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"We don't work together as a team!" complained Janet, a group manager for a large insurance company, to Larry, her human resources consultant. "Everyone just seems to do their own thing, they don't share information, don't try to help each other, and just don't seem to care about anyone else's problems. What we need is a team building offsite!" Janet and Larry decided to put together a two-day offsite for the team at a resort about two hours away from work. Janet wanted immediate focus on the problem so Larry worked double-time to put together the event to be held later in the month. Larry put together an agenda full of trust-building exercises, ice-breakers, and brainstorming sessions on how the team could work better together.
During day one of the offsite only half of Janet's team was there. The other half were on an important project that needed to get done by the end of the week. The half that were there did the activities politely but thought they were too touchy-feely. They knew it was because Janet was trying to force team building. The brainstorming sessions showed promise but no one even took notes. In the end, the team saw the offsite as a failure.
This may sound like a huge exaggeration to some, but to others it reminds them of an offsite they planned themselves or attended. Offsites are very successful in providing the means for helping the team to focus on business problem solving, fine-tuning strategies and coming up with totally new approaches for doing things. An important side result of offsites is that the real team-building that happens while trying to solve different business problems. When an offsite is done well, it will help to create better teams that work better together, thus accomplishing more when addressing business issues. When an offsite is done poorly, the team members will view it as a waste of time which reflects poorly on your leadership abilities.
What is the best way to host successful offsites that build rapport and facilitate team building? Here are a few basic suggestions:
Have a clear purpose for the offsite - Define some clear business reason for having the offsite. Consider things such as developing strategic goals for the upcoming fiscal year, account planning for strategic customers, or generating solution alternatives for a key business problem. If you make the goal of the offsite "Team Building" then your team is likely to look at the offsite as a waste of time that will have no real business benefit. Do your team building under the guise of solving a problem or defining the future.
Provide plenty of time for networking - Give ample time during the day and evening for the team to have snacks, enjoy beverages, and just talk about whatever strikes them. Team building starts with building relationships, and building relationships starts with getting to know each other. Allow for networking time to be free and unscripted and let the team enjoy some casual conversation with each other.
A critical mistake to avoid is hosting the offsite while deadlines are coming due and everyone's burning the midnight oil to meet them. If you make this mistake, team members will be distracted by checking email, or making and taking important phone calls. Instead, schedule this important event during a lull in the business rush. In the business world, there may never be a best time to organize offsite activities, but try to avoid the worst time, when organizational members are already working frantically.
Some of the best offsites I've held were overnight events. It gave it a more fun-filled atmosphere because the team ate dinner together, had some drinks... it made the whole thing feel so much more relaxed. Further, we'd always stay up late brainstorming new , out-of-the-box strategies and working through major business problems. These sessions would prove to be invaluable because the team members put their heads together to address problems and opportunities. Everyone really worked together as a team and, more importantly, the team members built real relationships with each by getting to know each other better. They got to know how the others think and act, which laid the foundation for building a strong team.
Following a business meeting where an idea was born, it is crucial to develop a plan of action. If you are going to complete a project elsewhere it is imperative that you have a well thought-out plan of action. Without a plan, you will just have a list of ideas or thoughts and no way to complete the project. You need to do this as soon as possible after the original meeting and keep your team members informed of your process. Otherwise, the team will lose faith in the project and feel that their time could have been put to better use.
Daiv Russell is a marketing and management consultant with Envision Consulting in Tampa, Florida. Find more Team Building Ideas, techniques, and exercises or learn more about finding the root cause of your organization's teamwork issues.
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