Have you been tasked with developing the next team building activity? Follow our five-steps to ensure an amazing event.
1. Why are you doing a Team Building Activity? An effective team building activity cannot be run just ‘because’. Well it can, but this may not be effective team building. Yes, there are many types of team building and bonding with colleagues is one of them. You can go out for lunch together once a fortnight, meet for drinks after work and bond but team building has an added component. That component is a purpose. And if done right, team members will have fun without realising they are learning something.
Prior to starting to develop up your team building activity, you need to consider what the objective of it is. Is it to work on problem solving, enhancing communication, working together more effectively, getting to know each other better, or building time management skills? Whichever purpose you choose, team members will get to know each other better as they interact in a different setting, possibly with people they do not know very well and in activities that are different to them.
2. Who do you need to get on-board? Is it your manager – they need to approve your budget. What is the budget you have to spend? How flexible is it? Do you need to put in a business case for the budget? What is the turn around time for a reply?
Do you want a small committee to plan the event, do you want to do it yourself, or do you want to outsource it? All of these have a cost, and some not financial.
3. Make a Plan. Planning is key to it being successful. There are lots of moving parts that are contingent on other parts when planning a team building activity.
When? Consider the time of year in relation to weather and business needs. The last week of June is probably not a good time for many businesses, same with school holidays, or even February or July if outdoors.
What type of activity? Think about your team and whether the activity needs to focus on problem solving, communication, working together, getting to know each other, or time management. Of course, any activity must include the element of fun, and allowing team members to participate based on their strengths or need to challenge themselves.
Where? You may have rooms available at your offices, consider if it is best to do it at work where staff can sneak off to check their emails or chat to other staff, or is it best to be off site where they are not tempted to follow up outstanding actions with other teams. Does it need to be indoors or outdoors? How will staff get to an event if it is off site, is it accessible to everyone, and is there a cost for parking?
How will you promote it? It is tempting to keep it a surprise but consider your team. Some team members will get highly anxious about any team building event, but even more if they are not sure what it will be and how they may be challenged. Promoting your event requires information on when it is, what the dress code is, where it is and what you will be doing (without giving it all away). At TeamLab we have found that giving the team some pre-work, even if it is just thinking about a question, ensures that the event is more effective and not just a one-off attend and leave. The overall purpose of team building is to strengthen the team to be more effective in their roles, in this way team building must start before the event.
4. Delivering on the day. You’ve got the plan now to deliver. In your plan, did you decide who will deliver the activity? Did you outsource it to someone else, do you have a small committee delivering it or are you doing it yourself.
Regardless, today is the day. Outsourcing is the easiest option. You attend and make sure your team attends. You get to participate, laugh, have fun and observe your team in action. At TeamLab we really focus on the leaders being part of the activities, just as the team needs to get to know each other, they also need to get to know you as a person and not as the manager. Just think how it would feel if you got to say you beat your CEO/manager at a game of Quoits. And think how your relationship may have changed as you pass in the corridors.
But if you choose to run your event in house, there are lots more challenges and contingencies to consider. You will need to be fully prepared at least the day before, arrive early to set up, have your run sheet ready, all the resources to run the day, manage any challenges such as weather / catering coming late / activities finishing early / technology issues / etc., keeping everyone involved and engaged, and then cleaning up at the end of the day.
5. Reflection. Just as you started the team building prior to the actual event, team building does not end when the event is over. After the event is the perfect time to reflect on what was learnt, develop action plans and continue to follow up on the actions identified. TeamLab strongly believes that team building is much more effective when it is treated as a supported process rather than an activity.
Reflection needs to be on multiple levels:
The activity: How did the activity go; did it meet the teams needs or could it have been done differently? What was the best part of the activity? How effective was the lead up to the activity to ensuring it met the teams needs or your needs?
Yourself: As an individual team member, what did you learn about yourself during the activity, and as a result is there something you need to do differently, do more of or stop doing? And then, what did you learn about your colleagues? Did you see them in a different light that will benefit your working relationship into the future?
Your team: Is there anything that you feel the team needs to continue working on? What are the solutions to some of the challenges your team may be facing? Do you need more training or understanding of team dynamics to progress? What about the wider team – are there actions that are required for your team to interact better with different departments? Is an interdepartmental activity required?
When you consider gathering attendee’s thoughts and experiences, you need to also consider how you are going to gather this information. Some people prefer an anonymous survey such as Survey Monkey but the response rate may be low unless you set aside time for its completion. Or it could be done through a follow up session held a week after the event where feedback is gathered through a facilitated session using post it notes and flip charts with questions.
And finally, take time to congratulate yourself on a job well done.
