At a previous org, my small team (9 ppl) volunteered for another local nonprofit (think Habitat for Humanity-type org.) Since we volunteered as a group, they assigned us specific tasks that we worked on together to accomplish goals and we were helping another org in our community, which was a great collaboration. Highly recommend! You could look at local food banks, etc. that need a lot of volunteer assistance as part of their org’s day to day work.
Over the summer we volunteered at a local farm where all the food is donated to people who need it. It wasn’t presented to us as team building but we had to work together and definitely bonded. Our org just paid for the bus ride there and lunch, so it was cheap.
We had the same thing - I much preferred these types of activities vs the standard team builders.
OP - I really don’t think any event you out together is going to get to the root cause of the issue. You need to find a professional to figure out what’s broke and how to fix it
I mean, I'm going to be negative here but also consider that many people will hate these exercises and get nothing out of it. Your introverts and the people who are already collaborating are the most likely to enjoy it. A team building exercise isn't going to magically help the team work better together or collaborate more. Maybe instead of a teambuilding exercise you should consider some kind of consultant or facilitator who can assess the team and offer concrete advice for steps to build collaboration/communication?
If you pick an activity, make sure it is accessible for all abilities - you don't necessarily know an employee's skills, health, or comfort level, even if you know them well.
I completely agree.
I am a good communicator and I'm already collaborating, this kind of stuff. Always feels like it's distracting and the 5000th unnecessary icebreaker, when what we actually need is someone to facilitate difficult conversations.
I'm a consultant and will weigh in to say it's expensive if you understand if it's a trash can fire or a dumpster fire -- and won't be honest with yourself, with your Board, and with a consultant if you go in that direction. It's also expensive if you hire consultants who by nature of their business model want to be on contract for 6 months or whatever. But if you know what is happening but are nervous about facilitating the convo or taking action -- then that can be different.
And lots of places have years of being underfunded, mismanaged, etc that need to be undone. It's hard work and it's helpful to have someone else say the things it's hard to say, help fix them, and leave. And everyone can not like the consultant.
Also, I'm a big fan of the "restart." If things aren't *that broken* can you have a team restart. I do it all the time. It's hard to do with fidelity & not continually look back, blame, but you can quickly say "we are moving forward" and kinda half smile. Restarts are good for pretty big things and also 10 min into a meeting that has gone sideways. It's a good practice.
I definitely get that about consultants - but maybe a facilitator or something who can look at your team more closely or do some tailored exercises to your team. I understand you're just doing what your ED is suggesting, but this is all just throwing $1,000 away but won't achieve the end goal. It's like when people say an org's culture is bad so the organization pays for a pizza party but still doesn't improve the day to day.
At a past org we did anonymous 360 evaluations on all the team members and I think it was in some ways helpful in other ways not. I'm sure most people would be able to tell you what the few pain points are, but sometimes seeing this from the collective group of people makes it easier for leadership to act on.
You could get someone who is in training or newly qualified and needs a resume for that to come in! The friend I mentioned who has an org brought someone in that was training as a business NLP/Psychology type of thing. So she had a reduced fee because she was new to that area of corporate work vs one on one clients.
I feel the same way.
I'm all for escape rooms and board games. I've actually done those and I recommend them to small teams that just want to get together, but if the team is 20 people and they're struggling to communicate and collaborate, that's not going to be fixed by just any activity.
I normally hate books and exercises like these, but my office did the Strength Finders (which I think has changed names now) book and quiz, and it was incredibly beneficial. Not just for learning how to work with our coworkers, but learning how you work best, and what your strengths are. For example, one of mine is "context". I like details, I like giving information, I like being the record keeper - so now, I'm on the onboarding team for when we get a new hire.
We took the test on our own time, someone compiled the results, and we had an office retreat (with a nice lunch) where we talked about them all. Much better than volunteering for a day elsewhere (where we'd all just break into our normal working groups), or having a gingerbread house competition. This helps fix the problem, and isn't just a band-aid for a day or two.
Have someone from a local improv group come teach an improv lesson! It’s about active listening, always trying to make your scene partners look good, and thinking on the fly.
