And yet, to the minds of many, they are exactly this. Advocates of teambuilding say that companies often overlook the importance of staff morale and team bonding, and now it is high time to give this area more consideration.
To test whether teambuilding activities can really lead to happier, more productive staff, we got two of the Printiverse’s finest to put them to the test…
Company Inc Direct
Activity Rollercoaster
Average cost Approx £40 per person
If there’s one word you probably don’t want to hear on your way to a teambuilding activity, it’s ‘rollercoaster’.
Teambuilding has, after all, got a fairly bad rap over the years for being bizarrely terrifying, the theory apparently being that there’s nothing quite like sobbing into a colleague’s arms at 70 ft, or being berated by an angry faux-military corporal, to force interaction.
Fortunately for the team at Enfield-based cross-media house Inc Direct, this kind of teambuilding apparently fell out of favour some time ago. At least it did for Abingdon-based teambuilding events specialist Kaleidoscope Events.
“We don’t go in much for that 80s style of forcing people through assault courses,” says operations manager Ali Latimer, before the Inc team arrive at Huntingdon Racecourse, Cambridgeshire for their morning’s ‘rollercoaster’ activity. “Military training activities can be a really good way of getting people working as a group, but most don’t enjoy them, and if you don’t enjoy something, you’re not going to get the message out of it.”
So a key focus for all Kaleidoscope activities is simply having fun, as well as working together to complete a project. But though the other image conjured by teambuilding might be falling backwards into colleagues’ arms while shouting your darkest secrets, the Kaleidoscope way doesn’t involve this touchy-feely approach.
What the Inc Direct team find when they arrive, perhaps a tad apprehensively, for the day isn’t a daunting ordeal – or that ‘rollercoaster’ is actually a metaphor for the emotional turmoil experienced each day at work and that the morning will involve helping staff work through this, holding hands. Instead the team is greeted by three small piles of 70 wooden tubes and 125 cable ties, three balloons and three basketballs.
“This will be a gravity-fed rollercoaster, with the basketballs as the carriages,” explains Latimer, separating the 10 Inc team members present into three groups to work on different sections.
“These rods will be your construction materials,” he says, somewhat seriously for someone gesturing to sticks and kids’ party paraphernalia. “I’ve made these diagrams painstakingly on Word but you might not need as many rods in some areas and more in others. It isn’t crucial that it’s exactly as large as the diagram says. What’s crucial is that the carriage seamlessly flows to the next section of the rollercoaster.”
The aim, the team discover, is for the ball to flow down the rollercoaster fast enough to push three balloons out of a final tunnel section. Teamwork will be essential to ensure the gradient of the initial slope is sufficient and that the pieces match up.
“You’ll notice I never once said ‘teams’ when briefing the group. I told them I was separating them into different ‘groups’,” Latimer whispers to me conspiratorially, furthering my impression – with his smart Kaleidoscope shirt – of him as some sort of special guardian of the fun.
“This is specifically designed to get people talking. I’ve told them this, but they’re still focused on their particular job. That’s absolutely useless on its own. It only works when they link up – same as in a business. So this is a one-team activity designed to show this.”
Not that focusing on their particular jobs is going badly. Pretty soon something vaguely resembling a tunnel is starting to emerge for group three, a small slope for group two and a steeper slope for group one.
Even more promisingly, data processor Terry Watson has found a new strength, nay, calling in life, in the form of scrupulously accurate measuring. “Yep, think that’s ready,” he says, measuring his small slope section for the umpteenth time, and turning his attention to helping team three.
But though the groups are starting to work together (Latimer surveys the scene proudly as his socialist, one-team vision begins to take shape), there’s still a slight problem. The three sections of the rollercoaster are all a foot apart. There’s an outside chance this rollercoaster would fail pre-opening safety tests.
“Well we’re not coming to you,” says HR manager Shanaz Syeda, anxiously eyeing the cross-member supports she’s become more than a little obsessed with over the past hour. (“We should call this the Shanaz Bypass,” quips group account director Simon Harding.)
HS2-style negotiations ensue. The tunnel section is strengthened with “triangulated outside supports” –Brunel, eat your heart out – and teams two and three begrudgingly inch their masterpieces to section one. And so comes the moment of truth. The basketball is launched, sails beautifully down the two slopes to the tunnel… and only one balloon is released.
