Trends In Team Building
gage in more bonding activities in re- cent years. “They are wanting to go outside of their comfort zone with events to take in first time experi- ences together as a team, such as a clay bird outing or an Amazing Race adventure, which is our most popu- lar event."
Skytop’s Amazing Race is a team building activity where groups of five engage in every kind of chal- lenge from mental to physical. “We have groups returning from last year asking for the same event, but they challenge us to top it, and of course, we love the challenge… it’s in our nature,” asserts Ranallo.
“Our newest team building activity includes a community centric event,” she continues, “where we give back to our local pet shelters. Your group will make everything from dog beds to pet toys to cat scratch pads. It’s pretty amazing to see our furry friends being taken care of, too.”
As for the main benefits of partici- pating in a team building event, Ranallo says that, in the short term, participants feel that connection with each other as a team. “It’s sometimes easier to communicate when you are with smaller teams, but as a leader, you have a much larger team back at the home office.”
Which leads to the longer term, where Ranallo says the hope is that the group goes back to their day-to- day and reflects on those moments of feeling vulnerable. “Think to your- self, how can you lead your team with the same mindset of taking peo- ple out of their comfort zone and un- derstand that it’s a long-term goal,” she explains. “Some will fail and some will succeed, but it is impor- tant to take what you’ve learned and create an environment in which they feel as though they are on the same team and moving together toward the same goal."
In suburban Philadelphia, a destina- tion that has found great success in the realm of culinary team building
3 0 Julyz August2019
is Normandy Farm Hotel and Confer- ence Center in Blue Bell, PA.
According to Laura Marra, corporate planner for Normandy Farm, the property recently revamped all of the culinary team building activities it offers to guests. Its newest offer- ings consist of the following team activities: The Farmer’s Market; Pan Asian Cuisine; Bakers VS Fakers; and the Make a Cake Challenge.
“Our Farmer’s Market theme is per- fect for groups that are a bit more health conscious and really focused toward that ‘farm fresh’ experience,” observes Marra. “In Bakers VS Fak- ers, the guests get to compete against our pastry team to create the best cookies. It is the perfect ac- tivity to let out some secret creativ- ity… Having such a variety of offerings allows us to accommodate all types and sizes of groups. From savory to sweet, we’ve got it all!"
The culinary team building offerings at Normandy Farm provide fun and unique activities for guests as they learn to work together in a casual environment. These offerings pro- vide employees with an opportunity to experience cooperation, channel communication and mitigate any problems that may arise in a quick and effective manner. Generating this rapport can be extremely bene- ficial in creating a strong company foundation, Marra asserts.
"How an individual portrays his or herself in a professional environ- ment might not fully reflect their tal- ents or personality,” she adds. “Putting people in a variety of un- usual situations through different ex- periences allows them to express these hidden abilities and traits that otherwise may not come out in their normal day-to-day positions."
"My colleagues and I were able to participate in an ‘Escape the Room’ activity together,” Marra continues. “Seeing the way that each of us used our personal strengths to compen- sate for one another’s weakness al- lowed us to better understand each
other and use our team’s skills to our advantage."
In addition to its culinary offerings, Normandy Farm also recently formed relationships with several local vendors as a way to offer an even larger variety of team building activities to guests. “This has given us the opportunity to venture out into new markets and provide more options, which is extremely benefi- cial - not only to keeping our current clients returning - but to catch the attention of new clients, as well," says Marra.
"Two of my favorites are ‘Axe Throw- ing’ by Throwhouse and ‘Murder Mystery Dinners’ by Without a Cue Productions,” she explains. “Axe throwing is such a unique and fun experience for groups that are look- ing for a more active and physical challenge to bring their employees together. Though it is one of our newest offerings, it is definitely one of the most popular and attention- grabbing."
"The Murder Mystery Dinner is an activity better suited for groups looking to enhance their dinner ex- perience with a little role playing,” Marra continues. “Though I had never experienced an activity like this, our team was lucky enough to participate in their ‘Slaying at the Sapphire Club’ portrayal. It was such an entertaining way to see our col- leagues in a different light; especially when our CFO was ‘murdered’ and fell to the floor!"
Whenever a group partakes in a team building activity, it becomes the “talk of the office” for the next few days, Marra explains. She says it gives coworkers a topic or reason to talk and sparks more conversations with each other than they had be- forehand.
While creating more conversation and discussions among an office would be considered a short-term benefit of experiencing a team build- ing activity, it also has the long-term effect of giving employees a sense of
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