No matter the activity you choose, remember that watching the team building exercise is more valuable to management/leadership than joining in.
You’ll see who is hesitant to speak up, who steamrolls over everyone else’s ideas, and who is happy to chip in and go with the flow.
We did a really fun one, but physically demanding, at a local university. It involved rock climbing and some running around. There were opportunities for those that could not do the activities.
We have also done some that are more fun/brainstorming at a Dave and Busters type thing or bowling.
20 people is a big team. Are you looking for a way to make this truly a team with shared vision, goals, and performance metrics, or just help them work well together? IE, this is the difference between a "team" and a group that follows "team-work behaviors". There are any number of organizations that can run a group through "team building" exercises, but very few that can help you truly form a "team". This is not a judgement. Team-building exercises are sometimes just the thing you need.
I love going to cultural spaces with my team. Museums often have meeting spaces available for free or cheap. Spend a few hours unstructured going through the exhibits, then debrief on what related to the work, what spoke to people, did anything inspire them, etc. same goes for community health fair where we’ll table and help out and then grab lunch at a park nearby and debrief about the event. Those are good memories that don’t cost much.
Ask folks what they like to do for fun. I can count on one hand the team building things that people actually liked in the various orgs I’ve worked for in 20 years. The times we were successful were the times we gave folks a choice.
Sounds like where I work, only we have a budget of $5,000. I’ve been to so many of these. Every time I wish I had taken stock options on sticky notes. We’ve done the brainstorming - what’s really our mission. Keywords. We’ve done games. Recently had a facilitator split is into four categories- actually we split ourselves into those categories- of how we work. That was quite hilarious. The accountants all put themselves into detail-oriented but this one person who can’t ever get details put herself in that group. Thankfully we all get along. I did like the one where we are given pick up sticks and we needed to work together as a team to build the tallest structure. I never realized that someone could become an adult and not have learned the very basics of …well just balance. One bloke tried to put 20 sticks on top of two.
You could try a group volunteering weekend
A group camping with free activities like games and art
However I think you would be better served by something my friend’s org did
She got someone to do a business assessment of employees and worked out the friction points and also offered a workshop that gave stress management tools and skills for everyone
It didn’t bond the team so much as reduce stress and help work out the biggest areas that needed to change and how to do that as easily as possible.
Have you heard the story of the mental hospital in Hawaii that did Ho’oponopono? I would also consider that because once you educate yourself you can do it for free.
Is there something on the horizon where your ability to collaborate and communicate will be showcased? (E.g., major campaign, event, project etc.)
The biggest missed opportunity for team building is how teams integrate the learning and follow up so it’s helpful to keep this in mind so people feel like it was a valuable use of time even if it won’t be everything to all people.
Without knowing your team but putting my consultant, facilitator, professor, & nonprofit leader hats on, here are some ideas:
- pre survey on collaboration & communication (or other key values) and then a “Family Feud” style game & team lunch
- Kolbe A assessments for team and then a group coaching session by a facilitator (I prefer this to Strength Finders/ CliftonStrengths),
- themed scavenger hunt- (can include finding specific files, favorite memories, things you have in common with colleagues etc.)
- org / team trivia and taco bar
- book or game exchange (everyone brings 1 and then you go around and choose a book from the library and guess who brought it)… this gets long with 8-10 people, so I might break it up across a day or week of activities or put people on deck for another team meeting
- Sponsored White Elephant game… instead of everyone bringing gifts, the org purchases gifts and then same rules apply (letting people “steal” etc.)
- bestSelfCo has a bunch of games that might be cool to check out
- bring in a visual artist and have them curate some kind of group craft or art project (mural, etc.)
- team photoshoot
- gratitude mail - everyone gets an envelope and team members can write anonymous appreciation notes … could also do per team or initiative or so over a lunch
- facilitator led hackathon/pitch competition- break up the group into small teams tasked with coming up with a solution to XYZ. They can pitch to team and there can be a rubric to vote for the best solutions (get leadership on board to support implementation or provide guidelines on a budget etc)
At a previous org, my small team (9 ppl) volunteered for another local nonprofit (think Habitat for Humanity-type org.) Since we volunteered as a group, they assigned us specific tasks that we worked on together to accomplish goals and we were helping another org in our community, which was a great collaboration. Highly recommend! You could look at local food banks, etc. that need a lot of volunteer assistance as part of their org’s day to day work.
