-building and training solutions endorsed by thousands of corporate groups across North America.⁶

 

Sources:

¹ “15 Fun Diversity Team Building Activities” (Teamland, accessed Jan. 16, 2024). 15 Fun Diversity Team Building Activities (teamland.com)

² Angela Robinson; “18 Virtual Diversity And Inclusion Activities For Workplaces” (teambuilding.com, Oct. 24, 2022). 15 Fun Diversity Team Building Activities (teamland.com)

³ Collin Waldoch; “Diversity and inclusion Team Building Activities (10 Options), (Water Cooler Trivia, Apr. 1, 2022). Diversity And Inclusion Team Building Activities (10 Options) (watercoolertrivia.com)

⁴ “15 Fun Diversity Team Building Activities” (Teamland, accessed Jan. 16, 2024). 15 Fun Diversity Team Building Activities (teamland.com)

⁵ Grace He; “Diversity and Inclusion Activities & Ideas for the Office in 2024” (teambuilding.com, Dec. 12, 2023). Diversity and Inclusion Activities & Ideas for the Office in 2024 (teambuilding.com)

⁶ Outback Team Building, accessed Jan. 16, 2024. The #1 Corporate Team Building Company | Outback Team Building