Which Teambuilding company?

7 Questions to ask when selecting
 a TeamBuilding company!



Buyer Beware! Many team building companies are simply recreation suppliers who know how to play games, but don't understand business.

Possibly the best way to evaluate a team building company is to ask their advice on helping you solve an actual problem your team is facing. You might be surprised how many team building companies know how to play games, and they may even know how to debrief those games, but they don't really know team dynamics in the business world. The vast majority of team building practitioners do NOT come from a business background. They come from a recreational background. Therefore, they probably do not understand your business. By asking them to consult with you for 10 - 15 minutes on an actual team building problem you will see who can deliver the goods and who can't.

Q. Can you give me some advice on a specific problem I am having with my team?

It seems that "team building" is quickly becoming a buzz word for all kinds of service providers: from clowns to sailors to wine tasting companies. Effective team building must be delivered by a company with training expertise. Too often, companies which call what they do "team building" are simply wanting to take your money and play games with your people.

The quickest way to determine if a team building company can actually help you build your teams is to ask what training assessment instruments they are certified in. At the very least they should be certified in D.i.S.C. work profile assessment and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This question will quickly remove the fun n' games outfits from the serious team building providers.

Q. How do you help participants make connections from the activities to business applications?

There is a particular skill set involved in leading and facilitating an excellent team building program. The first skill is design and the second is delivery. Frankly, design is the easy part. Almost any team building activity can work for almost any team building issue. It is true that some activities lend themselves to particular outcomes (i.e. communication, trust, problem solving, decision making, cooperation vs. competition, etc.) but in the hands of a skilled, professional facilitator the activity will get debriefed according to the real world issue the team is facing.

The hard part in any team building program is delivery (facilitating). It is surprising how many team building companies simply don't facilitate (or debrief) the activities. They ask a few questions at the end of the game and move into the next game. Again, DON'T waste your money on companies like these. Instead, ask the company to walk you through their philosophy on how they debrief activities. Ask them to give you a sample of the questions they ask. Good team building companies will have a developed philosophy on how they debrief. Their strategy will make good sense once they share it with you, so don't hesitate to ask.

Q. What training assessments are you certified in?

If your people are reluctant to go to a team building program it is probably because they have been subjected to these fun n' games activities with little or no business applications. The MOST important transaction that can happen during a team building event is for your people to solve real world business problems. That is ultimately what your company is paying for and that is what your company should get.

Ask the team building companies you are interviewing how they help participants make connections from the team building activities to business problems. Good team building companies will be able to give you lots and lots of extremely relevant examples. Drill down and ask for specifics on how the team building events they use have specifically helped past clients. If they can't give you specifics, backed up with several examples, then they simply don't know how to link the activity to real world business applications.

Q. What is your philosophy on how you debrief activities?
Q. Can you give me a list of sample questions you use?

Of course the really good team building companies have a long track record of success. Many companies post client lists on their web sites. If a company does not have a client list, make sure and ask for one. This will tell you if they are just starting out (and using your company as a learning experience for them) or if they are a serious, established provider.

Q. How long have you been in business?
Q. Who are your past clients?

By asking these seven questions you will save your company a lot of money and your people a lot of frustration. Team building, when done right, is one of the most powerful ways to achieve significant breakthroughs in employee productivity. And hey, it is really, really fun too.

Call us and ask us these questions 1300 226110

www.teambuildingaustralia.com.au

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOKsL4oQZy0&feature=channel_page

Free Teambuilding Activities

teambuilding exercises:Egg Drop

Supplies: Roll of making tape, box of straws, and raw egg for each Team. Virtual money account with supply price list-listed on a chalk or dry erase board. Time: 30-45 minutes

You need to find a location where an egg can be dropped two or three floors down. Instructions: Each team is given a virtual of $5,000 allocation to buy supplies. It costs $250 per straw and $100 for every inch of masking tape. Instruct the teams to build a basket/container in which they put the egg and then drop it the two to three floors without breaking the egg. Encourage the teams to plan out their strategy before they start to buy products. All teams must stay within their budget. When the teams have completed their baskets test them out. Let them drop. Have your cleaning supplies ready!

