Companies today seem to be obsessed with the concept of team building, the idea that throwing a group of employees into a situation outside of the workplace will immediately improve their ability to work. Well despite grumbles and moans from some staff, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that it does improve productivity and has been a rewarding experience for centuries.
Whether you're working in the high-octane bustle of London's square-mile or a small office in Kent you need to be comfortable with your team. The slightest office banter can lead to mistrust and awkwardness amongst colleagues, which can have a huge impact on collaboration.
Historically, humans have always lived and worked in tight communities and as such we have this behaviour ingrained on us through evolution. From tribes of cavemen to feudal villagers, we have always been in static close-knit communities. Modern society has forced us to change the ways we live and work, organisational changes within a company mean that we may be working with several different groups of people throughout our careers and move around a lot, against our evolutionary instincts.
Smart employers recognise this and adopt simple team-building exercises and events to ensure that co-workers have the skills needed to function well in a group dynamic. There are several important factors to note when trying to bring a team closer together. In today's companies you often only bond with the people sitting next to you or in your specific department, leading to the common rifts between accountants and salespersons or customer services and middle management. It is important to put these people together in an event that requires a balance of skills and teamwork to improve their ability to collaborate.
Secondly, establishing joint goals is key to the success of any corporate team-building event. The team-leader must explain to their colleagues the purposes of the event so that everyone involved has an understanding of why they are there and gives a sense of value and importance, which is key to a happy office. Assigning roles to your team-members is, of course, commonplace in an office and by using the same techniques in a team-building exercise such as a sailing trip or quad bike safari people can begin to take charge of their roles and improve their quick decision-making and learn responsibility in a non-work environment.
A good-team is a communicative team, colleagues should have the ability to speak-up if something is preventing them from reaching a sales target or goal, it has been well researched and shown that corporate teams work best when they are not afraid to take up an issue and communicate openly with their colleagues or management. Corporate events promote this ability to express needs and wants within the work environment.
Lastly and most crucially, everyone should have fun; an outdoor event such as go-kart racing or paintballing can bring team-members together in a competitive task while also giving the boss a run for his money.
More information on team-building exercises and events can be found at
The truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as a standard event. This is why when you call up team building companies and ask for a price they won't be able to give an immediate answer. Costs vary enormously, pretty much like how long is a piece of string! Costs depend on location, number of people, type of summer team building activity and date.
So we've established that there are a lot of different events to consider and there is no set cost to guide you, so where do you start? The first thing to consider is how many people do you want to take part in your summer team building? The amount of people can sometimes determine what types of activities are going to be possible for you.
Then look at your budget, what have you got to spend on your event. Event companies are well aware that the person being set the task of arranging the summer team building, may not be the person who is setting the budget. If you have been instructed to go and get some ideas you certainly don't want to waste your time. Ask a projected budget to work towards. If this does not get an answer, as it sometimes doesn't, ask a direct question such as 'should I be looking at 100 pounds or 150 pounds per person', this should get you some feedback and allow you to research realistic possibilities for you.
Summer team building can mean different things to different people, some may imagine an event in the summer to be cocktails and a BBQ at a nice venue and others may imagine it to be a fun activity such as a school sports day. Whatever it means to you, make sure that you communicate this to the team building company, give them an idea with the type of event you are looking for and then there's every likelihood they can propose this and a whole host of different options for you to consider.
One crucial factor which is always a sticky wicket when organising summer team building and that is of dates. In the summer people tend to have the awful habit of booking a summer holiday and so you could end up with a very low attendance. Pick your date early, pick it carefully and make sure that everyone in your team knows that they will be able to take part in a fantastic event, this way you will maximise attendance.
So when you are originally tasked with investigating your summer team building, it can seem quite daunting but if you consider all of the elements that we have discussed and you pick up the phone and talk with an experienced events company, you should find that it's really quite a breeze!
Both Matt Mcginty & Shaun Parker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Matt Mcginty has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness. Matt McGinty writes for . Matt Mcginty's top article generates over 720 views. to your Favourites.
Shaun Parker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Online Marketing, Auto Insurance and Wedding Bells. Shaun Parker is an expert on , Corporate Events and Corporate Entertainment. take his advice to make the most of your Team Building Even. Shaun Parker's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.