Hi Readers,
Our experience is team off sites give us ample experience to understand what NOT TO DO in a team offsite. My article in the same topic recently got published in Human Resources - Human Resource Management - HRM - Information Source. What NOT TO DO in a Team Offsite. Sharing the same here for my CiteHR readers.
“Teambuilding” is a much maligned word.
If you care to dig deeper, the reasons are quite apparent. “Once bitten is twice shy”, goes a popular saying. Rather than being a positively reinforcing experience – many people have unfortunately been left “scarred” by the experience! So much so, that they would prefer lazing about in a resort or playing cricket – rather than engaging in any “Teambuilding” workshop. So, from our experience, here are a few things that Teambuilding providers need to keep in mind:
1) Be Clear on the Objective:
For teambuilding providers and for the participants, the “Why” needs to be answered before the “How” is attempted. Why is the customer engaging a team building provider? Are there specific issues to be addressed? If you are able to answer this first question, every activity you then design into the workshop has a “purpose”. Without this, participants may have a great time doing an activity, but they would still be left with the question, “Why did we do this? How does this help make us a better team?” Without this “purpose”, team building providers run the risk of being seen as “Game masters”.
A good practice always is to meet up with the leader of the team, well before the session to clearly understand his expectations and stitch them into the activity debriefs.
2) Safety for participants is a NON-NEGOTIABLE:
We have unfortunately come across quite a few stories of teams who went for a team building workshop, returning with bruises & sometimes even a fracture! As a Facilitator for such programs, you need to remember that ensuring physical safety is your responsibility. It is ok to be perceived as paranoid about safety, rather than callous. Further, it may be true that participants caught up in the excitement of an activity may indulge in unsafe behavior. The right thing to do in such a situation is to immediately pause the activity and point out the unsafe behavior in a manner that is compassionate but firm. Remember: the buck stops with you.
Another much neglected aspect about safety is “emotional safety”. People are made to attend “Team building” programs to build positivity within the team. “Emotional Safety”in this context means, to ensure the participants are not exposed to any situation which makes them uncomfortable, exposed or insulted in front of others. How could this happen? This could happen because of any one of the variables – age, gender, physical fitness, and physical challenges or even because of a Facilitator trying to appear, “overly smart”! A good practice here is to know your audience and their demographics very well and choose activities in which you think every person would be completely comfortable.
To read further... What NOT TO DO in a Team Offsite | Magic Of Teams
You can also find a PDF format enclosed for download below.
Do share your views on this topic.
Regards,
Alok
From India, New Delhi
46Our experience is team off sites give us ample experience to understand what NOT TO DO in a team offsite. My article in the same topic recently got published in Human Resources - Human Resource Management - HRM - Information Source. What NOT TO DO in a Team Offsite. Sharing the same here for my CiteHR readers.
“Teambuilding” is a much maligned word.
If you care to dig deeper, the reasons are quite apparent. “Once bitten is twice shy”, goes a popular saying. Rather than being a positively reinforcing experience – many people have unfortunately been left “scarred” by the experience! So much so, that they would prefer lazing about in a resort or playing cricket – rather than engaging in any “Teambuilding” workshop. So, from our experience, here are a few things that Teambuilding providers need to keep in mind:
1) Be Clear on the Objective:
For teambuilding providers and for the participants, the “Why” needs to be answered before the “How” is attempted. Why is the customer engaging a team building provider? Are there specific issues to be addressed? If you are able to answer this first question, every activity you then design into the workshop has a “purpose”. Without this, participants may have a great time doing an activity, but they would still be left with the question, “Why did we do this? How does this help make us a better team?” Without this “purpose”, team building providers run the risk of being seen as “Game masters”.
A good practice always is to meet up with the leader of the team, well before the session to clearly understand his expectations and stitch them into the activity debriefs.
2) Safety for participants is a NON-NEGOTIABLE:
We have unfortunately come across quite a few stories of teams who went for a team building workshop, returning with bruises & sometimes even a fracture! As a Facilitator for such programs, you need to remember that ensuring physical safety is your responsibility. It is ok to be perceived as paranoid about safety, rather than callous. Further, it may be true that participants caught up in the excitement of an activity may indulge in unsafe behavior. The right thing to do in such a situation is to immediately pause the activity and point out the unsafe behavior in a manner that is compassionate but firm. Remember: the buck stops with you.
Another much neglected aspect about safety is “emotional safety”. People are made to attend “Team building” programs to build positivity within the team. “Emotional Safety”in this context means, to ensure the participants are not exposed to any situation which makes them uncomfortable, exposed or insulted in front of others. How could this happen? This could happen because of any one of the variables – age, gender, physical fitness, and physical challenges or even because of a Facilitator trying to appear, “overly smart”! A good practice here is to know your audience and their demographics very well and choose activities in which you think every person would be completely comfortable.
To read further... What NOT TO DO in a Team Offsite | Magic Of Teams
You can also find a PDF format enclosed for download below.
Do share your views on this topic.
Regards,
Alok
From India, New Delhi
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