Teambuilding Does Anything But
The management team, where I work, recently decided to send a group of us on a teambuilding exercise. The outcome has been two colleagues resigning and one undergoing disciplinary action for gross misconduct.
Although attendance on the teambuilding event was not compulsory many signed up out of fear that non-attendance would not be good for their careers. They had planned a packed intinerary including archery, hiking, climbing and orienteering. But no sooner had we arrived and things began to go downhill.
There had clearly been a breakdown in communications as the details of what we were each required to bring along had not been provided to everybody. Many people had turned up without sleeping bags and some had even omitted to bring any proper outdoor clothes.This resulted in arguments between some of my colleagues and one group decided it was time to go to the pub for a liquid lunch.
The organizers had provided all of the essential camping equipment including optional tents, hammocks and tarpaulins, ideal for the hardier, experienced campers. I chose the log cabin as this was comfortably furnished with proper beds.
When my colleagues returned from the pub they were clearly the worse for drink. An orienteering exercise had been arranged for the afternoon that would take us out into the local woods. The organizers had set up a treasure hunt that would see us cover around 6 miles, following clues and instructions as we reached each checkpoint. The prospect of walking 6 miles was clearly too much for the group who’d returned from the pub and instead they chose to sit in a clearing smoking, drinking whiskey and telling jokes.
When the evening came round it was time for us to cook our dinner over an open camp fire. The ingredients for our supper consisted of several whole chickens, some potatoes and other vegetables along with some dried fruit and fruit juices. The menu was clearly not to the liking of a few of my colleagues who decided that they would prefer pizza so they got on the phone to a delivery service in a nearby village. This was enough to cause the organizers to call a meeting with all of us in order to clarify what was expected of us while we were attending their campsite.
Things continued to go downhill, mainly due to the continued consumption of alcohol. The crowd who had gone to the pub for lunch had missed the opportunity to select comfortably bunks in the log cabin so they were expected to sleep in the tents. This didn’t go down well and several said that they would prefer to go to a hotel. When it was pointed out that this was not in the spirit of teambuilding they became belligerent and even threatened one of the organizers.
The outcome was that several of those who were unhappy with the trip ended up going home. Those of us who stayed had a great time but it was clear that the organisers were not happy with our colleagues.
This experience should remind managers of the need to get the buy-in of all attendees on a teambuilding exercise. It’s also important to ensure that everybody knows what is expected of them and what they will get out of the exercise.
Tags: camp, camper, camping, camping equipment, ears, outdoor, outdoors, rent, RV, sleep, sleeping bag, sleeping bags, teambuilding, tent, tents, vegetables, villa