June

Team building 2019: key trends

United, friendly team, where all employees have become a team of like-minded people, is the dream of any leader. Often, achieving such a result requires many years and a lot of effort. Team-building events - teambuilding, help to accelerate this process.

If previously team building was perceived as a trendy alternative to traditional corporate event, then today it is a standard tool in the work with the personnel of many large companies. Its ideas and principles should constantly reflect the changing demands of society: what was interesting yesterday may be irrelevant today, and vice versa. Let's consider the main teambuilding trends in 2019.

Why are teambuilding events held?

The main goals pursued by any teambuilding event are:

to unite the team, create a sense of unity and cooperation, rather than competition;
to teach employees to interact with each other to achieve results, to be a team rather than a group;
to develop relationships within the team based on trust and mutual understanding;
to entertain employees, relieve stress and psychological pressure;
to motivate, energize, and inspire new aspirations;
to increase loyalty to the management, strengthen its authority, and create friendly communication through informal situations.

Not every company has the time and opportunity to organize teambuilding events on their own. The key to successful results is careful preparation and planning, which require considerable effort and resources. Therefore, companies increasingly delegate the organization of teambuilding events to professionals.

Event formats

There are various classifications of teambuilding events based on different factors: target audience, theme and scope of application, location and method of conducting, duration of the event, nature of team building, etc. We will try to conditionally combine these factors by considering the main directions of types of teambuilding:

Sports-oriented activities involve active outdoor activities such as football, basketball, paintball, laser tag, sports relays, quests, etc. Extreme activities can also be included in this group: adventure races (or multisport), survival races, mountaineering, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, equestrian sports, orienteering, rock climbing, regattas, skiing and snowboarding, diving, helicopter drops, rafting trips, expeditions, etc.
Creative. A wide variety of formats can include not only theatrical, musical, dance, literary, and cinema teambuilding, but also the use of the "hand-made" format (training in decorative and applied arts, acquaintance with ancient crafts), as well as culinary arts.
Intellectual. Implies "brainstorming" for employees: quizzes, intellectual and board games, city quests, photo navigation (photo hunting).
Historical. Modeling scenarios of teamwork based on various historical facts, events, personalities, stylization of knightly tournaments, Viking campaigns, Soviet themes. A separate military variety (military) can be highlighted - recreating a battle situation and real military actions.
Exotic. Unusual forms of activities such as reality shows "The Last Hero," "Village/Farm," "Behind the Glass," ethnic teambuilding.
Psychological. Identifying a leader in the team, roles of each employee, developing skills for effective communication and finding compromises through training, tests, psychological experiments in an informal atmosphere.
Social-ecological. Events beneficial for society and the environment: tree planting, garbage collection and area cleaning, assistance to the elderly, disabled individuals, socially vulnerable groups of the population and other charitable activities.

How to choose a venue: preparation tips

Choosing a venue for teambuilding is a very serious organizational issue since all nuances, pros and cons of the venue need to be taken into account.

What is important to consider when choosing a venue:

Comfort in everything. It is important to think through every detail: comfortable furniture, picturesque view, moderate temperature and good ventilation (for indoor venues), absence of distracting factors (e.g., nearby construction).
Capacity. Teambuilding for a team of 20 people and for example for 150 requires completely different conditions and space.
Planned change of locations, organized transportation. In case of an offsite event, plan so that all participants know when, where and how they should arrive to avoid time delays and "lost" employees. It's better to organize transfer in advance.
Technical capabilities. If good sound, lighting, internet access, use of gadgets and plasma screens are necessary within the concept framework, it is important to study the capabilities of the intended venue in advance to equip it with everything necessary or adjust the program.
Catering. None of the participants will refuse a light buffet, and if the event is prolonged, organizing a full lunch is mandatory. In this case, it is convenient to use catering services.
Weather conditions. It is essential to consider the weather forecast and also take precautions in case of unexpected rain so that all guests have a place to take cover.

Main trends of 2019

Corporate management promptly responds to changing public interests and demands. Therefore, the teambuilding sphere should always be "on trend," reflecting everything that is currently of interest to society, what concerns it, what influences it, and what problems it faces. Let's consider the current trends for teambuilding in 2019:

Globalization. This involves uniting teambuilding participants at a global level, erasing boundaries, time, distance, linguistic and cultural barriers. It can be expressed in creating intercultural teams (with participants from different nationalities), virtual teams (at a distance, connected by modern means of communication), short-term project teams (to solve a specific task), multi-teams (active participation in several work groups at once), cross-functional teams (uniting specialists from different fields).
Increased attention to environmental issues. This trend has been leading for several years and manifests itself in all areas of human activity. Environmental teambuilding involves environmental protection and development strategies. The deep positive effect is associated with the idea of global significance uniting the collective more than any rules and regulations. It can be expressed through tree planting, clean-up activities, actions to protect endangered species, raising awareness about recycling and more.
Socialization of teambuilding activities. The foundation of teamwork becomes social and public tasks. This includes helping to address issues such as homelessness, illiteracy, combating HIV and other diseases. Implementing such projects helps to feel the significance of the work done by the entire team and each participant personally.
The increasing role of technology in people's lives. The need to master technological innovations can be manifested in Hi-Tech teambuilding activities, for example, extreme training or quests using GPS equipment, photonavigation, internet resources, mobile communication.
Attention to disasters and natural calamities. Simulating a catastrophe to mobilize the team's strength and skills for working in an extreme mode (for example firefighting teambuilding exercises or scenarios simulating disasters).
Feminization. This trend may manifest in creating female teams to test performance both in neutral areas and in purely male activities.
Desire for new experiences and impressions. The focus is on cognitive interest, getting acquainted with something new and unexplored, immersing into a completely different sphere to broaden employees' horizons.
Individualization. This emphasizes not only teamwork but also individual growth and personal development. It focuses on increasing self-esteem for each person and realizing their significance in the common cause.
Strong emotions. The growing demand for highly extreme teambuilding will continue. However, it will not become a leader in this type of team building due to high risks and dangers. There will also be an emphasis on developing and managing the team's emotions (emotional management) in extreme conditions, team energy in this field.

Of course, new trends will not appear out of nowhere: they will interact with familiar forms of conducting events, renewing them and gradually displacing outdated ones.

Sports teambuilding will remain popular; however, more emphasis will be placed on extreme sports and natural environments. Creative teambuilding activities will remain relevant as well; among them, "scripted" forms (for example, "composite picture"), the use of decorative elements and art performances will be innovations.

The event agency "Adventure" has extensive experience in conducting such team-building events. We will gladly assist you in choosing the appropriate format for the event, take care of all organizational issues, develop a scenario, prepare the venue, and conduct the event at a high level. You will only need to actively participate in the action and observe the results in the form of cohesive teamwork.