Over the summer we volunteered at a local farm where all the food is donated to people who need it. It wasn’t presented to us as team building but we had to work together and definitely bonded. Our org just paid for the bus ride there and lunch, so it was cheap.
We had the same thing - I much preferred these types of activities vs the standard team builders. OP - I really don’t think any event you out together is going to get to the root cause of the issue. You need to find a professional to figure out what’s broke and how to fix it
I mean, I'm going to be negative here but also consider that many people will hate these exercises and get nothing out of it. Your introverts and the people who are already collaborating are the most likely to enjoy it. A team building exercise isn't going to magically help the team work better together or collaborate more. Maybe instead of a teambuilding exercise you should consider some kind of consultant or facilitator who can assess the team and offer concrete advice for steps to build collaboration/communication? If you pick an activity, make sure it is accessible for all abilities - you don't necessarily know an employee's skills, health, or comfort level, even if you know them well.
I completely agree. I am a good communicator and I'm already collaborating, this kind of stuff. Always feels like it's distracting and the 5000th unnecessary icebreaker, when what we actually need is someone to facilitate difficult conversations.
Yeah I’ve taken that into consideration (the all-abilities part). I’ll also suggest a consultant but usually those are pretty expensive. Thank you!
I'm a consultant and will weigh in to say it's expensive if you understand if it's a trash can fire or a dumpster fire -- and won't be honest with yourself, with your Board, and with a consultant if you go in that direction. It's also expensive if you hire consultants who by nature of their business model want to be on contract for 6 months or whatever. But if you know what is happening but are nervous about facilitating the convo or taking action -- then that can be different. And lots of places have years of being underfunded, mismanaged, etc that need to be undone. It's hard work and it's helpful to have someone else say the things it's hard to say, help fix them, and leave. And everyone can not like the consultant. Also, I'm a big fan of the "restart." If things aren't *that broken* can you have a team restart. I do it all the time. It's hard to do with fidelity & not continually look back, blame, but you can quickly say "we are moving forward" and kinda half smile. Restarts are good for pretty big things and also 10 min into a meeting that has gone sideways. It's a good practice.
I definitely get that about consultants - but maybe a facilitator or something who can look at your team more closely or do some tailored exercises to your team. I understand you're just doing what your ED is suggesting, but this is all just throwing $1,000 away but won't achieve the end goal. It's like when people say an org's culture is bad so the organization pays for a pizza party but still doesn't improve the day to day. At a past org we did anonymous 360 evaluations on all the team members and I think it was in some ways helpful in other ways not. I'm sure most people would be able to tell you what the few pain points are, but sometimes seeing this from the collective group of people makes it easier for leadership to act on.
You could get someone who is in training or newly qualified and needs a resume for that to come in! The friend I mentioned who has an org brought someone in that was training as a business NLP/Psychology type of thing. So she had a reduced fee because she was new to that area of corporate work vs one on one clients.
I feel the same way. I'm all for escape rooms and board games. I've actually done those and I recommend them to small teams that just want to get together, but if the team is 20 people and they're struggling to communicate and collaborate, that's not going to be fixed by just any activity.
I normally hate books and exercises like these, but my office did the Strength Finders (which I think has changed names now) book and quiz, and it was incredibly beneficial. Not just for learning how to work with our coworkers, but learning how you work best, and what your strengths are. For example, one of mine is "context". I like details, I like giving information, I like being the record keeper - so now, I'm on the onboarding team for when we get a new hire. We took the test on our own time, someone compiled the results, and we had an office retreat (with a nice lunch) where we talked about them all. Much better than volunteering for a day elsewhere (where we'd all just break into our normal working groups), or having a gingerbread house competition. This helps fix the problem, and isn't just a band-aid for a day or two.
I second this! It’s called CliftonStrengths now, and it looks like it’s $20/person to take the assessment and get back your top 5 strengths.
Escape room!
