Team building for large groups in Delft: how to keep it personal

Team building for large groups in Delft stays personal if you split the group up. With thirty or more people, one guide for everyone doesn’t work: the back half can’t hear anything, the pavements and bridges in the old town are narrow and every stop takes a long time. What does work is small groups of 6 to 10 people, each with their own guide, starting in different places, walking a similar kind of route and meeting up again at the end. A shared element, such as a quiz whose scores are compared afterwards, turns it into one event instead of a series of separate tours.

We regularly organise outings and evening programmes like this, for groups ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred participants: company outings, department days and the social programme of conferences and international workshops. The approach below is what we keep coming across when preparing them.

Why doesn’t one guide work for a large group?

Because then it is no longer personal. A good tour is a conversation: the guide tells a story, the group reacts, asks questions and laughs at the same anecdote. With fifty people behind one guide, that turns into a lecture. Only the front row hears everything, the rest stand at a distance and switch off, and anyone with a question no longer asks it. What you want is for the whole group to be involved in the stories and really listening.

A team outing adds something else: it is also about colleagues getting to know each other better. In a small group that happens naturally. Between stops there is room to talk, you walk next to someone you didn’t know well yet, and at the next stop you share the same story. In a group of fifty, everyone sticks with the people they already know.

And then there is the city itself. Delft has narrow alleys, bridges over the canals and busy shopping streets, where a group of fifty blocks the way and every stop takes a long time. That is why, for large groups, we bring in extra guides rather than making one group bigger.

How big should each small group be?

Between 6 and 10 people per guide is ideal. Everyone can hear the guide, the group fits on the pavement at every stop, and a real conversation develops. If you are a large group, twenty people per guide is the maximum: any bigger and it becomes a lecture again.

Within those limits there is a trade-off. Smaller groups are more personal. Slightly larger groups are more affordable, because you need fewer guides, and they mix more people who don’t know each other yet. If it is mainly about the city and its stories, go small. If it is about networking, as at a conference, the groups can be a little larger.

Start in different places

Don’t let all the groups start at the same time in the same place, or the whole group will still move through the city as one herd. We spread the groups over a few meeting points a few minutes’ walk apart, for example:

• at the statue of Hugo Grotius on the Markt;
• in front of the Gemeenlandshuis on the Oude Delft;
• at the Koornbeurs on the Warmoesbrug.

Give everyone a group number in advance, so everyone knows where to be. The guides are there a few minutes before the start, clearly visible. Each group sees the highlights of the old town, but in a different order, so they don’t get in each other’s way along the route.

Give the groups something in common

Five or ten groups each doing their own tour don’t feel like one outing. A quiz solves that. Along the way, each group gets questions about Delft, supplemented with questions about your company, your field or the theme of the conference. You can supply those questions yourself. The participants then compare scores at the table, and the prize for the winning group can be presented the next morning, over coffee or at lunch.

The same principle is behind The Delft Challenge, our city quiz: all teams play at the same time, you can send in your own questions, and for larger bookings we bring in extra guides so no team has to wait.

Plan a stop for a drink

Halfway through a tour of an hour and a half, a stop for a drink and a bite is more than a break. It is the moment when people from different departments or countries really talk to each other. If the group is not eating until after the programme, serve a snack with the drink, including a vegetarian option. After a long day at work or at a conference, that is always appreciated.

End where the evening continues

Think about what happens after the outing, and let the route end there. If the whole group is eating together, end at the restaurant. If everyone is eating on their own, as is often the case at conferences, end at a spot with a café and plenty of restaurants nearby, so nobody is left standing in the street searching their phone for where to go.

What if you don’t know how many people will come?

At conferences and workshops that is the rule rather than the exception. Participants sign up, but whether they will really come along after a long day or would rather go back to their hotel, you only find out at the last moment. The price of a tailor-made programme depends mainly on the number of guides, so it pays to get that right:

• Plan for a realistic number, not the maximum.
• Give us the final number about a week in advance. If fewer participants come, we use fewer guides.
• Ask participants to actually sign up, and hand out the group numbers when they register.

Which large group activities work best?

Three formats work well with thirty or more people:

• A walking dinner. Three courses at three restaurants, with a guided walk between the courses. You can book the Walking Dinner directly online for groups of up to 80 people, for €99 per person including 21% VAT. For larger groups we arrange it on request. Because you get up after every course and sit down somewhere new, the group mixes naturally. Also read what a walking dinner is exactly.
• A city quiz. The Delft Challenge takes 2.5 hours and costs €37 per person, including VAT, with a minimum of €555 per booking. A larger group simply means more teams.
• A tailor-made programme, such as an evening programme for a conference: tours in small groups, a quiz, a stop for a drink and an end point that fits what you do next. For this we put together a proposal based on your numbers, your times and what you want the outing to achieve.

An overview of all outings, with prices for 12 and 25 people, is in Team building in Delft: five ideas.

Frequently asked questions

Is it also available in other languages?

We offer our programmes in Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. With an international group, you can divide the small groups by language, so everyone follows the tour in their own language. Put the languages in your request, and we will confirm which guides are available on your date.

How long does an evening programme last?

That is up to you. A tour in small groups with a stop for a drink might last an hour and a half, for example, leaving time to eat afterwards. A walking dinner takes about four hours, The Delft Challenge two and a half hours.

Can we supply our own quiz questions?

Yes, and we recommend it. Questions about your company, your field or the theme of the conference make the outing more relatable for the participants. Send them a few days in advance and we will work them into the route.

How much does an outing with a large group cost?

For the Walking Dinner and The Delft Challenge, the price is calculated per person. For a tailor-made programme, the price depends mainly on the number of guides and on what is eaten and drunk along the way. Send us your expected numbers and your times, and you will receive a proposal with a fixed price.

Does it work with a few hundred people?

Yes. We have run programmes for a few hundred participants at once. With more guides and more starting points, a lot is possible; exactly what can be done depends on the date and the programme. The Walking Dinner can be booked directly online for up to 80 people; for a larger group we arrange it on request. For large groups it is always best to get in touch with us first.

Can we cancel?

Yes, team outings can be cancelled free of charge up to 72 hours before the start.

Request an outing for your group

With a large group, it works best to get in touch with us first. Tell us roughly how many people are coming, on which date and what you want to achieve, and we will put together a proposal. Request your outing or first browse all our programmes on our page about team building in Delft. You can also book the Walking Dinner directly online.