Our IT Team, consisting of 4 IT Trainers and 1 Admin Support Person, is looking for an enjoyable day which would 'develop' us as a team.
I had thought that it should have an IT flavour, but none of us has come up with anything positive yet.
I'm looking for inspiration - however I'm not looking for the one where 'you sleep in a forest in a bin bag'...!
Rebecca Potter
7 Responses
Try the Teamscapes
Hi Rebecca,
Have you considered the Teamscapes exercises at the Sundial Group venues? We’ve used them to good effect with several clients.
For further info, take a look at their website:
http://www.sundialgroup.com
We’ll be pleased to provide you with testimonials too.
Good luck!
Colin Hamilton
email: colin@bis-improve.co.uk
web: http://www.bis-improve.co.uk
Why don’t you……?
Rebecca,
To get an IT / Science flavour why don’t you base your day out somewhere like the Science Museum in London or the Millenium Centre in Birmingham.
We’ve run something very similar at Futurascope in Poitiers, France for one of our French clients but this may be too far/costly for you. But it worked brilliantly, and I’d be happy to show you some of the exercises that we used.
Please feel free to get in touch, just follow the links,
Very best regards,
Megan
break the mould!
I have run team building events with more IT specialists that I have had hot dinners and I have found that the less IT orientated the event the more successful and appreciated it was!
I have used minefield exercises, paper exercises, shooting ranges (using toy BB guns), presentation exercises, driving events and ropework events…the fact that they are out of the normal day ssems to be the thing that makes them memorable.
What do you want to achieve?
It seems like this is my standard introductory statement, but….it depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
If you’re looking for an event which will help them develop their effectiveness as a team – e.g. in terms of managing conflict, how to ensure full participation, developing trust, decision-making, then my approach would be to speak with each individually/observe some meetings to get an understanding of what’s really going on, and then plan an intervention around that…
If however, you’re want to give the team a chance to develop ‘companion trust’ (for want of a better expression) then choices are vast. Try dropping them off in Swindon(…the IT connection) without money or phones and she how quickly they can get to …..
Team Building away day
Try The Govan Group.
They have a great reputation and will deal with everything for you email them at: info@govan-group.com
Hope this helps!
Have you tried the raceway ?
Like one of the other replies I think the less IT slant you have on the day the better the results.
We recently had a team-building day at the raceway near kings cross. The first part of the morning was the “serious stuff” using one of their many conference rooms. Then the afternoon was spent go-karting which was excellent, especially for all the “wannabe” schumachers!!
The only downside might be the cost but its definitely worth checking out their site at
http://www.theraceway.net
good luck
Peter
Tailor your event – case study
I agree with Conall Platts. I recently designed a day for a team and the lesson I learned was: tailor it to their exact requirements.
This team works ‘at sharp end’ with very demanding client groups in difficult circumstances. After prolonged period of organisational change/upheaval, they really appreciated time to breathe/just be together, recovering pleasure of being a community of colleagues. They were very pleased with day – they felt their multifarious needs were both heard and met. Hopefully it’s the start of a new episode in their evolution as a learning community who want to retain the fun element in their work…
The day was arranged around 3-course menu (Brain, Body and Spirit) and offered a ‘pick-and-mix’ choice of activities plus ‘side orders and nibbles’: tools for thinking/understanding (e.g. personal working styles, creative thinking strategies), plate-spinning, relaxation techniques, a dressing-up box, team challenges involving balloons/paper/scissors, music, devil-stick juggling, sweets/crisps/fruit, books to browse, NLP/TA ideas, physical warm-ups, mega-laughter/stimulation/reflection. All in a beautiful setting: a medieval manor house with wonderful grounds to stroll in, plus ceramics studio to visit.
So, it doesn’t have to be grandiose or extremely costly – just well-thought out, responsive to needs and brilliantly delivered!
Good luck – and feel free to pick my brains!
Dee