Organizing Your First Team-building Event
Employees are complaining already about the temperature in the office. The HVAC system needs to be serviced as it recently broke down. For the past month, you’ve been tasked to take the lead in organizing the company’s team-building activity. You’re checking out plane ticket prices for the entire office, inquiring about the availability of venues in Modesto, California and other nearby cities, and coordinating with team heads for the schedule. Now, it seems that the schedule needs to be moved ahead than initially planned because of the maintenance issue with the office air-conditioning.
This is your first time to lead this type of activity, and you want it to run smoothly. You’re in semi-panic mode. On the brighter side, the contractor would be able to do their work more efficiently since the office would be empty except for the one who’s going to oversee the work. But you’re more worried and focused on your task. How do you organize a productive and successful team building event?
About Team Building
As a company grows, coordinating with people could be a challenge. You factor in the different personality types of every employee in an organization, and you might be looking at a volcano exploding.
The goal of team building activities is to transform individuals to become better contributors to a well-functioning and cohesive team. This is with the goal of meeting the needs of the customers and achieving the company’s bottom line.
Key Factors to Consider
Preparing for the logistical aspect of the event is good. That requires time, effort, and research also. Here are a few things that you need to remember about organizing a team-building event for your company:
- The goals. The fun part is not the main objective of the event. That is just the byproduct. You need to establish clear goals and make sure that everyone is on the same page about what you wish to accomplish. The goals could focus on responding to issues such as employees’ lack of understanding about the company’s products or services, or it could be about frequent miscommunications between teams, which affects service delivery.
- The budget. Knowing the limits of what you can spend on is essential. Will you be able to get a venue that has a pool for a water activity? Does it contain an obstacle course? Do meeting rooms have large TVs and excellent sound system? Your budget will determine what kind of activities you would need to do.
- The schedule. It’s still work, not a vacation. Schedule the event during weekdays. Although there is a fun component to it, employees still prefer to have their time on weekends. If you’re not doing it off-site, make sure that you provide food and drinks for everyone.
- Collaboration and participation. Get input from colleagues, like the heads of teams, and get an initial assessment of common and specific issues. This induces preparedness on both sides-management/leads and fellow employees. The input will help you structure the activities and give attention to people or sub-groups requiring the most help.
- Sensitivity. Don’t assume that everyone has the same needs or capabilities. Be sensitive to specific situations of employees. Don’t organize activities that may exclude these employees simply because of their particular circumstances. For example, employees with severe skin conditions might not be able to participate in outside activities under direct sunlight. Those who have asthma might not be able to run. Make the event for everyone.
Most importantly, team building doesn’t happen only during the event. Devise a way to follow up on the results of the event during regular working days. Achieving teamwork is a continuous process.