But the team isn’t discouraged. They launch into deliberations, with Watson straight back in with the tape measure and Syeda adamant that more cross-members are the thing. The solution arrived at is in fact more horizontal supports to keep the balloons at the right height before release.
Success. And not only in terms of the – albeit slightly rickety – masterwork all have become delightfully absorbed with. When I chat to the team afterwards, they say the task was helpful mainly for reminding the Inc team of the importance of communication in problem-solving.
“It’s just discussing ideas and choosing the best option; that’s very applicable to our work environment. The main thing is remembering there’s more than one way of approaching an idea; you need to ask everyone’s opinion,” says Harding.
And, as the team leave, still joking about Watson’s tape measure obsession and Syeda’s plans to include cross-member references in company newsletters, it’s clear the event has also been great for bonding.
The Inc team may not have been shouted or G-forced into unified submission, or indulged in any group hugs. But they have learnt a lot about each other. Not least that – despite coming from different schools of engineering thought – they all get on really rather well.
The verdicts
Shanaz Syeda HR manager
“If we work in different departments we might not know what skills we all have. But we might now go to someone like Terry as a good problem-solver, for example. We have quite a few new people, so it’s given us a good opportunity to spend some time together.”
Terry Watson Data processor
“Everyone’s usually so focused on their own work and deadlines, you don’t have much time to socialise. The experience has reminded me how approachable everyone is. It’s given me a great chance to talk to people I wouldn’t normally get a chance to speak to.”
Alex Flory Production operative
“In some ways the activity felt quite similar to what we do each day. If a machine breaks down or print goes wrong you have to start problem-solving and breaking down where it’s gone wrong. There are some people I don’t get to talk to that much work-wise but it’s still nice to socialise with them – that motivates you.”
Company Precision Printing
Activity Challenge 100
Average cost Approx £40 per person
“The thing is to let yourself go and break down those walls you put up in work,” says Kaleidoscope operations manager Ali Latimer as he briefs Barking-based Precision Printing on their Challenge 100 task.
The team is fairly subdued. The 14-strong group have arrived for the afternoon, like any workers who have been studiously focused all morning, still in work mode. Not having tried anything like this before, the team look a tad apprehensive.
Cut to ten minutes later. Commercial assistant Zoe Fryer is wrapping client services assistant Ellie Warner in loo roll. Account manager Jonathon Burbidge is having his face painted as a tiger. And account manager Dean Smith is passionately instructing on the finer points of the do-si-do.
The Challenge 100 brief is to win fake money by carrying out as many of a list of 100 tasks as possible. Though the three teams are in competition, each has to co-operate to work out what tasks they’ll excel at and how to best delegate them. It quickly becomes apparent that the main aim, even more so than the morning’s ‘rollercoaster’ activity, is fun.
“The value put on morale is often much lower than it should be. The morale of your staff is one of the most important things,” says Latimer, as the teams race to the props table to embark on serious balloon, fancy dress and felt tip pen-based negotiations.
Not that everyone’s convinced by the sillier of the tasks. “I don’t care if it’s worth a grand, I’m not doing a dance!” says production director Andy Skarpellis, turning, business-like, to construct a Lego dinosaur.
His team’s strategy, it arises, is one of “using their initiative”. Or, in other words, shameless cheating.
“If you put as much energy into doing it properly as you do trying to cheat, you’d be amazing,” says Latimer, as Skarpellis’ team try to convince him that a picture of them with receptionist Margaret Payne reluctantly adopting a ‘Paula Radcliffe pose’ counts as ‘a picture of the team with an Olympian’.
Not that others are above shortcuts and underhand tactics. “My knowledge of the Norwegian and Scandinavian flag is just inexplicably good,” maintains an allegedly iPhone-less commercial director Paul Mason. Despite being the model of businesslike calm on arrival, Mason is now multitasking flag drawing with overseeing the creation of balloon animals, while trying to trick Skarpellis into giving him the keys to the team minibus – all in the style of an Apprentice candidate. At the Olympics. Going for gold.
Meanwhile, Dean Smith’s line-dancing troupe are sticking to their strategy of working as one to complete higher-value tasks. Or rather: finding excuses to move from line-dancing to Morris dancing – which print finisher Peter Macfarland is suspiciously good at.
