I’m not claiming that I started the whole UK teambuilding industry or anything, but way back in 1985 I was asked by a client to come up with some ideas to involve all his delegates in some sort of "competitive leisure activity". A truly fear inducing phrase that struck terror into the heart of this desk jockey.

Their only stipulation was that it must not just favour the sporty young things but would involve everyone in the "Field-force" (maybe something involving a force-field?) right up to the forty-a-day, fifty something FD on fast track to a coronary.

Much scratching of head followed but a few rules evolved. A stopwatch and megaphone were bought. A giant scoreboard was built and off we went. Ten minutes later I had 70, blindfolded, middle aged, middle-Englanders in a pen; making sheep noises to avoid bashing into each other. I recall thinking, "Can work get any better than this?"

The term teambuilding was not common parlance, but the concept of including some sort of extra curricular activity in a conference was well on its way. And the industry has grown since those days, with specialist suppliers and new ideas being launched with astonishing frequency.

Post event evaluations often report that the organised activity was the most enjoyable element of the event and the part that delivered most benefit. But why make people go out in the rain, take orders from youths in "extreme clothing" and risk physical injury? Does making a fool of yourself or revealing an inner fear, character trait or worse in front of your colleagues boost the company profits? Or career prospects?
A recent survey we carried out showed that over 30% of all meetings had some element of organised "teambuilding". It’s becoming a fairly standard request from clients and it’s tempting to bolt on activities without really thinking through the aims, benefits, consequences etc, etc.

Here at Banks Sadler we are starting to take a more disciplined approach to the "fun" element of the day.

We are questioning whether the "traditional" teambuilding options will actually deliver on the aims. This means stepping back and understanding what the client wants as an outcome. It’s not always about "teambulding". It could be better lateral thinking skills, improved confidence, better communication etc, etc. I know that many of the traditional activities claim to cover all these angles, and many do, but when they don’t, we as an industry, need to get more creative and start to come up with ideas that do not necessarily involve muddy fields and bits of rope.

What’s more we need to be more sensitive to those delegates who find the activities tortuous, embarrassing or even scary. There seems to be a growth in demand for activities that can be carried out in groups, but are as focused on personal development as they are on teams. We’ve recently looked at options such as cookery lessons, stress busting techniques and art classes for a number of clients. All offer lasting business benefits, high levels of enjoyment and great feedback.

Not an old tyre, murky stream or blindfold in sight, with the office macho man acting out Rambo all day. And it feels good. Maybe I’m just getting old.

Baa.

David Campbell
Chairman