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Get better results out of your teambuilding events this summer using our helpful guidance drawn from industry experts. |
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Freshen it up. Has your company picnic or golf tourney gone stale, or is it time to try something different to boost camaraderie and bolster performance in tough times? “Keep your teambuilding programs fresh, innovative and challenging. Range their difficulty from fun to super challenging to get the team to push themselves,” suggests Vittoria Wikston, CMP, a partner in the sales training and consulting division of Redchair Branding in Hamilton. |
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Know your personalities. Recognize that people have different creative and learning styles. “Few organizers ever consider anything beyond gender or suggestions from the last conference when selecting their teambuilding activities,” says Colin Funk, creative programming director of leadership development at The Banff Centre. He often uses a creativity assessment tool called FourSight, to identify whether team members are clarifiers, ideators, developers or implementers, adapting programs to suit the style ( download the FourSight profiles here). |
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Focus on the follow-up. If your objective is to shape behaviour or introduce new ways of working together, the end of the event is really just the beginning. “At the end of the activity, we put a lot of focus on the debriefing, where a facilitator helps make the connections on what challenges were addressed, and how the lessons can be applied,” says Geneviève Lemay, project director of Montreal-based Agence Team Building. Consider following up with group or individual coaching in the workplace. |
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Avoid the “one-off.” You get more demonstrable results when you can integrate teambuilding activities more strategically into training or development. “Schedule them often – twice a year minimum. I highly suggest once a quarter,” suggests Wikston. “It helps continue momentum, strengthens the messaging from one program to another and enables the team to see its improvement over time.” |
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Stay open to new experiences. Shake things up with the element of surprise, from revving up your engines on the race track, to planning an urban safari. See a sampling of fun and innovative teambuilding ideas gathered by Ignite. |
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ADVERTISEMENT
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Québec does business like it does recreation: with style, warmth and oomph. Thanks to its vibrant cities, modern convention centres and comfortable hotels, Québec is one of the newest hotspots for business travel.
In this land of contrasts, historic and contemporary buildings stand side by side, and natural spaces border safe and welcoming cities. It’s the perfect setting for successful conventions, business meetings, trade fairs or even incentive trips!
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| Photographers: C. Parent, P. Hurteau and C. Parent, P. Lambert (skiers) |
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May 22, 2009, Association of Corporate Travel Executives, Executive Forum
Where: Montreal, Hotel Intercontinental
Why go: Learn first-hand from corporate travel buyers what actions they’re taking to optimize their resources in lean economic times.
What’s in it for you: Help your company realign business travel policies by gathering ideas for managing costs, renegotiating contracts, or making policy changes.
acte.org
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CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
Rate your ride, travel manager style
Business travellers have long compared notes to rate hotels and airlines. Now, corporate travel managers have a place to cast their own reviews of global travel suppliers, sharing insight with peers. The new Travel Sourcing Index (TSI) is a review system for those who spend $1 million or more annually on managed travel. It helps transcend price focus, with ratings on service and other factors in decision-making, says Andrew Menkes, CEO of its developer, Partnership Travel Consulting. “If I’m choosing between hotels in Montreal, and one is $150 while another is $170, this helps me see if there’s something else important to me.” Members of NBTA Canada have two years of free access to this subscription-only site, normally US$495 annually. ACTE members receive 25% off. |
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INCENTIVES + MEETINGS
Meetings etiquette suffers symptoms of flu
While the global watch on the swine flu has travellers on alert and placed flights and non-essential travel to Mexico on hold, one unsung victim of the recent influenza scare might be the group hug and other social niceties of getting together. In Mexico itself, the Ministry of Health is advising people to avoid shaking hands or kissing as a greeting, and the sight of surgical masks has become common to avoid contagion. Around the world, the shift in etiquette has been referred to as "social distancing,” as people politely refrain from contact. |
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CORPORATE GIFTS + REWARDS
A thank you that goes beyond the workplace
Edmonton-based Intuit Canada, ranked among Alberta's Top 40 Employers by Medicorp Canada Inc., was cited for a recognition program that reaches out to family members and caregivers. Since three-quarters of the company’s staff care for dependents at home, the company created a recognition program to reward those who make life easier for employees. Upon request, Intuit will send a gift card to someone in an employee’s support network. For instance, it could be used to thank a mother-in-law for picking up the kids after school. according to the company’s manager of culture and communications, Cheryll Watson. |
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Help host the Olympic road show. VANOC is seeking a full-time coordinator to assist with operations of the ultimate 100-day road trip: the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays. A pre-event role is to plan food and beverage services for the crew on the road, negotiating with hotels for meals, rooms and other requirements. During the event, the Rest Over Night team will manage lodging, meals, travel, office and meeting room needs. Job code 1814, closing May 15, on the Vancouver 2010 jobs site.
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