“They always do a kiss in the middle,” says Smith, clad in a pink flowery bonnet and skipping hopefully towards credit controller Paula Hill. He narrowly misses receptionist Payne who is – somewhat ironically considering her earlier impersonation – now clad head to toe in toilet roll, bleating plaintively: “Can I come out now?”.
But not all tasks are designed solely to get the team (maybe too) comfortable with each other. Or to bring out everyone’s competitive sides.
“The thing is, Morris dancing is worth £600, so I’m kind of tempted now,” says Skarpellis, eyeing Latimer’s stash of precious fake cash.
The teams, like the morning’s group, are also uncovering logic, coordination and numerical skills they never knew each other had – particularly as Latimer gives the three-minute warning and they all fall silently to some last-minute brainteasers. (Mason breaks into a slight sweat.)
Then time is up. The teams can construct no more newspaper giraffes, spin no more plates, steal no more items from opposing teams…
“I haven’t laughed for two hours straight for a long time,” beams Skarpellis, fresh from his victory over a now-nonchalant (“we actually took the decision from the start that it wasn’t the winning that counted”) Mason.
The others agree. “I do think events like this are good to make people feel part of one team instead of maybe two separate office and factory teams,” says account manager Tom Miles.
Precision departs for its evening’s team curry in high spirits, comparing notes on “Margaret in bandages”, “Margaret as Paula Radcliffe” and “Margaret hanging from the top of the minibus”.
So the lesson to business bosses sceptical about teambuilding events? Never underestimate the power of face paints, loo roll and the do-si-do.
For more information about sessions with Kaleidoscope Events, visit kaleidoscope-events.co.uk.
The verdicts
Andy Skarpellis Production director
“It’s really opened our eyes up to the value of teambuilding. I think most businesses are so focused on what they’re doing, they lose focus on what people go to work for. We’re going to roll this out regularly; the value to the business is so great, the money will be found.”
Tom Miles Account manager
“I think if this was done regularly it could have long-term benefits and help people work together better. But if it’s just an event once a year, say, then you would get short-term benefits but then people would just go back into their usual routines and social circles.
Paula Hill Credit controller
“If everyone enjoys work because they are able to smile at whoever walks past or enjoy a short conversation about something non work-related, productivity
will improve. As for the expense, it wouldn’t have to be an extravagant day. The same could be achieved with a couple of games of bowling, as you’d still be working as a team and interacting.”
OTHER TEAMBUILDING EVENTS
On a budget
Not got the budget for a day out? Try one of these ideas:
Survival Scenario Tell your group their airplane has just crashed in the ocean. There’s a desert island nearby, and there’s room on the lifeboat for every person plus 12 items they’ll need to survive on the island. Instruct the team to choose which items they want to take. The exercise is good for getting your group to communicate and debate.
Minefield Set up a ‘minefield’ using chairs, balls, cones and boxes. Pair people with those they wouldn’t normally work with. Blindfold one and ask the other to give verbal directions, without the blindfolded person talking. This activity should build good communication skills.
Volunteer for a charity as a team Working in a homeless shelter or on another community project together will no doubt generate a real buzz. And you’ll be doing two good things at once.
With a budget
Chilli Sauce’s The Apprentice activity sees teams tested on their team work, leadership and communication skills - a great one for those in sales-related roles. The company also offers a wide array of other activities including murder mystery events, dance workshops, chocolate-making, dragon boat racing and a Dragons’ Den-esque challenge: www.chillisauce.co.uk.
BlueHat Group’s Guinness World Records Team Challenge will certainly provide a memorable bonding experience whether the teams are successful in recordbreaking or not. Other BlueHat Group events include becoming a string orchestra together in just one hour and a Da Vinci Code challenge: www.bluehatgroup.co.uk.
With its zip wires and swings, Go Ape is a good shout for adventurous outdoor pursuits. There are 29 UK centres and the company also hosts African Jungle Drumming corporate workshops: www.goape.co.uk.
With the summer finally coming, an outdoor activity such as Team Challenge Company’s S1 Soapbox Derby or City Treasure Hunt may be just the thing. The company also offers indoor activities: www.teamchallenge-company.co.uk
