Astonishingly Simple Tips to Make Team Building Memorable for the Right Reasons.

Team building teaches your staff to plan, communicate and work together to solve problems. Corporate entertainment is pure fun, usually used as a reward for staff or to close a deal with a big or new client. Is it possible to bring the two concepts together? Of course it is. All you need to do is to look around at the more innovative corporate entertainment companies and you will soon find many opportunities. If you choose corporate events that include elements of competition and a variety of interesting and challenging activities set in a theme, team building happens. Painlessly. Team building by stealth. Make your event memorable for the right reasons. The problem is that you will find a bewildering array of suitable events. You have the traditional outdoors or problem solving with milk crates, tyres and string, through to sailing, off road driving, medieval theme days, spy themed events and treasure hunts to name but a few. So here are a few pointers as to how some of these are appropriate for the 'team building without groans' approach. How about a soap box derby? There is the challenge and problem solving to build a vehicle from a kit. That is the communication and thinking skills aspects taken care of. Then there is the matter of saving sufficient of you your initial 'funding' in order to obtain materials to decorate your machine. Planning is dealt with there. Then it has to be roadworthy and finally the fun can begin with skills and strength challenges. Everyone, not just the winning team, will have used and developed their team skills, it is inclusive. An up and coming style of event is the medieval day. There have long been medieval nights in hotels but those are pure entertainment, not particularly useful as team building. The new breed of medieval themed corporate entertainment however is perfect for team building. Everyone is involved in the tasks and must learn new skills, developing their flexibility and ability to learn unfamiliar skills. In order to succeed, the team will need to select the best people for the job, work together harmoniously and to encourage their peers. Another event which is both team building and corporate entertainment is based on the BBC game that was so popular in the 1970s - It's a Knockout. Off Limits have the original BBC costumes, although there are many other organisations with copy-cat equipment and you can even have Stuart Hall, one of the original presenters, to compere your event if you wish. This is a great company-wide event - see the MD in a budgie suit, soaked through to the skin ... In addition, it contains all the necessary team building elements but in an enjoyable atmosphere. Now, consider the adventure game and thriller style of event. Corporate entertainment such as the Enigma project provides ideal team building activities as well. This hotel based event comprises a series of activities that a secret agent such as James Bond might encounter - cracking safes, disguising team members, defusing bombs, shooting at targets, traversing a minefield and much more. An element of competition is introduced and each task has a tight deadline. So to succeed, teams must communicate effectively, plan, solve problems, encourage each other and work efficiently. But it is above all great fun. Sailing corporate events are also great team building as teams must learn totally new skills and be able to do the right thing at the right time in order to achieve success. They need to be trained, know their own job and communicate with others in order to feel the exhilaration of the sport - that is their reward for success. The treasure hunt is a popular corporate entertainment event, maybe because shrewd managers already realise the incredible potential for team building. But there are some key points to bear in mind if you are to avoid a run of the mill event. Look for a company whose treasure hunt will supply the teams with more clues than they could possibly answer as that develops planning, communication and collaborative decision making skills. Good hunts also have a scavenger element or shopping list, where participants must acquire some odd items - such as a blue banana thus developing the negotiation and creative thinking skills of the team members as well as testing their general knowledge. Some of the clues will be straightforward whilst others will be more obscure, so treasure hunts are inclusive - everyone will contribute to the overall success of the team. The element of competition and time limit (with heavy loss of points as a penalty for late return) develops the abilities of your staff to work coherently and efficiently. So kick the habit of mediocre team building events, ditch the straws and sticky tape approach and use a carefully chosen corporate entertainment event to build your winning team for your business!