Team Building: What’s it all About?

Team Building: What’s it All About?

I recently had a couple of conversatons with similar themes. I’ve combined them into a couple of scenarios to highlight some points. These were not from Mom and Pop shoppes but large and successful businesses.

Scenario 1:

Caller: I understand that you offer team building and I would like some information.

Me: Fabulous, it would be a pleasure. How can I help you?

Caller:  Well, we would like to do some team building for a group of 60 people.  We want to do it in about 2 weeks.

Me: Okay, can I ask you a couple of questions?

Caller: Sure.

Me:  What are your objectives?

Caller: I am not sure.

Me: I see. Well do you have an idea of whether this is to provide your team with an experience that will focus on some business issues or if it is strictly for recreation.

Caller: I am not sure. I think it’s just for fun.

Me: About how much time have you set aside for team building?

Caller: I am not sure. A couple of hours I think.

Me: Do you have a rough idea of budget?

Caller: We want to spend about $25 per person.

Me: Trying really hard not to let my shock show.

       I see.

I let the caller know that her budget was well below anything that we could offer. I then spent some time helping her brainstorm and pointed her in the direction of some recreational facilities that might be suitable for the team and then suggested that she serve the group pizza.

Scenario 2:

A company contacted me to find out about our polo team building sessions. Hint: Polo is NEVER a low budget offering. They were calling less than 2 weeks before their sessions. I went over their needs and let them know how the session could work and pricing. When I didn’t hear from them after a few days, I called to follow up. They responded that they had decided to have a picnic at Centre Island and play baseball. I nearly fell off my chair. Talk about wanting champagne on a beer budget.

Scenario 3

I’ll call this paying for an expensive dessert before the main course. This scenario has happened a number of times but I will share the most extreme example. A member of a team that was planning a corporate retreat contacted us in a panic. They had used up most of their budget booking the group into a high end conference retreat. Little was left over to hire a facilitator or keynote speaker. They wanted to know if I would be willing to work with the group for a fraction of their budget. The answer was “That will not be possible.”

I suggested other more affordable options for accommodation, nice venues that would fit within their budget and leave enough room for proper faciliator fee. The response was “We really want a treat”. They weren’t even open to the possibility of staying double occupancy to stretch their budget further. I was stunned. I suggested that they find someone who was new to the business and looking to get some experience.

Scenario 4:

This is similar to scenario 3. Again it was a committee of inexperienced employees. They were based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and planning a trip to Penang for a large group of employees and their families. They had requested information about a team building simulation that fit the objectives of the retreat. Eventually they asked if the 2 day simulation could be cut down to half a day so that the group would have more time to go shopping. Again I was stunned.

Off Track: Why?

So, where did these companies go wrong?  Here are a few key areas:

1. Objectives were unclear.
2. There was confusion about the difference between team building and team recreation.
3. The inquiries were left until the last minute with little time allowed for logistics and planning.
4. No one had briefed the person making the inquiries about the purpose of the session and other important details.
5. The budgets were totally unrealistic.
6. The timeframes alloted were too tight.
7. Senior management had relegated decision making to a committee consisting of inexperienced employees
8. a decision was made to make expensive accommodation or shopping the priority instead of focusing on the business objectives of the retreat and allocating the budget accordingly

Getting on the Right Track

The purpose of this blog is to zero in on a couple of these areas and provide some assistance to companies that are thinking of offering team building.  I’ll share some of my experiences, some insights and ideas to help you ensure that your team building sessions are effective and engaging.