Are you using technology to power your event? Or are you going to encourage your team to create technologies? There's more than one way to enthuse a sales team. But whatever you choose, getting involved with clever machines and sneaky contraptions has a ton of team building benefits.
The average workplace is filled with technological interaction. On a simple level, bringing that power into a corporate event is a way to get the team comfortable with their environment. They all know how to operate tablets and smart devices, which means they can be trained into what they need to do using familiar taps and swipes.
Want to help your team learn new skills, adapt to change, or simply see themselves in a new light? That's where unfamiliar tech comes in. Machines you need to build, machines that aren't powered by smart technology, or contraptions that use technology in different ways, are all classic de-comfort-zoners.
Archaic technology, like a catapult or a raft, has the effect of forcing your team to re-assess their ideas of what can and can't be done. It's the team-building equivalent of not using social media for a day. And it can teach a valuable lesson about improvising with the resources at hand to get the job finished.
I've collected some examples of technology-powered team events to give you some ideas for your next out of office day.
Activate! For anyone who remembers 90s classic TV show Robot Wars (who could forget Craig Charles and his poems?), this is one of my favourite team building events. The object of the game is to build and fight epic battle bots. You'll need delegation skills, great communication and the ability to think laterally if you're going to get a working machine into the combat arena.
“The first rule of Robot Club is, no-one talks about Robot Club. The second rule is no smoking…” - Spaced
Ever fancied being a film star? Maybe the director's megaphone is more your thing… Nothing defines your team like a co-operative enterprise. Making a movie also requires a ton of technological interaction, from camera operation to editing. It's a great activity for watching your team split up into its natural roles - the technically-minded working the grip, the leaders arranging the scene and the up and comers trying to make their mark in front of the lens.
“For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake.” - Alfred Hitchcock
A treasure hunt is a team building classic. Get tech involved, and it becomes a multimedia experience. Teams are encouraged to solve photo clues, stage videos and discover hidden elements to a familiar city. And all while being tracked by GPS, which unlocks new areas of the hunt as each level is completed. It's like being in an immersive real-life videogame. Trying to top a live leaderboard feed doesn't hurt in the positive competition stakes, either.
“Not all treasure's silver and gold, mate.” - Jack Sparrow
Classic team building is all about rewards. Make the payoff visual with a rocket building competition. Teams will need to put their best people on the job, as they work out how to turn a box of inventor's bits into a working rocket. If they've delegated correctly, shared out the task time efficiently and trusted their ability to interpret instructions, they're rewarded with the sight of their spacecraft blasting into the atmosphere. What a great metaphor. Another good competitive challenge, this works best when small teams race against each other. Award points for construction, design flair, and the rocket that travels furthest.
“A rocket won't fly unless somebody lights the fuse.” - Homer Hickam
What will you be doing for your next corporate event? Let me know if you have favourite tech-based challenges of your own!
