With Spring just around the corner, team building is on the mind of school groups, government agencies, not-for-profit organizations and corporations. The “doom-and-gloom” economic reports of 2009 have left many of our clients a little nervous about their immediate financial future, and the need for reigning in costs is more important than ever. Here are a few ways you can cut team building costs without cutting team building benefits…
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Team Building Challenges on the National Mall
Hold your team building event either off-site at a local park. The group should not have to travel too far to get to the venue, and the venue should not cost an arm and a leg before you’ve even booked a team building facilitator. For groups in Washington DC, Rock Creek Park is one of our favorite event locations and only costs $7 to reserve a pavilion!
- Focus on activities first and decorations last. Although presentation is important, it is the activities that should have meaning in the end. If you really want to “do it all,” you could have a “banner-creating” team building activity as part of the program…
- Be realistic about your team building goals. Are you looking for a stand-alone event that will raise morale and enhance team spirit, or do you need something a little more focused, with specific goals and outcomes. If the focus is fun, check out our Adventure Team Challenge – a rotational team building event for groups on a budget.
- Potluck instead of catering. Nothing says team like a meal that was put together by the members of your group. Another great team building activity could be cooking the meal together…
- Combine your teambuilder with another activity. Maybe you just can’t afford to go off-site, and you prefer to have something brought to your location as part of a strategic planning session, or other meeting. Facilitated team building can provide a quick energizer for your team, and then you can “get back to work.” If you need to keep it quick and simple, check out our Portable Team Challenge – a facilitated team building program that can be brought to a conference room near you.
Team building on a budget is not necessarily a bad thing. If you simplify and focus on the key necessities, you can still reap the benefits of a high quality team building experience.