Better Team Building
The next time you're considering holding a teambuilding event, try doing it differently. First, don't call it "teambuilding." After many years of observing how people respond to the idea of teambuilding, I've concluded that most people hate it. They see it as a waste of time, an interruption to their workday, and often as a forced activity that doesn't resonate with them. They probably already spend more time at work together than many people spend with their families. Will a Scavenger Hunt really "build a team"?
If I had to call it anything other a "team reward", or "team appreciation day", I'd call it "team bonding". Enroll your team in something like a Skip Barber course, but frame it as a reward. As recognition for hard work. As a break from the normal day-to-day to do something fun together. Even something as simple as taking the them out to lunch, or hosting a pizza party in the office during crunch time can work wonders.
Make it something you've decided to do for your employees, not for your business. Do that, and no matter what the outcome, you win -- because no one ever receives enough recognition, or praise, or rewards.
Then stand back and let the teambuilding team bonding happen naturally. You just need to create an environment where people feel appreciated, and valued, and safe.
If there are communication gaps, or personality clashes, or other issues, you need a different approach altogether, but if your team is generally healthy this is the way to go.
