What with rampant layoffs, corporate mergers and a dark cloud of gloom and doom hovering over many a workplace, it’s little wonder if those left on the office team are in sore need of a morale boost. While sometimes viewed as a frill, team building is taking on a new sense of urgency in these troubled times.
At the same time, budget-strapped companies need to ensure that every investment yields a full measure of return. Doing so means taking a hard look at what needs to be accomplished and working with the team-building facilitators to find the right solution.
“In the past you could have a beach Olympics or a barbecue and call it team building, but now people are really looking at the investment of time and money,” says Todd Demorest, lead facilitator for Odyssey Teams, a team-building company based in Chico, Calif. “People definitely are shopping around for value and they really want some bang for their buck.”
Setting Goals
To provide the right experience, Demorest says there are important questions to consider up front in order to determine what goals the program needs to accomplish.
“We ask clients about the current mood of the audience,” he says. “What’s going on their world right now? How often do they get to see each other? Do they see each other just electronically?”
Janet Rudolph, creative director of San Francisco-based TeamBuilding Unlimited, also notes that clients are asking for more direction.
“People really want to justify the program more—with tightening budgets, clients sometimes have trouble convincing the powers that be how important it is,” she says. “I’m seeing more demands for events with a strong team-building element, rather than just entertainment and fun. Of course, our goal is to have fun while doing team building.”
She adds that the strongest request from corporate clients these days is to build morale among participants.
“A lot of companies have merged or reorganized,” she says. “In these cases, there’s a real need to bring people together and build morale and trust. You can do things that are competitive, but in a non-threatening way.”
Scott Flynn, director of sales-West, for Team Bonding, a company with office locations that include San Francisco and Phoenix, also sees the trend.
“So many companies have downsized because of the economy, that their configurations are different,” he says. “Departments have combined, offices have closed. There are different people in the departments; it’s a different matrix. Team building gets these people to meet each other, to learn each other’s strength. It’s more important than ever.”
Along with building morale, facilitators also say team building serves an important purpose in getting people unplugged from an increasingly technological environment.
“We’re all way too connected to our computers—it’s getting to be epidemic,” Flynn says. “The idea of team building is to get people away from their computers and let them meet people who may just work on another floor, but that they never see. Some people are not even leaving their offices these days. It’s amazing to get them together.”
According to Rudolph, it’s not only corporations who are turning to team building to cope with challenges.
“We’re now seeing a lot of nonprofits doing team building—with their boards and with their staff,” she says. “People who are involved in fund-raising really need motivation these days. And the cost of team building is more affordable now for these groups because corporate business is down.”
With the need to save on costs, Rudolph says many companies are choosing to hold meetings and team-building events closer to home. While some clients choose to do the activities at their workplace, she advises them to take the event to a unique venue outside the office.
“It’s also really good if they can do it during the actual work week, not after-hours,” she says. “It makes it more of a special event.”
New Approach
With team building serving a more serious purpose these days, many companies are not satisfied with traditional programs and want a fresh approach.
“Ropes courses are not so big anymore,” says Rebecca Tilley, co-owner of Adventure Associates in El Cerrito, Calif. “More and more people want to do team building with their work groups—and they want something that all people can do, regardless of age or athletic ability. We’re doing more things that are low impact and very interactive, rather than just physically challenging.”
In recent years, programs with a green and/or social responsibility focus have grown in popularity. According to Tilley, such programs are in even higher demand this year because of perception issues over corporate spending.
“Some organizations are having a hard time spending money on themselves, and they feel better if they are spending it on the community,” she says.
Flynn believes that the down economy and the emergence of younger people in the workplace has also intensified demand for socially responsible programs.
“Economic conditions have created more people in need, and the Y Generation is very conscious of it,” he says. “They really feel the purpose of giving back, which I think is higher than it’s been in 100 years. And green concerns have never been so important.”
He also believes that team-building programs in general are essential for motivating younger employees.
“The Y Generation is different from the generations before them, and loyalty and commitment are on the decline,” he says. “Y’s respond to perks and to fun events. Their mantra is life first, work second. If their company lets them have fun once a month, but another doesn’t, they will go with the company that lets them have fun.”