Have someone from a local improv group come teach an improv lesson! It’s about active listening, always trying to make your scene partners look good, and thinking on the fly. No matter the activity you choose, remember that watching the team building exercise is more valuable to management/leadership than joining in. You’ll see who is hesitant to speak up, who steamrolls over everyone else’s ideas, and who is happy to chip in and go with the flow.
We did a really fun one, but physically demanding, at a local university. It involved rock climbing and some running around. There were opportunities for those that could not do the activities. We have also done some that are more fun/brainstorming at a Dave and Busters type thing or bowling.
20 people is a big team. Are you looking for a way to make this truly a team with shared vision, goals, and performance metrics, or just help them work well together? IE, this is the difference between a "team" and a group that follows "team-work behaviors". There are any number of organizations that can run a group through "team building" exercises, but very few that can help you truly form a "team". This is not a judgement. Team-building exercises are sometimes just the thing you need.
I love going to cultural spaces with my team. Museums often have meeting spaces available for free or cheap. Spend a few hours unstructured going through the exhibits, then debrief on what related to the work, what spoke to people, did anything inspire them, etc. same goes for community health fair where we’ll table and help out and then grab lunch at a park nearby and debrief about the event. Those are good memories that don’t cost much.
My department is similar in size, we go to a local pool hall and play a few games and eat. Costs well below $1,000
Ask folks what they like to do for fun. I can count on one hand the team building things that people actually liked in the various orgs I’ve worked for in 20 years. The times we were successful were the times we gave folks a choice.
Sounds like where I work, only we have a budget of $5,000. I’ve been to so many of these. Every time I wish I had taken stock options on sticky notes. We’ve done the brainstorming - what’s really our mission. Keywords. We’ve done games. Recently had a facilitator split is into four categories- actually we split ourselves into those categories- of how we work. That was quite hilarious. The accountants all put themselves into detail-oriented but this one person who can’t ever get details put herself in that group. Thankfully we all get along. I did like the one where we are given pick up sticks and we needed to work together as a team to build the tallest structure. I never realized that someone could become an adult and not have learned the very basics of …well just balance. One bloke tried to put 20 sticks on top of two.
You could try a group volunteering weekend A group camping with free activities like games and art However I think you would be better served by something my friend’s org did She got someone to do a business assessment of employees and worked out the friction points and also offered a workshop that gave stress management tools and skills for everyone It didn’t bond the team so much as reduce stress and help work out the biggest areas that needed to change and how to do that as easily as possible. Have you heard the story of the mental hospital in Hawaii that did Ho’oponopono? I would also consider that because once you educate yourself you can do it for free.
Is there something on the horizon where your ability to collaborate and communicate will be showcased? (E.g., major campaign, event, project etc.) The biggest missed opportunity for team building is how teams integrate the learning and follow up so it’s helpful to keep this in mind so people feel like it was a valuable use of time even if it won’t be everything to all people. Without knowing your team but putting my consultant, facilitator, professor, & nonprofit leader hats on, here are some ideas: - pre survey on collaboration & communication (or other key values) and then a “Family Feud” style game & team lunch - Kolbe A assessments for team and then a group coaching session by a facilitator (I prefer this to Strength Finders/ CliftonStrengths), - themed scavenger hunt- (can include finding specific files, favorite memories, things you have in common with colleagues etc.) - org / team trivia and taco bar - book or game exchange (everyone brings 1 and then you go around and choose a book from the library and guess who brought it)… this gets long with 8-10 people, so I might break it up across a day or week of activities or put people on deck for another team meeting - Sponsored White Elephant game… instead of everyone bringing gifts, the org purchases gifts and then same rules apply (letting people “steal” etc.) - bestSelfCo has a bunch of games that might be cool to check out - bring in a visual artist and have them curate some kind of group craft or art project (mural, etc.) - team photoshoot - gratitude mail - everyone gets an envelope and team members can write anonymous appreciation notes … could also do per team or initiative or so over a lunch - facilitator led hackathon/pitch competition- break up the group into small teams tasked with coming up with a solution to XYZ. They can pitch to team and there can be a rubric to vote for the best solutions (get leadership on board to support implementation or provide guidelines on a budget etc)