Team Building Event that is Successful

The latest success mantra of any team is working towards common goal in a united manner. The team building event can make or break a business. So now you can work towards making a better team through holding various events like conference events or planning a day out for the staff. 

When organizing such events dates are important, especially when there is a need to secure venues and check the availability of key personnel or speakers for conference events. Typically, it is recommended a lead time of about 2 to 3 months to plan for a small to medium-sized team building event, catering for less than 80 participants. If the event is large-scale, the lead time may escalate to 6 months, or even a year before.

When conducting team building outside working hours, some organizations may wish to consider dates of school holidays or school exams, especially for organizations, which place emphasis on a balanced work and family life. To encourage maximum attendance from participants, organizations may wish to leave the school examination and vacation periods untouched, for their staff to spend that extra time with their spouse and children.

Duration of the team building session should also be taken into account - is it going to be a half-day or full-day event? If there are specific issues to be tackled or other forms of planning or training involved, it may be good to consider a 2-day or even 3-day program.

Having information about the profile of the participants is usually sufficient. However, whenever possible, unearth the type of activities the participants are inclined towards - are they indoor-games type of people or the outdoor adventure type or do you have a good mix of both? 

One can derive such preferences by having a poll or survey with the participants if you have an intimate group size, or by gathering the views of a sample group if your group size is overwhelming. The rule of thumb is to have a good mix of indoor and outdoor activity especially if your group size is big, unless you are deliberately exposing the participants to a particular type of setting, or you know their specific preferences.

The budget would have a significant influence on the venue, food and beverage, as well as duration and type of team building activity. Next, you have to decide if the team building event is to be handled in-house or to be outsourced to an external vendor. Of course, if the budget permits, there are many advantages in outsourcing the team building portion.

To run a corporate team building event, you would need manpower and chances are, if your colleagues are running the event with you, they cannot participate. External vendors would likely be more experienced in conducting the activities and less likely to make mistakes. The vendor would also provide all the logistics involved, leaving your team and yourself free to participate with all your other colleagues. Keeping these points in mind will help you make a successful team.