There was a time when teambuilding events were held for one reason and one reason only: to have fun. This is no longer the case. Today, concurrent with the trend emerging in virtually all of corporate America, teambuilding activities must show a return on investment or ROI. And with many companies reducing staff and expecting them to accomplish more, teamwork and teambuilding have never been more important.
The main premise behind teambuilding activities is that the things that happen on the course usually
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Spherion Corporation teams assembled prosthetic hands, which were donated to children who are land-mine victims from Pasto, Columbia. Teams also decorated the wooden boxes that held the plastic parts and screws.
Photo courtesy of Spherion Corporation |
mirror what is happening back in the office.
When looking for the teambuilding activity that will work best it’s important to honestly assess the group. What is the group’s physical prowess? Average age? Size? Breakdown of men and women? Any physical limitations?
Outdoor teambuilding courses such as ropes courses have been favored for years and have been used by many with much success. Cooking classes and you-build-it activities are extremely popular. These are teambuilding activities held for a specific purpose.
Bike-building programs not only bring a group together but can change the life of an underprivileged child. Increasingly, teambuilding incorporates donating time and manpower to do good and make a difference in a community in need.
Helping Hands For Haiti
Teambuilding strikes the deepest cord in hearts and minds when it’s linked to humanitarian efforts, especially following natural disasters when needs take on a special urgency. For example, helping to rebuild lives through corporate voluntourism programs in New Orleans after Katrina has profoundly touched the lives of countless residents and volunteers alike. Through these efforts, participants not only have served the community but recommitted themselves to their coworkers and their organizations.
Tragically, another, more devastating natural disaster has presented corporate groups with more ways to make a difference. Haiti’s massively destructive earthquake crumbled Haiti’s capital city Port-au-Prince and crippled its population. Although cash donations are a chronic need, hands-on helping transcends any other 
type of giving, truly engaging and moving the spirit.
In the earthquake’s aftermath there were countless injuries that resulted in amputations, creating unimaginable suffering and life-changing disabilities. In response, the Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foundation and Odyssey Teams have partnered to offer a philanthropic teambuilding program “Helping Hands for Haiti,” in which participants will build prosthetic hands that will be donated to the injured. A prosthetic of this type would typically cost $3,000, making it unaffordable for the majority of victims.
“From what we’re hearing, there have been so many injuries in which someone’s hand has been crushed and later needed to be amputated, not to mention the amputations necessary because of infections, that we know there will be a huge need for prosthetic hands in Haiti,” said Lain Hensley, COO and co-founder of Odyssey Teams Inc. and a board member of the Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foundation. “With that in mind, we hope to start production on the LN-4A [designed for adults] hand as soon as possible, and to be able to begin giving them away free of charge to earthquake victims in Haiti and 25 other developing nations in six months time.
“It’s amazing what giving someone a hand, literally giving them a hand, will do,” Hensley continued. “I’ve heard stories of children and adults who have gone into isolation after losing a hand due to a tragedy. And when they receive a new prosthetic, the light goes on. They go from being a shell of a person to being whole again.”
Odyssey Teams (odysseyteams.com) is known for creating the original “Helping Hands” teambuilding program through which more than 1,000 children in developing countries have received the smaller LN-4 prosthetic hand to replace hands lost due to land mines, accidents or birth defects.
Blue chip companies that have participated in the Odyssey Teams Helping Hands programs have included Wells Fargo, Abbott Laboratories and eBay.
Spherion Corporation, a Fort Lauderdale-based recruiting, staffing, and work force solutions provider, has used the services of Odyssey Teams for years.
“I’ve planned hundreds of bike builds but Odyssey’s have exceeded any I’ve ever done,” said Dahlton Bennington, CMP, CMM, director of business meeting services for Spherion.
A Spherion incentive program for 315 winners and special guests was held last March at the Loews Coronado Bay in San Diego, CA. The company wanted to incorporate a teambuilding program that would be philanthropic as well. It contacted Odyssey Teams about its Helping Hands program.
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Three teams from the Minneapolis law firm Krass Monroe competed in an environmentally themed “Amazing Race”-style scavenger hunt dubbed the KM Quest. At the end of the race, participants were offered bonus points for jumping into the lake.
Photos courtesy of Paydirt |
‘Extraordinary And Humbling’
“We were able to build relationships, foster camaraderie and make a significant impact on more than 100 children’s lives,” said Bennington. “It was extraordinary and humbling at the same time.”
Bill John, president of Odyssey Teams, was the facilitator for the Spherion program. Wooden boxes were in front of each subgroup of six. In each were bags of plastic parts and shiny screws. He asked what they could be for. No one guessed a prosthetic hand.
“When they were told that was what they were making the emotions were overwhelming,” explained Bennington. “That these little pieces could significantly impact someone’s life.”
The group got busy assembling the pieces and decorating the wooden boxes. Those who finished first helped the others.
“It brought everyone together with a common purpose. Odyssey orchestrates incredibly moving programs,” said Bennington.
She is also impressed by the way Odyssey takes the time to understand a company’s goals and objectives.
“Helping Hands is extraordinary. Anyone who has the opportunity should definitely jump on board. It will be well worth the financial outlay for what you get in return. It’s not that expensive as it will define your meeting for your attendees and convey your message in a meaningful way.”
The hands the Spherion group constructed were donated to children who are land-mine victims from Pasto, Colombia. There has been fighting in this area — the border between Colombia and Ecuador — for years.
