Yesterday I was required to attend All Staff. For those of you who work in the Alumni Memorial Union, you know that All Staff is a biannual event for all students who work in the Union. It takes place on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and usually includes guest speakers, presentations by the student managers, activities, departmental meetings, and lunch (the most popular event). This year, the coordinators decided to do things a little bit differently and give us much more time to spend within our departments. Usually, the department meetings consist of student managers running down an agenda of topics to discuss while student employees grumpily mumble under their breath about having to wake up early on a Sunday to sit in boring work meetings. However, this year was radically different. In my department meeting, we spent the majority of our time doing team building activities and, surprisingly, we had a lot of fun.
Like most team building exercises, the ones we participated included elements of trust building, communication, and teamwork. By the end of the session, my department members were huddling together on a tiny 4 ft. "island," standing on each others backs (yes, literally), and leaping into fellow employees' arms. Needless to say, these were intense team building games. All of the activities went extremely well and definitely met the goal of bringing our employees closer and building trust among the group.
In the case of my student employee department, team building activities have proven to be successful. However, this got me thinking about team building activities on a larger scale. Do team building exercises always work in a professional environment? In my department's case, the exercises were successful because we are all young student workers who are not afraid to act silly and participate in physical activities. Additionally, we have all known each other fairly well prior to the activity. After the day was over, I wondered if our activities would have gone as well if we were not as familiar with each other or if our department as a whole did not have such a positive attitude.
In order for the activities to work, I think the group must be somewhat familiar with each other beforehand. Otherwise, any physical activity might be awkward and make people feel uncomfortable, which would inhibit participants from being fully engaged in the activity. However on the other hand, if department members already know each other very well, the team building activity might serve as a time to simply goof around or socialize. If this was the case, the bonding aspect of the activity might not be as meaningful or effective as it would be for new group members. Most importantly, the group's collective attitude must be positive, open, and willing. This is easier said than done, especially when the activities are taking place outside of the normal work hours or during a busy workday when the worker has "more important" things to be doing.
I think team building exercises are a powerful tool for bonding, but only with the right formula.
Oh All Staff!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that your department time was good. I have always had a positive experience with team building in a professional setting. It offers an opportunity to interact with co-workers on another level. It was fun, and it is always nice to get out of work for a couple of hours. So I think that it is possible that these types of activities are beneficial even if it is only giving employees a breather from work.
I am curious...how was my team building activity?
Your All Staff sounds like a great experience. I think a lot of times team building activities can be either awkward or not worth taking time away from other productive activities. But I think if administrators work hard to come up with inventive and new games, team building can be really worth while.
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out a common problem though: if workers don't know each other it can be uncomfortable, but also if they know each other too well it can be wasted time.
I think another problem can be people's commitment to the activities. Some may be excited about the experience, while others may be unenthusiastic. It could be a challenge to make sure that regardless of someone's involvement they take something away from the games.
It's really great to hear the MU does such a good job keeping their student employees connected. With all the bad experiences I've had with team building, it gives me some hope that not all have to be boring!
I like that Marquette does this for their student employees. It is a fun way to get to know each other as well as more about yourself. It is important to know the people you work with and I think activities like this are a great way to do that.
ReplyDeleteWe recently did something similar with my student organization since there are so many underclassmen that have just joined, it was a great way to get to know them.