I Thought an Ice Cream Party Would Fix Team Morale. I Was Wrong.
- Bekah Langley
- Mar 16
- 3 min read
Have you ever been tasked with planning team-building events and improving morale across a whole organization… as a brand new employee?
No pressure, right?
When I started my first “adult corporate job”, I was a fresh college graduate still trying to figure out my way in the workplace and how to bring value to a team. I graduated with an event degree and was excited to use it. I didn’t have much corporate experience. I worked at Chick-fil-A for 6 years, had an event internship with a global ministry during college, and had just accepted a position with a CPA firm. I knew nothing about the public tax & accounting industry – the demands, the stressors of hard deadlines and long hours, and how it all affected individuals and subsequently, their families. The expectations were clear: improve the environment during tax season.
I hit the ground running and brought my creative mind to a seemingly black/white industry. My first event had to be a success. Since I didn’t know anyone, I thought to myself, I know what everyone will love… an ice cream party! I had cute décor, matching bowls & napkins, all the toppings, and brought my optimistic & excited energy as I spent hours putting this together. I expected everyone to hang out for a while in the kitchen, talking, building relationships, and having fun. The opposite happened. People came, made their bowls, and went right back to their desks. I stood there smiling, expecting conversations, and barely received eye contact.
While some people were thankful, others complained because there was only sugar, and they were crashing while they still had a lot of work to do #nailedit. For months, I spent a lot of time & energy trying idea after idea to improve the employee experience during tax season.
Even though I had the BEST intentions, I wasn’t seeing the results. I was getting constant pushback from the team. Some of the more serious and direct coworkers didn’t respect my position, my efforts, or approve of the investment. I couldn’t understand why there were so many complaints when the initiatives were only meant for good (free food, stress relief activities, and opportunities to hang out). I would plan activities outside of the office, and only a few would show up. What was I doing wrong??
It wasn’t until a kind coworker approached me with a spreadsheet (this team LOVED spreadsheets). He surveyed the whole team, and they responded very candidly and openly about what would improve their tax season.
Although my intentions were good, I was missing the mark because I made a bunch of assumptions about what they wanted. All I needed to do was ask. While they appreciated the free food, they wanted healthy food that helped them stay focused. They enjoyed the activities but wanted to do them during their individual breaks because they all had different schedules and times of focus.
What felt like failure on my end wasn’t really about me at all - I was just doing what I thought they wanted. Assumptions are a funny thing. What I learned from that moment has stuck with me ever since. I wasn’t failing. I just didn’t have a strategy that was right for this team.
I thought “team building” meant planning fun activities that would help people connect. And while connection and fun activities definitely matter, what I eventually learned is that team building shouldn’t be random. It’s a strategy. 🤯
There are activities that build relationships.
There are activities that improve communication.
There are activities that help teams problem-solve together.
And there are activities that simply give people a moment to breathe during a demanding season.
Once I listened to the team and built initiatives around what they were asking for, things started to shift. The same people who had been skeptical became appreciative because the efforts were finally serving the reality of their work. It built trust and became a critical part of our retention strategy.
That experience shaped how I think about workplace culture today. If you’re responsible for planning team-building initiatives, improving morale, or creating a healthier team environment, take some of the pressure off yourself and ask your team what would improve their experience! You’ll be surprised by how many of them will say the same thing.
When you understand what your team actually wants/needs, you can build experiences that genuinely support them. That’s why today, when people ask about team building, my first question isn’t “What activity should we do?” It’s “What does the team actually need?”
If you’re interested in learning more about the different types of team-building activities and what each one is designed to accomplish, I’m hosting a webinar on March 19, 2026, where we’ll break this down and talk about how to create
a strategy that’s right for your team.
Bekah Langley
Training & Development Coach
Comments