The Difficulties of Organising a Team Building Away Day

Sometimes people volunteer to organise a team building activity day and sometimes the task is delegated to them. Increasingly larger team building events are organised by a committee. Very often this is an opportunity for people to stand out to their managers, to show that they can run a successful project which may help their career progression.

The first challenge is to choose a suitable location and the theme of the day. At this stage most people turn to the internet for research. The venue will need to be in a convenient location and have the right facilities for the day. If outdoor activities are planned then it will need to have adequate and suitable outdoor space. Most venues do not have land for motorised activities and other activities, such as clay pigeon shooting, require a special licence.

The theme of the day is the next decision. A huge variety are available from team challenges through to participation activities. You have to please as many people as possible with the chosen theme and some take a consultative approach, asking the participants for their input or sending out a survey. This can create as many problems as it solves and the experienced organiser will accept that you just cannot please all of the people all of the time. There are events that have generally broad appeal and a good event management company will be able to offer tailored advice based on their experience.

Diary management is one of the main challenges of organising an event. How do you choose a day when all of the people who need to be there can be there, taking into account work commitments and holidays? In recent years there has been a move towards holding events at very short notice, often with just a couple of weeks' notice. This is the 'window of opportunity' approach to organising an event. Sometimes a convenient day appears on the horizon and a team will just grab it. Event companies have adapted well to this short lead time business model for smaller events.

For larger events one significant challenge is having an entire team out of a business for a day. Some businesses or teams can, literally, close down for the day but others find this difficult. Call centres are one very good example of this issue. Motivation is a key issue for managers of call centre teams and a team building away day is a very effective solution. Many get around this by having two days and taking half of the team out on each day. It is not a perfect solution, but it is the best solution in most cases.

These are just some of the issues that need to be considered before an organiser starts the process of arranging a team building activity day. They key is to choose a good event management company to work with. They will also be able to arrange the venue for you based on their experience of its quality and suitability.

Working with a good team building supplier will take a great deal of the stress out of organising an event, but leave the corporate organiser to take the credit and qudos from their peers and managers. That can be very good for a career.