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Team-Building and Group ActivitesTHIS MONTH’S TOPIC: TEAM-BUILDING AND GROUP ACTIVITIES
It’s easier to run a successful business if the people involved in it are excited to be a part of the team and support each other in working together toward the same business goals. Group outings and strategic team-building exercises encourage communication in different settings and in different ways, helping to foster cooperation, motivate employees, boost company morale, and promote a sense of team spirit. Following are tips and strategies for group outings with that team-building spirit in mind.
KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL TEAM-BUILDING
Ask any event planner about successful team-building strategies and he or she will probably tell you that one of the most crucial factors is getting staffers out of the office environment and out together doing something fun. That’s when some of the best trust building, communication and collaboration take shape.
It’s also important to define what goals you are trying to accomplish, ascertain how the exercises are going to help accomplish them, and assess how your group is likely to respond to the activities you suggest. A positive response is essential for a beneficial result.
FRESH IDEAS FOR GROUP INTERACTION
As ropes courses and group tug-o-wars become tired clichés, planners are looking to other kinds of team-building strategies that can benefit their group. Following are some choices to consider:
• Focus on food. Since more people have become interested in food and wine—local produce, sustainable agriculture, food preparation, chef’s tasting menus—specialized companies have sprung up to offer variations on the cooking-class theme. Simple cooking classes are one way to go if your group is interested in that sort of activity, but you can also explore some team-building twists like an “Iron Chef”-type of challenge, where each team is given a basket of ingredients without any recipes and expected to prepare a meal. Another option involves a role reversal: CEOs and administrative assistants switch places and the assistants serve as the team leaders, directing their bosses. In another exercise, groups are handed recipes to see if they can follow directions.
Other ideas include hiring a professional chef to demonstrate some techniques of food preparation, i.e. sushi making, or Chinese cuisine, with staffers participating in preparing the meal under the chef’s guidance.
Or, have a wine tasting with an expert who shares inside information about the wines and gives suggestions on pairing specific wines with food. Lately, olive oil tastings have been quite popular in some circles, with the ensuing meal centered on a Mediterranean menu that incorporates some of the different oils. All these suggestions allow for your group to relax, unwind, and share the repast after the “work.”
An interesting prelude to a cooking workshop could also involve a trip to a local farmers’ market to buy the goods, a tour of a local winery or artisanal cheese-making facility, or even a visit to a country orchard in the fall where you can pick your own apples.
• Indoor sports activities. Whether it’s a real sporting adventure like tennis round robbins or racing on a modern kart track, a virtual sports outing with computerized games, or even a competitive bowling match at one of the fun, new bowling alleys with Day-Glo pins, sports-related activities are ideal team-building experiences. Team-building experts have devised all sorts of challenges to hone skills and heighten enthusiasm, and activities are easy to customize with prizes for best team, best individual performance, etc.
• A group sail. In good weather, take your group for a day sail aboard a teaching vessel. Scout out a sailing school or independent sailing yacht or vintage schooner owner who can offer a fun, competitive and educational program that involves a series of contests requiring communication, teamwork and planning skills on board. Through hands-on activities, teams collectively learn about the basics of sailing, line handling, and how to work together toward a common goal. Often, a picnic lunch is part of the program, or your group can repair to a local seafood restaurant for a wrap session.
• Think golf. Golf events can follow many different formats and many golf facilities today include on-site planning professionals who can help organize all sorts of group outings and team-building activities, from VIP treatment on the course for top execs to skill-enhancing sessions with a pro for people of all skill levels. You don’t even have to know how to play to participate with a beginner class, so the experience needn’t be intimidating for novices. And there are many different ways to organize team challenges on the course using anything from scramble formats to best ball scoring systems, awards for best shot, closest to the pin, etc. Many formats encourage players of widely disparate skill levels to team up and participate in the action and the fun.
• Start hunting. Scavenger hunts aren’t only for kids anymore. Professional scavenger hunt companies offer customized adventures just about anywhere, from big cities to public parks, hotels and resorts, on yachts, you name it. Usually, the hunt involves teams of participants who unravel clues that lead them to different spots within a defined area. It can be a great way to see a variety of area sites as team members work their way through the challenge. It also enhances group performance in other respects, since hunts can be custom crafted to capitalize on the skill-set of each member of the team. A person who is an expert at seeing the big picture might get one answer while another who’s good at wordplay, for instance, will get the next.
• Tap into your inner Miss Marple.Murder mystery events are fun ways to boost cooperation and problem-solving skills. Everyone is on equal footing, because everyone is in the dark about the “killer.” Each person gets a chance to use his or her intuition and investigative skills to get to the bottom of the “crime” and find the culprit. “Crime”-solving escapades can last a few hours, a day, a weekend or even longer in a venue of your choice. The fun part comes in when everyone works together to puzzle out whodunit.
• A charitable connection. More and more companies are incorporating good works into their programs especially during the winter holiday season. Have your group work together to gather toys for underprivileged kids, initiate a clothing drive, or even help out in a soup kitchen. Other ways to serve the community and encourage both team and community spirit involve clean-up projects of roadside trash, public parks, etc.
FAMILY AFFAIRS
Staff outings can also be broadened to include families at certain times. The summer picnic season is over, but autumn presents countless opportunities to indulge both adults and children in scenic fall leaf-peeping excursions coupled with harvest festivals, pumpkin carving contests, cider-sipping at local orchards and marshmallow toasting or chestnut roasting over an open fire.
As the chilly weather and the high holiday season approaches, planners can organize a winter skating session on an indoor or outdoor rink and meet for hot chocolate and refreshments afterwards. Or, test drive toboggans or old-fashioned flying saucers at chutes, runs and slopes on snowy hills in the area, then serve old-fashioned snowcones in assorted colors and flavors, made with real snow! Head for the trails for team challenges with cross-country ski- or snowshoe-clad participants of all ages weaving their ways through an obstacle course designed just for the occasion. Have families (perhaps divided up by office department) compete in a relay race or winter scavenger hunt, where part of the challenge is to use several modes of transportation to get from one point to another: ice-skates, snowshoes, skis, an old-time sled. Afterwards, treat your group to an ice-sculpting display by a professional who can chisel an ice block into a shape suggested by your group. The possibilities for group entertainment and activities are endless.
DE-STRESSING SESSIONS
Sometimes the best way to promote productivity and cooperative camaraderie for employees is to offer the antidote to stress: a bit of relaxation and a respite from the work-a-day life. These types of group outings are especially welcome after major deadlines or goals have been met or even during the hectic winter holiday season when it’s a treat for a lot of people just to be able to sit down and relax for awhile, without having to perform at all, in a team-building situation or otherwise! Buy out a movie theater then treat the group to a private screening with an informal reception in the lobby afterwards. Book a block of seats for a theatrical performance or comedy show. Take employees to a shopping center in the morning, break for a leisurely lunch and have their holiday purchases gift-wrapped for them while they dine. The point is to get the group together in a non-competitive, enjoyable situation to recharge their batteries a bit before they gear up for the next challenge.
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