Team Building Worth the Money or a Waste of Time?
Team Building Worth the Money or a Waste of Time?
Setting the laughs aside though, it does raise a more serious question about the investments made in teambuilding initiatives and the legitimacy of the outcomes. Let's start by asking, why we keep repeating an exercise that involves employees that those same employees hate? And to top it off, why do we subject them to it if there are doubts about its efficacy in the first place?
When I've made this argument in the past, and been met with typical corporate mentality, I hear, "They (meaning the employees) should appreciate it because we are spending a lot of money on them to do this." But if one side thinks it's good and the other doesn't, then it doesn't matter whom it's for or why. It's worthless, not to mention far too parental an attitude to apply to adults in a professional work environment.
So again I would ask, why would we allocate time and money to something that is supposed to help employees feel better when in fact it can often make them feel worse? Certainly, the goal of building teams isn't to alienate anyone. That would defeat the whole purpose. Granted, it is never the intent to deliberately introduce teambuilding exercises that are divisive, but the assumption that teambuilding is a good idea without giving thought to how certain things will affect certain people, actually isn't that good of an idea at all.
So here are some quick tips to make sure you get positive results from teambuilding activities...
DO:
1. Pick the right venue so it makes sense for the people and the business.
2. Expect it to build culture and generate positive energy for the company.
3. Use it as an opportunity for employees to meet those whom they don't already know.
4. Know what you want to accomplish from a business perspective beforehand.
5. Be sensitive to how people feel.
6. Use activities that have different roles in order to make space for everyone.
7. Send out agendas beforehand and encourage employees to come forward and express concerns.
DON'T:
1. Over analyze your objectives or try to make things too serious.
2. Try to make teambuilding into something it's not by expecting unrealistic outcomes.
3. Throw teambuilding into the mix to solve inter-relational problems or conflict at work.
4. Expect it to teach people how to work better together in the real world, in real time.
5. Force anyone to do something he/she doesn't want to do.
6. Make people feel self-conscious or guilty about opting out.
7. Don't ignore feedback about the events.
In other words, don't expect a game of paint ball or a cooking class to solve relationship problems back at work. But if done right, do expect teambuilding to be fun for employees and in turn generate positive feelings about the company for which they work.
Team Building Worth the Money or a Waste of Time - To learn more about this author, visit Donna Flagg's Website.
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One of my all time favorite commercials is on youtube from American Airlines. I haven't seen it air for a while but it makes fun of the teambuilding industry - an industry of which I am a proud participant. What makes it so funny is its resemblance to what actually does happen often times at teambuilding off-sites. If you watch the spot (which you can do online here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olPmEddZjHY) and then think about it for a second, it's hard to believe that companies really do put their employees through programs such as these shown in the ad thinking that they will help people work better as a team. Meanwhile, what it tends to do instead is leave employees feeling foolish, and worse, like their employers just don't "get it."
Setting the laughs aside though, it does raise a more serious question about the investments made in teambuilding initiatives and the legitimacy of the outcomes. Let's start by asking, why we keep repeating an exercise that involves employees that those same employees hate? And to top it off, why do we subject them to it if there are doubts about its efficacy in the first place?
When I've made this argument in the past, and been met with typical corporate mentality, I hear, "They (meaning the employees) should appreciate it because we are spending a lot of money on them to do this." But if one side thinks it's good and the other doesn't, then it doesn't matter whom it's for or why. It's worthless, not to mention far too parental an attitude to apply to adults in a professional work environment.
So again I would ask, why would we allocate time and money to something that is supposed to help employees feel better when in fact it can often make them feel worse? Certainly, the goal of building teams isn't to alienate anyone. That would defeat the whole purpose. Granted, it is never the intent to deliberately introduce teambuilding exercises that are divisive, but the assumption that teambuilding is a good idea without giving thought to how certain things will affect certain people, actually isn't that good of an idea at all.
So here are some quick tips to make sure you get positive results from teambuilding activities...
DO:
1. Pick the right venue so it makes sense for the people and the business.
2. Expect it to build culture and generate positive energy for the company.
3. Use it as an opportunity for employees to meet those whom they don't already know.
4. Know what you want to accomplish from a business perspective beforehand.
5. Be sensitive to how people feel.
6. Use activities that have different roles in order to make space for everyone.
7. Send out agendas beforehand and encourage employees to come forward and express concerns.
DON'T:
1. Over analyze your objectives or try to make things too serious.
2. Try to make teambuilding into something it's not by expecting unrealistic outcomes.
3. Throw teambuilding into the mix to solve inter-relational problems or conflict at work.
4. Expect it to teach people how to work better together in the real world, in real time.
5. Force anyone to do something he/she doesn't want to do.
6. Make people feel self-conscious or guilty about opting out.
7. Don't ignore feedback about the events.
In other words, don't expect a game of paint ball or a cooking class to solve relationship problems back at work. But if done right, do expect teambuilding to be fun for employees and in turn generate positive feelings about the company for which they work.
Team Building Worth the Money or a Waste of Time - To learn more about this author, visit Donna Flagg's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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