When Trisha Pollock, vice president, corporate events at Loan Depot, plans a teambuilding activity for a meeting, she leaves the “T word” off the agenda. “I don’t label it as team building, because that can have the connotation that it’s optional,” Pollock says. “I just call it ‘afternoon activity’ or something, and people don’t find out what they’re doing until they get there.”
The word “teambuilding” can evoke a range of emotions, from dread to excitement—not just for attendees, but also for the planners tasked with booking the activity. “There’s a lot of teambuilding that makes people roll their eyes, because they think it’ll be touchy-feely or make people talk about their feelings,” says Lisa Jennings, chief experience officer at Wildly Different, a teambuilding company that plans treasure hunts, game shows and other activities.
It is one of life’s mysteries how asking a group of co-workers to team up for two hours of, say, building sandcastles will magically forge them into a cohesive unit. But there’s a reason the teambuilding industry has endured for so long, and planners should embrace the chance to break up the monotony of a meeting with a fun activity.
“People often come up to me and say, ‘I didn’t want to be here, but this is fantastic,’” says Roy Charette, director of facilitation and training at Best Corporate Events & Teambuilding. “You want people to let go of any assumptions they may have had and say, ‘These folks really know how to drive the bus, so I can enjoy the ride.’”
Do Your Homework
The first step for a planner is to drill into what kinds of activities the group is likely to enjoy, what they’ve done in the past, as well as any business themes they want to reinforce. “Know your client,” Jennings says. “Are they a group that likes to sit around a table in air conditioning, or do they want to go out and be more active? Don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
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Planners (and their clients) sometimes make the mistake of booking a company based on their own biases, says James Bennett, team experience guru at FireFly Team Events. “They may say, ‘I want to do a lip sync contest!’ when actually another activity would be much better for that group.”
When vetting vendors, planners should get referrals from past clients, and make sure the company is clear on details like duration, theme and budget. Space is a key consideration, and any outdoor activities need to have a backup plan. “You want to have a great sound system and clear sight lines, and an environment that’s conducive to the activity you pick,” Charette says.
Make it Mandatory
When it comes time to choose an activity, the sky’s the limit. Many groups choose to do CSR-type activities—like having teams build wheelchairs or prosthetic hands that are then donated to charity—but others focus more on fun.
Consider the Great Guac Off, a group trivia and guacamole-making competition. “You can incorporate any kind of core value you want into the game,” says Kevin Hurley, host operations lead at Teambuilding.com. “The goal is to make it fun and have a good time, but also secretly include your core values or whatever theme you’re trying to reinforce.”
It may be tempting to put teambuilding at the end as a “high note,” but experts say it’s often better to kick off a meeting with team building to break the ice. It’s also smart to make the activity mandatory, not optional. “When it’s mandatory, you’re giving people permission to have fun,” Jennings says. “I’ve seen meeting planners spend a lot of money on a teambuilding, and then half the group doesn’t show up because they’re ‘too cool for school.’”
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Planners should also encourage their clients to find ways to keep the purpose of the teambuilding alive after the event is over. For example, Pollock once hired FireFly Events for an activity where groups created graffiti-art focused on a corporate theme. “Those pieces of art still hang in offices around the country as a reminder,” she recalls. “That was a really unique way to keep the theme alive.”
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Chuck Kapelke has 15 years of experience as a communications professional. A perpetually fascinated observer of human behavior, he holds a BA in anthropology from Harvard College.
This article appears in the November/December 2024 issue. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
