About team building and team incentives

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In recent years, there have been some noticeable shifts in what's commonly called team building . What's in a name? Team building used to be associated with "heavy" physical

programs: survival, airdrops, abseiling, etc. Apparently, people have grown tired of that and have come to realize that this heavily targets the less athletic participants, making the fatter member of the group feel like they're holding the team back. Anything but team-building; quite the opposite!

Reality shows that, aside from a few companies with exclusively young employees and perhaps a sports culture, there's now a desire to find activities that everyone of all ages can participate in . Programs that involve more multitasking and that appeal to more than just physical skills, such as consultation, strategic insight, increasing capacity, creativity, and internal communication, are gaining popularity—in short, a more comprehensive approach to team spirit.

Trends.

The trend was set by Perfect+ Event Productions, which dubbed certain formats

"teamcentives." We were already familiar with meetcentives: companies hold meetings and use the opportunity to participate in an incentive, an outing, or a fun activity. Sometimes they even capitalize on it to strengthen team spirit. Teamcentives: the ultimate hybrid of team building and incentives. Often, a company wants to reward its staff or create a trigger moment, get everyone on the same page, an experience that can never be achieved in a workplace context. Simply create an aha or hooray experience that will be talked about for a long time to strengthen the company and team spirit. Or as part of a strategic HR policy (employee retention).

They then offer formats that meet the desired focus. At one extreme is a highly targeted team-building endeavor, while at the other, a casual yet fun event where people enjoy each other as a group by connecting with each other in a different, relaxing way, away from the work environment. The latter is often seen as an investment in one's own human capital: retaining and strengthening one's strengths, which is cheaper than having to hire new people. Team incentives, therefore, are part of retention management.

Another trend is using team-building formats as experiential activities for clients and business

partners (especially with incoming cases). This is primarily due to their originality and experiential value, compared to, say, a conventional city tour with a guide and snacks afterward. In short, participants prefer to experience something active and unforgettable rather than something passive. In such a case, they no longer talk about team-building, but simply rely on the fun concept at its core. Therefore, it's just as useful as a tool within a CRM marketing context.

In a rather passive context, culinary walks with guides, or storytellers, are proving highly appreciated in various cities. This format allows visitors to chat with a wide variety of colleagues while experiencing a city's flavors. Appetizers, main courses, and desserts are enjoyed at different restaurants. This provides the opportunity to share a meal with others, a valuable aspect.

Recruitment events are also still very popular. These team-building activities are held with applicants and prospective employees. A member of the management team accompanies the event to observe and assess everyone's interaction and performance in an unexpected group situation. For example, the same Bruges-based agency, Perfect+, created competitive group activities that were completely in line with Procter & Gamble, its products, image, and corporate philosophy. A customized concept, in other words.

About types, popularity and must-dos

So, are there "types" of team-building activities? You can make all sorts of arbitrary divisions, some will be rather artificial, because good team-building activities actually have a bit of everything: adventure, games, surprises, riddles, doing and thinking...

Very popular are city games like "the CityGame" played with iPads (versions in Bruges, Ghent,

Ostend, Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Mechelen, Leuven, Lille, Ypres, Paris, London, and virtually anywhere else). The cycling version is also very popular: the BikeGame Bruges-Damme, Ghent-Leie, or the Leuven countryside, and the same goes for the whole region: wherever you want. The advantages are that you can seamlessly start from your meeting location, or sometimes even from your own HQ, and finish wherever you like (a drink, a restaurant, the hotel, the office). Simultaneously, you experience a multitude of aspects of the city's reality and, moreover, experience it in a completely different way. You'll even learn more than during an average tourist visit.

And then there's the OutdoorGame (a city game version "in the green"), the irresistible

EscapeGame (the city becomes your escape room), the TrainGame (at Train World in Brussels), and the RallyGame (with vintage Fiat 500s). And everything is flexible, adaptable to your participants and objectives, time, location, and group size.

With fixed formats, duration shouldn't be an issue. Each concept can be shorter or longer as long as it fits the client's schedule. In principle, the duration doesn't make a significant difference in cost. These types of activities range from 2 to 3.5 hours to a full day, with groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 participants. Some, like the CityGame, can easily remain engaging for an entire day. It remains important that formats are open to maximum flexibility in all areas, and that the game is always personalized for each company or client.

Tips.

Why team building? Are there concrete reasons for team building? For example, the merger of

two companies (which used to be competitors) or a classic example: two departments at odds, such as sales versus production (if we don't produce anything, you can't sell anything; if we don't sell anything, there's nothing to produce). In such a case, the client must provide a thorough briefing on the nature of the participants, the company culture, and any specific objectives (or even hidden agendas). This allows the event agency to optimally respond to these.

Is it a small or a significant part of a complete package of activities? Sometimes meetings are

exhausted, and the TB quickly becomes an excuse to quickly hit the pub to let off some steam before recharging for something else.

Divide the groups effectively. Who should be assigned to whom, and why? Ensure a balanced distribution in terms of age, gender, and talents or skills. If possible, mix departments. Don't pit them against each other. A little competition is fine, but frustration, resentment, and bad feelings can quickly arise. In short, the opposite of what team building should achieve.

Emphasize group performance, which isn't the same as the sum of individual abilities. Besides, good team building naturally takes care of that.

Give participants a tangible souvenir. Many Perfect+ concepts include fun and original photo assignments. They'll immediately receive the results digitally for their intranet, downloadable from a website specifically created for the event, or share them via social media. This way, the experience of the moment will last longer...

Conclusion

Team building activities, if properly managed, are not an optional obligation but an investment in your own human capital.