Wagons Galore
The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa in New Mexico — The Tamaya, meaning “a quiet and special place” — is located on 500 acres on the Pueblo of Santa Ana, adjacent to the Sandia Mountains along the Rio Grande River. Along with its unique cultural environment offering a spectacular collection of 
Southwestern and Native American art and tribal dance performances, the Tamaya also offers a variety of teambuilding options. Groups can choose from activities such as chili cook-offs, mystery tours, craft car building, strategy games and more. For one local financial services company, a customized community service project was incorporated into their meeting.
The group of 200 was divided into groups of six, and each was given wagon parts, hammers, screwdrivers and paint. Each group assembled and decorated a wagon. The uniquely decorated wagons were then donated to PB&J Family Services, a child-abuse prevention agency that serves tens of thousands of children and families throughout central New Mexico.
Green Team Quest
Treasure hunts and scavenger hunts are extremely popular. They have even become high tech with the addition of global positioning equipment. Called geocaching, hidden containers called geocaches are found using GPS devices.
Krass Monroe, a Minneapolis-based law firm, took the concept of a treasure hunt one step further. The firm was looking for a unique teambuilding activity that would expand upon its sustainability theme initiated by the firm’s Green Team. They contacted Paydirt, a Minneapolis, MN-based company, which helps organizations build sustainable strategies and programs that improve environmental performance, establish market differentiation and advance key business objectives.
The event objectives were to encourage friendly competition among staff, strengthen team member relationships and integrate an environmental theme in interesting and unexpected ways. To meet those goals, Paydirt designed an “Amazing Race”-style scavenger hunt dubbed “KM Quest” highlighting natural resources and historic landmarks in the Northwoods of McGregor, MN.
“Many of our clients struggle with ways to make environmental stewardship engaging and enjoyable. After helping Krass Monroe form a green team earlier in the year, Paydirt was excited to help the firm plan an event that would bring their employees outside for some good old-fashioned fun and competition. The Quest participants had an opportunity to explore the north woods of Minnesota in an unexpected and often offbeat way. Not only did the attorneys enjoy it, but we had a blast planning it, too,” said Eliza Clark, JD, LEED Accredited Professional and a principal of Paydirt.
Each team was tasked with completing a series of challenges with only a map, camera, vehicle and their team’s skill, dexterity and resourcefulness to support them. Each participant received a McGregor tourism map that contained all of the information required for completing the scavenger hunt. However, the clues were designed to force the teams to be patient and work together.
The three teams (Team Awesome, the Killer Bees, and the Left-Handed Spatulas) set out for their Quest
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Culinary competitions remain a teambuilding staple. Here, HealthSouth employees compete in a Chile Cook-off at The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa in New Mexico.
Photo courtesy of The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa |
on a sunny afternoon in late September. All of the teams started at the same retreat location but were then sent to different second sites. Quest challenge locations included Savanna Portage State Park and the Long Lake Conservation Center, as well as a local “honey wine” tasting winery and ice cream shop.
Teams were also given the option to complete “bonus play” to subtract from their finish time, but were required to verify their completion of bonus tasks by documenting their participation on a digital camera. Once the teams arrived at the final Quest location (a hammock!), the Quest captains verified their performance and documented their final time.
Although the winning team (Team Awesome) was undoubtedly the happiest, all of the participants had a great time. Quest participant Shanna Strowbridge noted, “The Quest that Paydirt put together for our firm was not only a great competition but also valuable for teambuilding. All of the team members had to be involved to help solve the clues and determine the best course to take. Unlike teambuilding exercises we’ve had in the past that were mostly lecturing by ‘experts’ on how to work together or make the most out of people’s different styles and personalities, our eco-challenge allowed for a real case study in how to evaluate the best person for each task and to devise mutual ways to succeed at the challenges.”
“Attorneys are by their nature very competitive, and they went at it eagerly and aggressively,” explained event organizer Deb Amundson, paralegal for Krass Monroe. “Some of the spots they had to go to were 20 to 30 miles away,” said Amundson. “In order to be successful, they had to work together as a team. They had to figure out the best and fastest ways to get to the destinations. At its completion, they had the opportunity to earn extra points for jumping in the lake, and all of them took the plunge.”
Seasonal Teambuilding
Not all teambuilding programs need to be involved or elaborate. Take Rymax Marketing Services, a Pine Brook, NJ-based company with 120 employees. The company sponsors seasonal teambuilding exercises to motivate its departments to work together.
In July, for example, it celebrates Independence Day with a red, white and blue day. Each department works as a team to show its creativity, and patriotic and Rymax spirit. It also throws a company Fourth of 
July picnic with Simon Sez and a watermelon-eating contest.
She pointed out that it can cost roughly 21/2 times an employee’s salary to replace him or her, so by keeping everybody motivated and happy, costs are reduced. By focusing on team camaraderie, Rymax’s turnover rate has been low and employee morale high.
No matter what the teambuilding activity, it must require that the group work together — communicating, trusting, supporting one another, thinking creatively, planning and following through in order to succeed. Successful training activities such as these emphasize team problem solving.
When choosing a teambuilding company or consultant, research its track record, educational background and safety record. Some consultants, for example, possess recreation experience but no business or corporate experience.
Think about it, professional sports teams spend 95 percent of their time practicing skills but only five percent actually performing. In the business world, an executive spends 95 percent of his or her time performing. What better way to practice skills than outside the work environs where business results are not the measure of success?
Executives who have participated in teambuilding programs agree that the end result is a newfound camaraderie that opens new avenues of cooperation and collaboration back at the office. Taking it a step further, when teambuilding helps to bond an employee with his or her company’s mission (read: brand engagement), the return on investment is a sure bet. C&IT