TIPS & TRICKS
A clients workplace recently organized a team-building event over the course of an afternoon during their annual meeting. The meeting itself was held in a swanky Denver hotel, each guest reveling in luxurious surroundings. All seemed well, until HR decided that the best way to complement all that awesomeness was to follow it up with a group obstacle course in the sweltering summer sun.
The full, unvarnished horror of this mistake was realized when a number of staffers simply quit and returned to the hotel. So much for team-building.
Team-building exercises suffer from an unfair reputation among many companies, in large part because hapless HR managers or even external corporate training consultants pick the wrong activities, or at least don t seem to view the big picture. Badly done, a team-building activity can actually be more demoralizing than unifying but, done the right way, it can be a welcome addition to a conference schedule.
More than that, a shared experience outside the humdrum routine of a conference can be a bonding experience for staff who don t see each other regularly. Having your Austin IT team face your Chicago sales team at laser-tagging may not be an obvious productive boost but it will help create a real sense of unity despite working from disparate locations.
Listen to suggestions
Sure, sometimes it takes a little tugging to get everyone outside for a game of handball, but if your team-building activity announcement is met with groans or oppressive silence, you ve probably crossed the line from they ll-thank-you-for-this-later into they ll-never-forgive-you territory. People know what they like put together a list of suggestions and take a vote. This can absolutely be included in the online registration system as a required field, so no excuses!
And it sounded like such a good idea on paper
Original and unique team-building exercises win out
People tend to enjoy learning new, interesting and useful skills. Doing something creative and unique not only gives your crew something to brag about later, but it brings your team together under the banner of an experience they probably haven t shared with many others. It can also bring new skills and experiences to a team. At the most recent PRSA Counselors Academy Spring Meeting, they had a very unique experience that did just this. During the first day of the conference, the organizers brought in the team from Banding People Together. The entire conference divided into four teams and in an hour we had four original songs that we performed. The winning team had bragging rights for the conference, and we had something very unique to share and discuss for the rest of the conference. Here s a few alternatives to the norm, as well as the original song videos from first and second place:
- Song Writing Workshop
- Photography Skills and Creativity Class
- Cocktail Creations and Mixology
- Drawing/Painting Tutorials
We Love PR by the Brazen Squirrles (Second Place)
We ve Got the Power by the Sh!tkickers (First Place)!
No one has to get dirty
Team-building isn t about punishing people, it s about promoting cooperation. And though we could probably all benefit from a little more time outdoors, rolling around in the dirt boot-camp style isn t everyone s idea of a good time. Organizing a sweaty event also limits your logistical options in terms of how, where and when the event can be held. But getting messy isn t the only way to bring people together. Your people could also:
- Take a challenging, team-based cooking class
- Build a complex gingerbread house
- Build a derby car or electronics kit
- Hold a PacMan competition
- Compete at team darts
- Dragon Boat Racing
Dragon Boat Racing!
Want to incorporate unique team-building exercises into your event?
Call Decibel, we d be tickled pink to help you out.
