Today there are so many different types of team building activities that organisations can do. From an indoor trivia contest to an outdoor cross-city great race, there is something to suit all groups of people.
So where do you start to decide what the most effective team building event is for your company or organisation?
It is easy to get confused and lost in the maze of options out there. At Corporate Challenge Events, we endeavour to make it as simple as possible for our clients, and can really break the decision making process down with 7 key questions.
1. What are your reasons for doing a team building activity?
Last month, my article was focused on the ’top 10 reasons why companies invest in team building’. For example, it may be to enhance team morale, encourage fun in the workplace, observe your group under specific stresses, or reinforce company values. This is a vital question for you to consider to help narrow down the vast array of options out there.
2. What are the outcomes you aim to achieve?
The answer to this question will give the team building activity its purpose, give it direction and ultimately provide a measure for how successful it was. It leads on from the first question about your ‘reasons’, with the addition of a desired result. For example, your reason may be to reinforce company values… and an outcome may be to donate equipment built during the activity to your company’s official charity.
3. How many participants in your team?
Now you have your purpose, the next step is to factor in the number of people you wish to undertake the team building program. This is not only important in the type of event so everyone can participate, but also the size of the venue required. It is also a factor in the next question…
4. What is your budget?
If you have your team numbers and also budget, this will further narrow down what is possible as costs can include venue, catering, equipment, facilitators, audio visual, transportation, accommodation and even clothing.
5. How much time do you have available?
Team building activities can range from a couple of hours to a few days, and this may be driven by budget. The good news is that most professional team building companies can tailor events to any duration. As one of these companies, we would provide a recommendation on a minimum amount of time required to achieve your desired outcomes in question 2.
6. Will it be a stand-alone event or part of a broader corporate event or conference?
This answer will help the organiser or facilitator shape the team building activity to any required theme and within any time and venue limitations. We are finding that more and more conferences use team building events to break up the conference program with something fun and social, whilst achieving some solid outcomes at the same time.
7. What is the profile of your team?
What is the age range and average age of the participants? What industry do they work in? What environment do the participants work in on a daily basis? Are there any special needs to be considered? What range of personalities do they have? These are all important questions to determine an effective activity for this team.
If you work your way through these 7 questions with a professional team building company or facilitator, I can assure you that there will be an effective tailored solution to meet all of your requirements.
Dwain Richardson is the Managing Director of Corporate Challenge Events – a leader in the delivery of team building programs in Australia and New Zealand for 21 years.www.corpchallenge.co.nz
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