Make a Stand, Speak-Up and Contribute to your Team

In my years facilitating, I have often worked with various teams and groups. In these teams, there will always be people who take the backbench. Not because they were elected to it, but they choose to be there. To some, it would be a conscious choice but for most, they are afraid of the perception of other people about them if they say something wrong. They are afraid to tarnish their “reputation” and are so concerned about what others think about them. So they decide to sit down quietly and safely, and pass judgments on others instead. 

Now, my point of this will be for these people I just mentioned to speak-up and give face to your group or team. Drop self-impression of  “I’m not good enough and my opinions & ideas, what I say doesn’t matter”. It’s not about you anymore. It’s about the TEAM. You need to TAKE RISKS and SPEAK-UP. Do you learn a lot when someone shares in a team or group discussion? You will always learn something new about a subject or about the person. Your team members will definitely want to learn from you.  

The bright side is you will be amazed with the reaction or response you will get from the ideas you have. If you get shot down, well you just need to prepare or think harder before you get your ideas across the next time. Never say die. It will build your confidence as well and people will start to notice you more. When you give more, you will get more. And your team will surely be more productive when you contribute. 

I think everyone is familiar with the acronym: T.E.A.M = Together Everyone Achieves More

Is Team Building A Good Return On Investment?

Most people seem to think that teambuilding is a waste of finances. A large part of the reason why they think that is because they seem to think that teambuilding is all about running around aimlessly on a wild goose chase.

When it boils down to it, return on investment is what you are looking for when investing in this area. How much does it cost, what will you get on the day and most importantly what return will you get from the activities after the day of the event?

To ensure that you get a good return on your investment, it's important to choose carefully. A lot of money spent on the wrong type of team event will be a waste and equally not enough money spent may also prove pointless.

So how do you go about deciding which is the right form for your company? Firstly decide what your objectives are. Ultimately your objectives will normally include increased profitability for your company and the link between bottom line profit margins and team building may seem initially a little vague but there is a strong link between the two.

The second question has to be what is stopping you from achieving increased profitability? It could be that everyone seems happy enough, that there is no immediate issue that you can pinpoint. It may be that you have a high turnover of staff, poor communication or low morale. This is when a tangible link between increased profitability and team building can be seen.

By selecting the right team building activity to address the issue that is stopping you from achieving increased profitability, you can see a direct return on investment. It may not be instantly obvious to you which type of team activity will address your issues, that's why talking to a professional and experienced team building company is essential.

It's then that you can outline your teams backgrounds, your objectives and what budget you have to work towards. It's then that the team building company can suggest effective and productive team building solutions for your company.

Effective team building doesn't have to be all about building a raft and getting across water, of course it can be if you'd like but as our business environment has become more sophisticated then so has team building solutions.

You have to capture their imagination, you have to engage them, to entertain them and to motivate them, make them feel that the event you have organized is worth them missing office time for and to do that you have to offer them an experience with a difference.

Team activities with a difference can span a huge range from cost effective options to top end, money's no object budgets. To the majority of clients, a budget has to be stuck to, so you need to have an activity that is tailored towards your team, a little company personalization will go a long way into reinforcing your group that you have arranged this event for them, they will feel valued and part of a caring team.

It's also vital that you include everyone, you are always going to get people on holiday or simply can't make it but do your research and pick an optimum time to suit everyone. It should go without saying but a good team is lead from the top and so therefore it makes sense to have your key members of management present.

All too often senior managers will be busy working rather than concentrating on their most important asset - their team!

So does team building offer a good return on investment? If you follow this advice, it could give you the best return on investment that you've ever seen!

Request For Teambuilding : Questions to Ask Clients

This week I’m going to share with you what are the normal questions we can ask clients whenever they request a proposal.

1. What are the objectives/outcome of the teambuilding.
There are different types of clients. Sometimes, they just request for a proposal, but aren’t really clear about the objectives of the teambuilding they want to achieve. This is the most crucial part. This is because a teambuilding provider needs to be clear about the objectives that the company wants to achieve, in order to propose a teambuilding program/concept/activities that suits the objectives in mind. The common objectives of teambuilding are to recognize the benefits of teamwork, enhance communication, to acknowledge the happenings at work and the action that needs to be taken as well as fostering better working relationships between team members. Some of the companies are very good, they give specific aims they want achieved at the end of the teambuilding session – this could be something like increased ownership, responsibility and accountability at work.

2. What is the budget?
We as the training provider can propose a lot of exciting programs, but at the end we want to ensure the proposed programs are within the client’s budget. We never overpromised and under deliver. Companies do have budget for every training. Sometimes, they want to do a lot of things, but this is cannot be done because of their budget constraints. We will ensure the programs we propose are suitable with the client’s budget but still very much value for money. The preferred location should be within the clients budget as well. This is because we also need to pay for the accommodation and transportation. We want to make sure it’s a win for everyone.

3. Target Participants
It’s important for the teambuilding provider to know who are the target participants. This is because we need to be clear about what kind of activities suit them making it easier for us to communicate during implementation day. We need to know :
· How many participants are attending the teambuilding, how many men and women?
· Who are they – as in their designation?
· What language should be used?
· Which departments do they belong to?
· Have they been involved in any teambuilding before?

4. Contact Details of Client
After you ask the questions above, you need to get the client details. This is because you need these details for the proposal. You need to be clear on:
· The name of the company – make sure it’s spelled correctly.
· Who is the person in charge – who is the person requesting the proposal and what is his/her designation. You can request for the second person in charge as well, such as their superior/boss, the manager of the department that is requesting the teambuilding. This will help you to follow up and speak to the right person in the future.
· The company address – easier for you to send the invoice.
· Contact Numbers : telephone number and fax number. You can also request their mobile number if they allow you to contact them via mobile.
· Email address – for you to send the proposal. If possible, get second email to cc as well. So, if the person is not around, you can contact the next individual.

After you’re clear about all of these questions, now you can proceed with your proposal. Normally, we’ll prepare the proposal within three working days. Do not rush your proposal out as you need to ensure the proposed programs suit clients requirements and their budget.

Producing Results Effectively With Your Team While Having Fun

The title says it all. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to experience it with my team. We were preparing for an event which needed a lot of preparation and attention to details, because the end result we desire is to have an outstanding event that we will leave our clients with a lasting positive experience.
So, what was so special about the weekend you ask?

Everyone was working really hard at chasing deadlines and making sure everything falls into place for the event. Work was work but we did not forget to stop and have fun. It was one of our team member’s birthday. This celebration was a really special day for my colleague. Every one of us was excited to be part of this. Energy was high, the atmosphere was electric. Enthusiasm was running wild. Don’t worry. No contraband was present that evening. It was memorable for everyone there especially the birthday girl.

The next day we continued our preparation. There was still a lot to do. We targeted to finish everything at 7pm, and yes it is the fasting month, but everyone was so focused, it didn’t matter if we were fasting or not. It didn’t matter about being anywhere else. Everyone enjoyed being there helping each other. It was like a ‘gotong-royong’ for a ‘kenduri kampung’. We were cracking jokes and telling stories. I felt happy in the presence of these fantastic people.

We even got creative and played games which revolved around who could sort out the items the fastest. We were having so much fun doing this that we finished everything at 5pm. All of us were happy and motivated. We got to go home early and ‘buka puasa’ with our families. Was that effective? Weren’t those good results? I don’t think it was good.. but GREAT.

I believe the key is your attitude. When you care about your team mates and are not selfish, spectacular things will happen for you and everyone around you.

The result is; TEAMWORK + FUN = HAPPINESS, SATISFACTION, MOTIVATION & EFFECTIVE RESULTS