A recent surge in the popularity of corporate team-building activities has seen some human resources professionals become virtual events organisers. And the point is, it works! Craig Donaldson looks at three corporate team-building activities to bolster the team spirit within your organisation
A recent surge in the popularity of corporate team-building activities has seen some human resources professionals become virtual events organisers. And the point is, it works! Craig Donaldson looks at three corporate team-building activities to bolster the team spirit within your organisation
Escape artists – getting away from it all, Central Coast style
Only an hour or so north of Sydney you’ll find a little place called Patonga. Located at the southern tip of the Central Coast, this small beachside town is where Southern Adventures launch combined kayaking and hiking trips around the estaurine waterways local Brisbane Waters National Park. But it doesn’t just end there: Southern Adventures cater for any level of expertise and have a range of trips around the whole Central Coast, many of them ideal for that ‘just you, nature and the rest of the office’ teambuilding experience.
The teamwork required just to steer your canoe straight will certainly get even the most relaxed and tolerant individual a little perplexed. Just remember the J-stroke and you’ll do fine with short paddles; if you don’t know what that is then double-bladed paddles might be a better way to go, but watch for those collisions and splashes.
The first step – getting the canoes into the water – can prove to be a real mission: our crew of intrepid paddlers had considerable trouble after an over-confident punter attempted some sort of gymnastic-Olympic-style canoe insertion which saw bodies floundering in the shallow water and a lot of verbal abuse more conducive to making enemies than building teams.
But it’s all in good fun and the four hours that followed proved not only challenging – negotiating meandering creeks, mangroves and oyster beds – but relaxing, taking in the natural flora and fauna, and a bit of light conversation. The day included a hearty lunch consisting of salads, mussels, meats and the classic Aussie billy tea, which was followed by a hike up to picturesque waterholes in the neighbouring hills.
Southern Adventures trips make an excellent team-building day out, and also makes a great excursion for international corporate visitors who want to make their stay in Australia a little more exciting.
Tel: (02) 4341 2866 or 0415 792 944. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.southernadventures.com.au
Paintball skirmish – team building shoot ‘em up style
Out where one part of Sydney’s western suburbs starts to give way to countryside, you’ll find a collection of strange objects arranged in confusing patterns in a number of fields and wooded areas. This is Heartbreak Ridge paintball centre, the scene for several hours of sweaty, high-adrenaline, high-aggression team-building.
Groups are formed, kitted out and lectured on the stringent safety procedures (the supplied goggles are not to be removed under any circumstances), then after firing a couple of rounds at targets they move out to begin the action proper. The “games” are dictated by the terrain of the particular field to which the teams are assigned, but most involve either reaching the opposing team’s ‘base’ or being the last man standing, and either way it usually works out as a war of attrition, with team members in sniping positions picking off more and more of their opposite numbers until the way to the opposing base or objective is clear.
Importantly for those who actually want to build teams as well as just pump as many of the luridly coloured pellets into the enemy as possible cover, strategy is key. How many people stay back to cover the home base? How many make forward excursions into enemy territory? And how will they cover each other moving forward? These are questions the answers to which need a team consensus; and in the carrying out of the plans of action even more teamwork is needed to avoid the stinging pain of enemy fire.
There’s also lots of potential for practising conflict resolution skills: colleagues hit by friendly fire, opposition members who refuse to go down when hit, team members left stranded at the home base – all are likely to be running hot tempers.
This is an intense activity, and all players will need a good level of mobility and fitness to enjoy it (unless their team builds sufficiently well to accommodate them...). But memorable it certainly is, and the degree of realism of the battle simulation means that there’s every incentive to get that team in full working order.
Tel: (02) 9716 9205. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.paintball.net.au
Quad biking – safaris, surf, sun and sand dune style
The setting is the largest moving coastal sand mass in the Southern Hemisphere. The transport is a small fleet of low-geared and sure-footed Honda quad bikes. The crew is a small but hardy band ready to take on the sand dunes, come hell or high water.
After donning helmet and a thorough drilling in quad bike safety from a well-practised and somewhat intimidatingly rigorous instructor, the rolling sand dunes of Port Stephens are a short ride away.
Our team follows the instructor in single file into the towering dune system, where we receive further instruction on how to safely climb and descend the steep dunes. Roving the brilliant white dunes is something else altogether – a unique but quietly awe-inspiring experience – with some sand hills as high as thirty metres.
Following the instructor to the crest of a steep dune, our team dismounts the quad bikes perched atop the sand hill, and we are handed some sand dune toboggans. Now this is fun! One by one, each team member goes skimming down the steep sand slope at breakneck speed, arms splayed back for balance, with fingers at the ready to dig in should one require sand dune toboggan brakes.
After sliding safely down the dune, the dual sense of fun and relief of having made it down in one piece fresh in the group, we saddle our intrepid quad bikes once more and speedily follow our instructor to flatter sand terrain, where we stretch the quad bike’s legs a little and open up the throttle.
This leads us to world war two defense lines and the shipwreck of the “Sygna”– the largest ship ever to be wrecked along the eastern coast of Australia. The area is full of history, and considering Port Stephens is a fair hike from anywhere it’s well worth making a day of it. There are a host of other team building activities on offer, including horse riding, fishing and kite flying, which groups can rotate between depending on the scale of the team building exercise, which definitely has bonding or getting-to-know-you team building potential.
Tel: (02) 9873 6429. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.presentsolutions.com.au
