Planning a Team Building Event that Everyone Will Enjoy

Team building

These two words can produce a feeling of dread in many
employees who have memories of ropes courses and other embarrassing group
activities. For every person who likes the idea of going to a climbing gym,
there are many more that think hanging off a rope while their co-workers
stare at their backsides, pretty repulsive. In fact, choosing the wrong
event can have exactly the opposite effect from that which is desired. Done
well, team building is a rewarding activity that adds to productivity and
offers a myriad of gains. So, today’s post offers a number of tips from
those who work in the event organizing industry, to ensure your next event
caters for the entire team.

Define the Goal

Before jumping in to the organization, it is necessary to articulate the
reason for conducting team building. Kate Nasser, president of CAS, Inc., a
consultancy for corporations, governments and mid-sized businesses based in
Summerville, New Jersey, says that, while “Team building can be fun and
boost morale. It can also be designed to help address a work or
communication problem.”

Once you know what it is that you want to achieve a great way to decide how
is by asking your employees. Nasser suggests that you should “expect that
you will get diverse views, but know that they will be more engaged if the
activity represents their definition of fun.” She is talking about buy in,
one of the keys to success. Without it, everyone will stand on the side
lines until forced to take part. With it, you’ll be well on your way to
achieving your goals.

Solving Problem Teams with Team Building

If you’re doing the team building activity because there is a perceived problem with the team, then communication will be vital to any successful
event. Nasser says that in her experience “most teamwork problems are rooted
in a lack of respect for diversity or communication problems.” In this case,
a small exercise may be far more beneficial than a day at a safari park.

She even suggests a great little exercise to make a start addressing such
issues: each team member should bring a photo of themselves doing something
that is really important to them-something that defines who they are – the
exercise is then a short explanation by each member in turn of why this
photo is important and why it makes them happy or proud. But, she cautions,
the photos should not be work related.

The first phase of Nasser’s exercise is about building awareness, the next
part is about learning more about each person and how to communicate with
them – after a team member has described their photo, each person is then
invited to ask for more information about the photo. For the exercise to be
really useful the questions should be ‘open.’ Hopefully, this exercise will
build not just awareness and a small insight but also end with people
interacting with each other in a positive way.

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