Corporate Team Building: A Planning Guide

Anyone can throw a party, play some games, or put together a few hours of “mandatory fun,” but effective corporate team building is much more challenging.  Putting on a program that actually builds a team requires considerable thought, planning, and skilled facilitation. But with your bright ideas and our comprehensive guide, you can plan a corporate outing that will last far beyond a single day.

Step 1: Preparation

In school, you probably learned the scientific method. Remember the hypothesis? That’s the main goal or purpose of your work: for team building, it’s having a clear and realistic goal of what you expect to accomplish during your team-building event. You should look for relevant success factors that go beyond “everyone liked it.” What changes would you like to see at work? What business issues need to be addressed?

Step 2: Planning

Plan your agenda around results, not activity! Our “fun-to-business ratio” is a great tool to help you find a balance between recreation and business.  Once you settle on an appropriate ratio, this tool will also help you identify suitable activities.  You should also finalize logistics, vendors, staffing, and venue. All of thee components are guided by your findings during Step 1 – preparation.

Step 3: Delivery

Delivering the program is where all of your hard work comes together: be sure to think carefully about whether you need expert facilitation to achieve your goals. As the mastermind, it’s your job to think strategically and focus on the bigger picture. Is set-up and all preparations accounted for? Does your opening set clear goals and expectations?  Does the program reinforce and close with a review of your goals from Step 1? Does every participant leave with a clear understanding of the why behind your event?

Step 4: Follow-up

Marketing professionals know that seven is the magical number for “points of reinforcement.” If you want your initiative to have lasting impact, make sure you reinforce your messaging back at work. You should keep this simple: 1-3 key messages max – but repeat them often and in multiple ways through staff meetings, follow-up emails, or verbally in small groups and teams.

Download the Learning Technologies Corporate Team Building Planning Guide