12 Answers to Help You Choose the Ideal Team Building for Your Team

The Ideal Team Building for Your Team

Do you think the perfect team exists? Probably not, but the real question is: how can I help my team try to be everything it can be? There are many types of team building activities, and just as a mechanic has various tools to choose the right one from, we'll try to offer you ours. You probably have several questions you'd like answered — let's try to help.

1.- How would you rate your team building goal on a scale from fun to development?

The term team building can mean different things to non-experts — for some it means fun, for others integration, for others solving adaptation issues, for others improving skills or competencies, etc. You need to gauge your expectations according to some logic.

Level 1-3. Corporate activities, incentives, or team bonding, aimed at fun, relaxation and camaraderie.

Level 4-6. Programmes designed to foster cohesion, a sense of belonging, and improve the work environment.

Level 7-10. Training through group dynamics, to improve skills, competencies, and get participants to commit to improvement.

2.- Are you interested in a process or an event?

Not every team building event is about fun — they can also have a goal ranked between 4 and 10, but generally events are more aimed at fostering cohesion and a good atmosphere. On the other hand, for a process to be effective and for participants to absorb new knowledge or adopt new behaviours, several sessions are needed so the learning truly sinks in.

3.- What needs have you identified to work on with your team?

Before any intervention related to a team building day, it's worth being very clear about the needs to address. You need to consider the behaviours you want to improve, stop, or introduce. Team building programmes or activities will be specifically designed to meet your needs, and to reinforce your strengths.

4.- Are you looking for a catalogue activity or something customised?

As we mentioned in the previous point, if you're looking for a team building programme to improve or solve identified needs, you'll need something fully customised or tailored — whereas if you're looking for a fun corporate activity, you'll find a wide variety in our catalogue.

5.- Are the issues you want to address with your team related to skills or attitudes?

Certain skills are needed for teamwork: social, communication, trust-related, conflict-resolution, etc. Sometimes problems arise from a lack of these skills, but other times, problems come from the team lacking a clear goal, motivation, self-esteem, or confidence. This is essential to determine what kind of team building activity you're looking for.

6.- Do you think every team member has identified the main goal to improve on?

A good leader should be able to read their team's emotional language, and should foster participation and diversity, accepting that each member may have their own perspective, without their view outweighing others'. It's highly recommended to run a survey before the team building activity, where each person can share the needs they believe should be addressed.

7.- Is preparatory work before the team building day recommended?

It depends on whether you're looking for a team building activity focused on fun and relaxation, or whether you need a programme to work in depth on the team's formal issues. In this second case, it's very important for employees to arrive with very clear ideas, which is achieved through a prior survey or another dynamic our facilitators are experts in.

8.- Is it beneficial to talk with the facilitators before the day(s)?

It's essential for the effectiveness of the team building day. The facilitator can uncover very valuable information about the team, and learn about their goals and expectations for the programme. This ensures the training programme is designed to meet the team's needs.

9.- How to get buy-in for running team building.

People support anything that helps the team grow and get better results, especially when they feel like an important part of it, so the best way to get their support is to involve them when planning the training or team building programme.

10.- Where should the team building programme or activity be run?

Obviously, using your own facilities is cheaper than looking for an external venue, but we recommend finding a location that combines comfort and technological needs with outdoor spaces. Participants will feel more relaxed, disconnect from their work role, act more naturally, and stay with the team during breaks, rather than checking their email or what's happening elsewhere. We work with magnificent venues that provide everything needed for the day to succeed.

11.- What budget is needed to run a team building activity?

It depends on the identified needs and the goal of the team building day or programme. Choosing an activity from our catalogue is different from creating a custom activity for you. A half-day team building activity also costs differently from a 12-session programme. What matters most is seeing the budget as an investment, not an expense, since it will have a very positive impact on team performance. A cohesive team performs at infinitely higher levels than one that isn't.

12.- Can team building success be measured?

There are various surveys and tools that let us understand the team's prior state, as well as its subsequent development, in order to accurately assess the success of the team building day or training process.

At Kaizen Coaching and Team Building we help you develop your team to achieve extraordinary results.