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 seen as a fashionable alternative to a traditional corporate party, today it is a standard tool in HR work for many large companies. Its ideas and principles must reflect the constantly changing demands of society: what was interesting yesterday may be irrelevant today, and vice versa. Let's look at the main team building trends in 2019. 

Why hold team building events?

The main goals that any team building pursues:

• to unite the team, create a sense of unity and cooperation rather than rivalry;

• to teach employees to interact with each other to achieve results, to be a team rather than a group;

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• to develop relationships in the team based on trust and mutual understanding;

• to entertain employees, relieve stress and psychological tension;

• to motivate, fill with new energy and aspirations;

• to increase loyalty to management, strengthen its authority, create friendly communication through informal situations.

Not every company has the time and ability to organize a team building event on its own. The key to a successful result is thorough preparation and planning, which require considerable effort and resources. That is why companies are increasingly delegating the organization of team building to professionals.

Formats

There are various classifications of team building based on different factors: target audience, theme and scope, venue and method of holding, duration of the event, nature of team formation, etc. We will try to conditionally combine these factors by examining the main directions of team building types:

1. Sports. They involve active pastime, more often outdoors, in the form of football, basketball, paintball, laser tag, sports relays, quests, etc. Extreme types can be singled out separately in this group: adventure race (or multisport, survival races), mountaineering, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, equestrian sport, orienteering, rock climbing, regatta, alpine skiing and snowboarding, diving, helicopter drop-off, rafting on rafts, expedition, etc.

2. Creative. A wide variety of formats can include not only theatrical, musical, dance, literary, and film team building, but also the use of the "hand-made" format (training in decorative and applied arts, introduction to ancient crafts), as well as culinary. 

3. Intellectual. They involve a "brainstorming" for employees: quizzes, intellectual and board games, city quests, photo navigation (photo hunt).

4. Historical. Modeling a team activity scenario based on various historical facts, events, personalities, stylization of knight tournaments, Viking campaigns, Soviet themes. A military variety (military) can be singled out separately – recreating combat situations and real military actions.

5. Exotic. Unusual formats such as reality shows "The Last Hero", "Village/Farm", "Behind the Glass", ethnic team building.

6. Psychological. Identifying a leader in the team, the role of each employee, developing communication skills and the ability to find compromise through training, tests, psychological experiments in a relaxed atmosphere.

7. Social and environmental. Events that benefit society and the environment: planting trees, collecting garbage and cleaning up areas, helping the elderly, disabled, socially vulnerable groups, and other charity events.

How to choose a venue: preparation tips

Choosing a place for team building is a very serious organizational issue, since all the nuances, pros and cons of the venue must 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, a picturesque view, moderate temperature and good ventilation (for indoor venues), and the absence of distractions (for example, construction nearby).

• Capacity. A team building event for a team of 20 people and, for example, for 150 requires completely different conditions and space.

• Well-planned change of locations, organized transport. In the case of an off-site event, make sure all participants know when, where and how they should get there, so that there are no time delays and no "lost" employees. It is better to arrange a transfer in advance.

• Technical capabilities. If the concept requires good sound, lighting, internet, the use of gadgets and plasma screens, it is important to study the capabilities of the proposed venue in advance, equip it with everything necessary or adjust the program.

• Catering. None of the participants will refuse a light buffet, and if the event is long, organizing a full lunch is mandatory. In this case, it is convenient to use catering services.

• Weather conditions. It is essential to take into account the weather forecast, and also to take precautions in case of unexpected rain, so that all guests have somewhere to shelter.

Main trends of 2019

Corporate management quickly responds to changing public interests and demands. Therefore, the field of team building must always be 'on the wave', reflect everything that interests society at the moment, what concerns it, what influences it, what problems it faces. Let's look at the current trends of 2019 for team building:

• Globalization. This is the unification of team building participants on a global level, erasing borders, time, distance, language and cultural barriers. It can be expressed in the creation of cross-cultural teams (with participants of different nationalities), virtual teams (remote, connected by modern means of communication), short-term project teams (to solve one 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 topped the charts for several years and is evident in all areas of human activity. Environmental protection and the search for development strategies are manifested in ecological team building. The deep positive effect is due to the fact that a common idea of global importance unites the team more than any rules and regulations. It can be expressed in planting seedlings, community clean-up, campaigns to protect endangered species, raising awareness about recycling, etc.

• Socialization of team building. Social and community tasks become the basis of teamwork. This includes help in solving problems of homelessness, illiteracy, fighting HIV and other diseases. The implementation of such projects helps to feel the significance of the work done by the whole team and each participant personally.

• The growing role of technology in human life. The need to master technological innovations can be manifested in Hi-Tech team building, for example, extreme trainings or quests using GPS equipment, photo navigation, internet resources, mobile communications.

• Attention to catastrophes and natural disasters. Modeling a catastrophe to mobilize the team's strengths and skills to work in extreme conditions (for example, firefighting, man-made team building, disaster situation, etc.).

• Feminization. This trend can manifest itself in the creation of women's teams to test performance both in neutral areas and in purely male activities.

• Striving for new experiences and impressions. Cognitive interest comes to the fore, acquaintance with new, unknown things, immersion in a radically different field to broaden the horizons of employees.

• Individualization. This is an emphasis not only on teamwork, but also on individual growth and personal development. It is an emphasis on increasing each person's self-esteem and awareness of their importance in the common cause.

• Strong emotions. The growing demand for highly extreme team building will continue. Although this type of team building will not become a leader due to high risks and dangers. Also, in this area there will be an emphasis on the development and management of the team's emotions (emotional management) in extreme conditions, and team energy.

Of course, new trends will not appear out of nowhere: they will interact with familiar forms of events, update them, gradually replacing outdated ones.

Sports team building will remain popular, but the emphasis will increasingly be on extreme sports and the natural environment. Creative team building will also remain relevant, with new additions such as "scripted" forms (for example, "composite picture"), the use of decorative elements and art performances.

Aventura event agency has extensive experience in holding such team-building events. We will be happy to help you choose a suitable format, take on all organizational matters, draft a script, prepare the venue, and hold the event at a high level. All you have to do is take an active part in the action and watch the results come in as a well-coordinated team effort.