The number one piece of feedback we receive when planning a team building event is ‘’We don’t want forced fun.” Well good news – neither do we. Forced fun doesn’t align with our philosophy and we can’t bear that people hear ‘team building’ and automatically think ‘oh hear we go’. We’re in the business of team engagement and driving long lasting results. Here’s our philosophy for creating an event with the right level of team engagement:

• We don’t do activities for the sake of activities. If your objective is to create a TV commercial, we’re not going to make your team complete miniature tasks as part of the journey that don’t add any value. We believe in planning activities that your whole team will enjoy and that drive the right outcome. In order for that to happen, there needs to be an organic and collaborative element to your event. So the fun will just flow, naturally. If the end goal is for our client to create a creative commercial that brings the team together along the way, we’ll create the right framework for them to throw everything at it and achieve that.

• Fun can’t be the only goal: 70% of the time people, our brief from clients is ‘’We just want to have fun.” Don’t get me wrong, we’ve seen some hilarious events over the years, but that hasn’t been the most successful outcome of the day. We always probe our clients further on the why – why are you spending time and money on an event? What’s the ultimate goal? The best team building events are the ones that bring a team together where you discover something different about your team mates. In an increasingly diverse workforce, with more than three generations in the workplace at once and a range of cultural backgrounds, team building can provide a great opportunity to discover hidden talents within the team. In addition, some common ground between team members that they may not have realised before. These activities can also help to develop and expose leadership capabilities that certain team members  perhaps haven’t had the chance to demonstrate. There is a huge need in corporate spaces for team engagement and there is stacks of research to back up that an engaged team is a much more productive one.

• We create a framework for teams to realise their full potential. The other thing we encounter when creating team building experiences is how much people underestimate how creative their teams can be. With the right framework and platform, creativity tends to just flow in our experience! People constantly put their team into categories of ‘Oh that person will never do that’ and they are consistently blown away by how involved people become in our activities. Our advice – have a bit more faith in your team, they are likely to surprise you along with great results from a team building event. When it comes to team building, the fun part is the ultimate cherry on top that happens when you’re not trying to force it. Good events result in more engaged teams that ultimately make the machine go faster, smoother and stronger.

That’s why you need to invest in your people. It’s no longer just a box ticking exercise to complete once a year.

Written by Meredith Drucker (General Manager)