teambuilding exercises:Scavenger Hunt

Instructions: Pick out 20 to 30 different items or information resources within the company, organization, or on campus. It is good idea to alert the other departments or individuals in your organization that this scavenger hunts will take place. Give each team a specified time to find the items on the list. The debriefing of this activity creates a bonding and the team members can learn a lot about the organization in fast time. This works great with new teams and new employees.

teambuilding exercises :Earthquake Drill

Supplies: 10-12 different size rocks and blindfolds Creating a rock formation into a unique design. Explain to the team that there has been an earthquake. Instructions: Send half of the team out of the room. Ask the team remaining in the room to study the rock formation for one or two minutes. When the time is up ask the team back into the room. Have them close their eyes. Give them a blindfold and explain to them there has been an explosion. They are blind. Explain to the team that stayed in the room, that they must now get verbal instructions from the blind team members. Using their verbal skills they must get the team to reconstruct the rock formation in order to "Save the World." This is a great communication exercise.

teambuilding exercises :Greenlighting

This activity is to look for different options and promote creativity.

Instructions: Identify a problem you would like to tackle or correct. Appoint a scribe for the group to gather all the ideas. Have the group form a circle. Tell the group that no one is allowed to make a negative comment. Like brainstorming, every idea is okay. Each member then gives his or her ideas on how to solve the problem. Only greenlighting, positive ideas are spoken. Go around the circle until all ideas have been shared. This is great idea to solve problems.

Twelve Cs for Team Building

This article is written by Teambuilding Australia www.teambuildingaustralia.com.au

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isnWJQFgUeM

Executives, managers and organization staff members universally explore ways to improve business results etc. Many view team-based, horizontal, organization structures as the best design for involving all employees in creating business success.
No matter what you call your team improvement effort, continuous improvement, total quality, lean manufacturing or self-directed work teams, you are striving to improve results for customers.

Few organizations, however, are totally pleased with the results their team improvement efforts produce. If your team improvement efforts are not living up to your expectations, this self-diagnosing checklist may tell you why.
Successful team building, that creates effective, focused work teams, requires attention to each of the following.
Clear Expectations: Has executive leadership clearly communicated its expectations for the team’s performance and expected outcomes? Do team members understand why the team was created?
Context: Do team members understand why they are part of the team? Do they understand how the strategy of using teams will help the organization attain its communicated business goals?
Commitment: Do team members want to participate on the team? Are members committed to accomplishing the team mission and expected outcomes? Do team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their own careers? Do team members anticipate recognition for their contributions? Do team members expect their skills to grow and develop on the team? Are team members excited and challenged by the team opportunity?
Competence: Does the team feel that it has the appropriate people participating? Does the team feel that its members have the knowledge, skill and capability to address the issues for which the team was formed? If not, does the team have access to the help it needs?
Charter: Has the team taken its assigned area of responsibility and designed its own mission, vision and strategies to accomplish the mission. Has the team defined and communicated its goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to accomplish their task?
Control: Does the team have enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter? At the same time, do team members clearly understand their boundaries? How far may members go in pursuit of solutions?
Collaboration: Does the team understand team and group process? Do members understand the stages of group development? Are team members working together effectively interpersonally?
Communication: Are team members clear about the priority of their tasks? Is there an established method for the teams to give feedback? Does the organization provide important business information regularly
Creative Innovation: Is the organization really interested in change? Does it reward people who take reasonable risks to make improvements? Or does it reward the people who fit in and maintain the status quo? Does it provide the training, education, access to books and films, and field trips necessary to stimulate new thinking?
Consequences: Do team members feel responsible and accountable for team achievements?
Coordination: Are teams coordinated by a central leadership team that assists the groups to obtain what they need for success? Are cross-functional and multi-department teams common and working together effectively?
Cultural Change: Does the organization recognize that the team-based, collaborative, empowering, enabling organizational culture of the future is different than the traditional, hierarchical organization it may currently be? Does the organization recognize that the more it can change its climate to support teams, the more it will receive in pay back from the work of the teams?
Spend time and attention on each of these twelve tips to ensure your work teams contribute most effectively to your business success. Your team members will love you, your business will soar, and empowered people will "own" and be responsible for their work processes. Can your work life get any better than this?