Team Building And Corporate Events: The Benefits

By Author: Vikram Kumar
Total Articles: 9615
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If you haven’t been involved in a team building exercise or attended corporate events, you may wonder what the point is, and whether there really are any benefits. I’ve had experience of both in the past, good and bad, and I can honestly say it really depends!

Team Building

In the past I’ve attended team building half-days, full days and weekends - the shorter ones (half-days and days) run by in-house staff members and the longer (days and weekends) run by out-of-house professionals. The difference was amazing.

The in-house attempts I was involved in, which were run by a number of individuals and within a number of companies were at best, a break from routine. At worst, they were a huge waste of time and a demoraliser. In all cases, the person responsible had some experience of team building events themselves, and usually tried to repeat that experience more or less exactly.

During one session, we were split into teams and given tasks to do, such as constructing a parachute out of minimal materials, launching an egg off the office balcony and safely landing it on the ground. How we laughed! ...
... But all it did was to increase our lack of respect for the manager who expected us to bond and develop within our team. In fact, we were already a strong team, and might have benefitted from a more fulfilling exercise to build on what we already had, so the only noticeable result was that the manager trying her best was further alienated from the team she was hoping to win over!

I’ve also attended events where only the extrovert got a chance, and the only skill approved of was leadership. But you can’t have a team of leaders, can you? At least not an effective one. So it’s worth considering this when you are planning a team building event, and working out exactly what you want your staff and your company to get out of it.

Corporate Events

Corporate events are really just sales and marketing ploys, right? Well, to an extent they are, but they should be an awful lot more than that. With the right personnel, and the right objectives in place, they should be an opportunity for individuals to communicate, forming relationships that will last over time and even through career and company changes. Sales may be made, but the most important thing is to develop and cement those relationships. Corporate events that allow individuals to express themselves in a relaxed setting, whether it is canoeing or dining, should allow for relationships to develop naturally, and cater for all sorts of personality types, giving each their chance to shine. Again, such events need to be planned meticulously, with the objectives always in mind, and making sure not to exclude or alienate any individuals or personality types.

Daunting, isn’t it? But you could always hand the planning and execution over to the professionals. An experienced company like Accolade will take your objectives, your budget and your personnel and give you and them the best possible event, with a positive outcome for all concerned. Whether it is a corporate event or a team building exercises, they’ve done it before, you see, countless times.

Resource box

Let Accolade do the hard work for you. They are well experienced in Corporate Events and Team Building exercises that it’s not hard work for them. And you’ll have a successful, productive event without the worry and stress.