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There is a lot of uninspiring team building out there. An ice breaker here, a problem to solve there … The best part of the day for participants is when they go home at the end of the day. Team building does not have to be tedious or predictable, here are four great team building ideas which can help to gel your team and develop innovative thinking skills in a great environment.

People of a certain age will clearly remember a TV programme in which Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring had a great time organising and commentating whilst ordinary people floundered around in bizarre foam-rubber suits on washing-up liquid soaked bouncy castles. The programme? It’s a Knockout. To succeed, the teams had to support one another, think quickly to solve problems and of course make an informed decision about when to play the joker to gain double points. This is now available to do the same for your team!

The TV series Spooks has generated a huge interest in espionage and the work of secret agents and spies. The latter have to learn to think on their feet and to make instant decisions – wouldn’t it be great if your teams could do that. The series Spy School was compelling watching as ordinary people followed a secret service training course. Many aspects of the secret services have now been adapted for team building – activities such as agents in disguise, bomb disposal, evasive driving and safe cracking are used to challenge business teams, bringing the members together and developing their problem solving skills.

Corporate treasure hunts are another motivational way to team build. Here a team is faced with far too many clues than can possibly be answered in the time available. Decision making takes place first, where the team agree on the route – you soon find out who are the leaders! Then the co-operation and lateral thinking skills are developed as the team addresses their clues and finally flexibility is nurtured as the team adapt their strategy as time is running out.

Mediaeval team building is great fun, with activities like jousting and sheep throwing, but it involves all of the key aspects of team building. Team members have to learn new skills in a short time, make collaborative decisions and overcome challenges that they would not normally encounter – all skills that are essential to a successful corporate team.

So you see, team building need not be met with groans of dismay from your employees. Give them a day to remember. But like a new pet is not just for Christmas, Team building is not just for a day! You will need to make sure that the skills from your team building day are reinforced … but that is a subject for another article.

Teams lie at the heart of corporate success. Whether these are management teams, sales teams or the team in the office, you will find effective teams in the most profitable organisations. But these teams don’t just function well internally, they connect with each other – I have seen many companies in which the different departments hardly speak to each other! And when they do, it is usually through the managers. So how can you ensure that your workforce is contented, connected and devoted to the company?

Corporate entertainment, fun days and stealth team building is the answer.

Corporate entertainment and stealth team building is of benefit to all sizes of company. Including the management on a corporate entertainment day will help to break down barriers and allow you staff to overcome obstacles in the work place. It is not possible for individuals to perform to their potential unless they have a good team and work environment so the creation of a team atmosphere is very important.

But what is stealth team building? Essentially, it is team building without ramming it down people’s throats. Pick the right type of team building activity and the right provider and team building is corporate entertainment. The events should motivate and challenge the delegates, using the skills the need to function effectively as a team – communication, encouraging each other, lateral thinking … Do this enough and it becomes second nature. The teams for the event should be randomly picked so that employees get to interact with people from other departments, management etc. There should be some worthwhile reward for the victorious team.

OK, now what sort of corporate entertainment events are the best? Conventional barrel and plank activities, stacking crates and so on are great for a few minutes then people just end up standing around whilst the dominant ones direct everything. Same with outdoors types of activities, there is a load of safety then you have to watch for ages as one by one the rest of the company abseil down a cliff or off a bridge. Wow, exciting for about 30 seconds! Motorised events are great fun but again there is the involvement aspect, or rather lack of it.

Good solutions are treasure hunts and scavenger hunts, especially on foot and in cities or towns as the teams stay together for the duration of the event and are also continually occupied. Then there are the silly photographs, tasks and shopping lists to add the fun element. Also very good team building comes from having a series of short, snappy activities such as the Enigma Project from Spy Games. Here teams compete in a series of challenges requiring team work for success.

Team building ensures greater success in all areas of your business. Regular corporate entertainment of this sort creates a fulfilled, happy workforce, reducing the expense and time needed for the recruitment and training of new staff.

Corporate entertainment is of crucial importance in today’s business world. It is used to woo potential clients, to celebrate a goal reached, to reward and motivate staff and even as a subtle method of team building. But there is such a bewildering array of corporate entertainment events, what do you choose? Here are a few ideas of what is on offer.

Adventure Days

Adventure themed corporate entertainment events have been around for quite a while now. They provide you with an exciting and entertaining day out and offer the chance to sample activities that most people would not normally experience. The original adventure days involved abseiling and climbing, plus possibly weekends out in the wilds, although the latter became the stereotype for management training and team building events. These are still very popular but could alienate some of your staff who prefer a dry and less physical environment. Also, there can be quite a lot of standing around watching others. The adventure days style of corporate entertainment has evolved into more sophisticated events, for example Spy themed events, in which teams compete in a variety of short tasks, motivated by (fake) money!

Hospitality Days

Taking your clients or staff on a day at the races or to a football match is another popular corporate event. One benefit of these is that your staff or clients will remain dry! They will also be pampered as sporting clubs and venues compete for their slice of the huge sums spent on corporate entertainment. A downside is, as with the adventure days, some staff could be thoroughly bored by the sporting event so do your homework carefully.

Food and Evening Events

We are talking casino nights, wine tasting, chocolate tasting, gourmet meals and so on here. Even the most sour of your employees could not fail to have a great time, unless of course they are teetotal or on a diet! The casino night is popular with just about everybody – the point is to try and make money, but even losing huge sums can make for great entertainment. With the tastings, always make sure that they are a little bit special, either at a special venue or with a company who emphasises the ‘fun’ in ‘corporate fun event’.

Themed Events

The corporate entertainment events that prove hugely successful with staff and clients are themed days – It’s a Knockout for example. An up and coming fun day idea is the Medieval themed event that have developed from the medieval banquet style of event. Participants dress up in medieval clothing for the whole event, which is just the start of the fun. As the day progresses, they learn and practice an assortment of medieval skills like archery, building and firing a trebuchet (siege catapult), getting a reluctant boar to the kitchen and jousting. As the day develops, everyone is involved in an archery battle, where the battle of Agincourt is (sort of) re-enacted. The day is given a real sense of direction by the jousting finale. In the jousting, each team’s best knight competes for the championship – on horses propelled by the other team members. Great fun indeed!

So to sum up, there are many different events out there; all have their merits and drawbacks so think carefully before choosing. Ring the changes, don’t go for the same event each time, no matter how much fun it is, too much can be boring and demotivate staff. Some corporate entertainment also doubles as team building which is an added bonus to your organisation.