| Why “ Teambuilding ” Doesn’t Work | | | | what their team is like in terms of contextual |
| Are you wasting valuable training and operational | | | | strengths and weaknesses in terms of specific team |
| dollars? | | | | behaviours before a programme, how can any |
| We’ve all been there before. A senior | | | | teambuilding programme be meaningfully designed for |
| management meeting, message or conference | | | | outcomes? At Everest Motivation Team, we use a |
| includes a fun ‘ teambuilding’ event where | | | | 56-question online tool, which measures eight key |
| everyone gets engaged in some team activity or | | | | team competencies. After a programme is designed |
| challenge.. And every year people look towards it | | | | and executed, we follow up with another online staff |
| with mixed feelings as they, and large numbers of | | | | questionnaire to see which areas the programme has |
| colleagues participate in activities from laser shoot-em | | | | impacted. The qualitative and quantitative results |
| ups to go-kart racing and rah-rah events. A week | | | | represent the client’s ROI. |
| later, managers are wondering why their teamwork is | | | | It amazes us how so few potential clients actually |
| still mediocre. The truth is that almost every dollar | | | | care about how their dollars are being translated into |
| spent on these feel-good programmes has an | | | | future positive team behaviours that help the |
| extremely low return on investment. | | | | bottom-line. |
| People who are in a decision-making position in your | | | | 3) The vast majority of decision-makers only |
| company that sees them buying services of such | | | | want to see a team event as a one-off, and never |
| team events/programmes, will continue to waste | | | | integrated into a greater plan of leadership or team |
| your company’s funds and here’s why: | | | | development. In short, they are committed to a |
| 1) the vast majority of decision makers fail to | | | | great day out, and less to sustainable results. Ever |
| distinguish between teambuilding processes and | | | | heard of a great team that was created in a day? |
| outcomes, and team bonding events. The latter | | | | Look at your spending on “ teambuilding” |
| produce very little real ROI except provide some | | | | compared to sales, communication and such |
| pleasant distraction for your staff for a day and | | | | skills-based training costs. Without the platform of |
| some very temporary heightened sense of | | | | what we call Specific Observable Behaviours (or SOB |
| well-being. Their decision to buy into such a | | | | for short), few of these training measures are |
| programme is largely focused on what games and | | | | sustainable as poor team behaviours hobble them in |
| activities that will be provided and at what price. | | | | the medium term. Teambuilding is a process, not an |
| Some even opt for potentially destructive activities | | | | event. |
| like combat simulation or paintball events where latent | | | | Unless your staff really need a team bonding |
| grudges and ill feelings can surface. Actual | | | | experience like going for a bowling session, karaoke, |
| teambuilding programmes are geared towards | | | | what they might really benefit from instead is |
| producing a certain outcome e.g. enhanced | | | | attending a fun, teambuilding programme designed to |
| intra-team communication, and use the actual | | | | help them back in the workplace. |
| experiential activities merely as a platform from which | | | | Ultimately, companies and clients will decide what |
| group learning and “ ah-ha’s “ of the | | | | they want and how much they want to spend. The |
| day can be transferred back to the workplace by | | | | important thing is knowing the difference between |
| experienced facilitators trained in experiential learning | | | | what they want and what they need. In our |
| methodology | | | | experience, most potential clients can’t tell the |
| 2) the vast majority of buyers of teambuilding | | | | difference, and confuse the results they could get |
| programmes have also not done any quantitative | | | | from a team bonding experience vs. the benefits of |
| employee or team climate-study. Unless they know | | | | teambuilding to specific outcomes. |