Donna Flagg

Teambuilding: Is It Worth It?
December 15, 2007

I had to laugh the other day.  It was because of an American Airline’s commercial that took a shot at the teambuilding industry – an industry of which I am part.  I have to say, it was hysterical.  What makes it so funny is how close it comes to being real, which further makes it hard to believe that companies actually put their employees through programs such as those shown in the ad, thinking that it’s going to help people “get along.”  What it tends to do instead is leave employees feeling like their employers just don’t “get it.”

Setting the chuckles aside though, it does raise a more serious question about the investments made in teambuilding initiatives and the effectiveness of the outcomes.  I think the best place to start is to ask why employees hate them so much, and then perhaps more importantly, why we keep doing them the same way if we know they're not working.

It’s interesting, when I’ve made this argument in the past, and am met with the corporate mentality of teambuilding 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's worthless.  Plus, it’s too parental an attitude to apply to adults in a professional environment.  It’s reminiscent of the approach that parents take with kids when it comes to eating vegetables - “just do it, it’s good for you.”  However, in this case it's not.

But there is an inherent discrepancy in allocating money to something that is supposed to help employees feel better when in fact it often makes some of them feel worse.  Certainly, the goal of building teams shouldn’t alienate any portion of the team.  It defeats the whole purpose.  Granted, it is never the intent to 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 after all.

Some valuable rules of thumb 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.

5.                    Be sensitive to how people feel.

6.                    Use activities that have different roles in order to motivate maximum participation. 

7.                    Send out agendas beforehand and encourage employees to come forward and express concerns.

DON’T:

1.                    Over analyze it or try to make it too serious.

2.                    Try to make it into something it’s not by imposing an expected outcome.

3.                    Throw teambuilding into the mix if you have 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.

In other words, don’t expect a game of paint ball or a cooking class to solve relationship problems back at the ranch. But if done right, do expect people to have a good time and feel good about the company for which they work.

Posted by Donna Flagg on December 15, 2007 | Comments (0)