methods for organizing a successful Team Building event

Preparing for a team building session but don't know exactly how or where to start? Do not be sad. This “dummy overview” for planning a team building session will definitely give you important areas to consider and make you resemble a specialist.

1. Team Building Goals

"Why are we holding this team building event, and what do we want to achieve?"

To have goals, objectives, it is very important to plan team building sessions. Having goals means you can change or adapt activities to meet your expectations.

Having a clear goal will also help to set the tone for the team building session, as well as develop the assumptions of the participants involved, so that everyone is moving synchronously in the exact same direction.

Having actually conducted team building sessions for various organizations, some of the more common reasons why team building is needed, are as follows:

1. Generate synergy in new groups/groups with new members

2. To develop possibilities for staff from different divisions/features to communicate

3. To pay attention to certain work problems

4. To strengthen their company values

5. As a kind of training

6. Compensating their personnel with days away from the workplace

7. To communicate and enjoy

Each of the reasons mentioned above will lead to focusing on different aspects during a team building session. Invest time to decide on the main focus of the team building session before selecting team building activities.

2. Participant Profile

"That will participate in a team building session?"

An additional important factor in planning an effective team building session is the individual profile. Age makeup, gender mix and various other background details such as educational degrees and job ranges, must be thought about when forming a team building program, to ensure that it is appropriate and relevant.

The physical condition of team building session participants must also be considered.

One other important element to a team building session that is often overlooked by organizers is Food. There may also be participants who don't like certain types of food. The best way to find out about nutritional needs is to contact the individual directly.

3. Time to plan a Team Building

"What is the time frame of the team building session and its duration?"

Days are necessary, especially when there is a need to protect the premises as well as check the availability of vital employees or audio speakers. Typically, we would recommend about 2 to 3 months of preparation to plan a small to medium sized team building event, catering to less than 80 people. If the event is large scale, waiting times may increase up to 6 months, and even a year in advance.

When conducting team building outside of work hours, some organizations may wish to consider institutional holiday dates or institutional tests, especially for organizations, where balancing work and family life is a priority. To encourage optimal participation from participants, organizations may want to leave college evaluations and vacation lengths untouched, to allow their teams to spend that extra time with their spouses and children.

The length of the team building session should also be considered - is it likely to be a half day or full day event? If there is special care to be taken or other types of preparation or training, it may be good to think about a 2 day or perhaps a 3 day program.

4. Participant characteristics.

"What do participants like to do during team building?"

Having information about an individual's profile is usually sufficient. However, whenever possible, find out what types of activities the individual tends to engage in - are they indoor play type or outdoor trip type or do you have a good mix of both?

One can obtain such preferences by conducting surveys or studies with participants if you have a familiar group size, or by collecting views from a sample group if your group size is very large. Alternatively, assessing previous team building sessions and the feedback received can also give a good indication of what was liked (and what not to do again).

The rule of thumb is to have a very good mix of inside and outside activities, especially if your dimensions allow for it, unless you intentionally direct participants to a particular setting, or you recognize their particular preferences.

5. Budget for Team Building 

"What is the indicative budget for team building?"

The budget plan will certainly have quite a big impact on the venue, food and drink, as well as the time and type of team building activities. If you don't have numbers to work with, use previous years' spending plans as a guide. If there is no such information, then plan something less enthusiastic, and adjustments can be made from there.

Next, you have to choose whether the team building part will be managed in-house or outsourced to an external supplier. Naturally, if the budget allows, there are some benefits in outsourcing the team building department.

To begin with, to run a team building event, you will definitely need manpower and chances are, if your colleagues are running the event with you, they won't be able to take part. Exterior suppliers will likely be more skilled at performing the task and also less likely to make mistakes. The supplier will also provide all the necessary logistics, leaving your team and yourself completely free to engage with all your other colleagues.

Team building vendors also bring considerable experience in recognizing what works and what doesn't, so you're not only paying for their services, but also their rich experience.

6. Success Analysis

"How do you determine the success of a team building session?"

How is session success measured? Is it considered a success as long as the participants are enjoying themselves, or if the individual gets along with at least 3 other colleagues much better?

While the effects of team building are usually intangible and the takeaways are somewhat more subtle, dimensions of success can be derived from verbal responses from participants, studies or observational notes. Observation notes comment on habits as well as perspectives presented during the task. Pre- and/or post-event studies track the efficiency of team building sessions based on the same set of questions that organizers want to ask.

7. Location for Team Building 

"Where should we hold team building sessions?"

The location will certainly have an impact on the atmosphere of the team building session. The previous 6 aspects mentioned above will of course be the choice for where team building will be held.

Other issues related to venue factors to consider are availability, functional arrangements as well as design and possibility for humid climates (if you are holding the session outside).

With these 7 methods almost created by energy, we are sure you can plan your team building event efficiently. If you are running a team building event with your committee in it, make sure to prepare a thorough work plan and spending plan, with clear assignments for each task.

Next, remember that among the important active ingredients for building a reliable team are training sessions. You need to do a site visit and also rehearse the day's tasks, as it will definitely help you solve prospective problems, so that improvements can be made on the day of the event as well as contingency plans are now available for action. on any issue.

We wish you a highly effective team building session!