Your CEO, Operations Manager, and Creative Director walk into an insane asylum with two of your sales reps and an intern… 

Think you've heard this one before? 

^{When corporate titles are checked at the door, collaboration leads to success.}

Escape Manor has locked up thousands of corporate teams in our rooms, but not always from the sort of companies you might expect. The teams that we have put behind bars span tech startups, creative ad agencies, non-profit organizations, local craft breweries—even local hotel and restaurant chains.

Any team can experience synergy when playing our rooms, but the real value in team-building comes from critically analyzing key factors that led to your team's success or failure.

With the help of our partners from MentorU, we have identified the top four areas in which corporate teams excel during an escape experience, and most importantly, how they can bring these lessons back to the office.

If you would like to learn more about how Escape Manor can help your team, read on...

#1) CELEBRATE SMALL MILESTONES

Can you remember how your team felt after solving that first puzzle? Picture the rush of excitement, the high fives, genuine elated screams, and maybe a happy dance.

Now picture a similar scenario at the workplace where a team member reaches a key milestone. Does anyone greet them with a huge smile and a high five? According to feedback from Mentor U coach Jay Gosselin, most team members report feeling that this doesn’t happen enough at work. These same companies were just praising each other all the way through their escape. Why doesn't that happen at work?

We believe frequently celebrating milestones is a great way to stay focused and motivated. Seasoned CEO Skip Prichard breaks this concept down in his article: Why great bosses celebrate small wins.

#2) CREATE A SENSE OF SHARED PURPOSE

In an escape room you have one shared objective: ESCAPE! We often hear teams discuss how easy it felt to work together towards a clear goal and how everyone found a way to contribute. 

Those same groups report feeling frustrated in the workplace, as a sense of shared purpose was not applied to their day-to-day roles. How many people on your team can describe how their job helps your company achieve its goals?

Organizations are beginning to take this principle further, by dedicating their mission to treating their own employees like valued customers. We really like point #4 in Sherry Hakimi's discussion of purpose driven companies.

#3) COLLABORATION HAPPENS ACROSS ALL LEVELS

Remember the line about different team members walking into an insane asylum? Your team needs that!

If you are interested in productive team-building, team members of all ranks and backgrounds should be working together during the escape. Inter-level collaboration is essential from the top of your organization to the front lines. This is especially fulfilling to entry level employees who want to openly communicate with management.

Businesses and escape rooms are both team sports. Leadership in an escape room is tied directly to completion of a group goal, not individual achievement. We believe Harry Truman said it best:

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

Wise words, Harry.

#4) COMMUNICATE FREQUENTLY AND PRODUCTIVELY 

For new escapees, the first few seconds of an experience can be disorienting. Don't worry, the mood changes quickly! Within half a minute of the door locking behind them, teams erupt into chatter and activity. People are searching, talking, collaborating and solving puzzles. Teams naturally tend to to enhance their communication to further the task at hand, often without even knowing it. 

Here are 3 reasons why groups collaborate so well during their experience:

• Information is shared, even when it may not seem relevant right away. In an escape room, it's not possible for one person to complete every puzzle without input from others. Successful teams share details about all aspects of the room with eachother.

• Constructive feedback is delivered in the context of achieving goals, not towards a person or their actions. Teams quickly learn from their mistakes and do not blame individuals.

• Team members get to the point simply and directly, because the clock is always ticking.

Sound productive? Consider how these factors could be applied to projects at work.

What's next for my team?

If you have celebrated a work event or participated in a team building exercise with Escape Manor, we want to hear from you. Did your team walk away with these key lessons?