As a doctor analyzes and renders a diagnosis, professionalism in the team
learning and development industry is demonstrated by both the questions
posed, and answers provided, in the preparation phase of considering a team exercise. Some key issues to consider, and our recommended approach to structuring an off-site workshop as part of your organizational development plan, are:
1. Share with us a couple of general and specific objectives you have in mind for this team exercise. What specific goals do you have in months-to-come that will require high-performance teamwork in order to achieve them?
2. Tell us about the make-up of your team: male/female ratio, age,
nationalities, background, number of years with the organization, fitness level and management experience & background.
3. Have recent changes or conflicts within the team caused you to consider a team building retreat, or are you looking to analyze, and tune-up an already satisfactory engine? Who should participate? Are there any key gaps in the team’s performance that the off-site workshop could be built around? And what of your organization’s values? Can they be used as a basis for all activities, or in some cases rolled-out during
the workshop? Whatever the case, it is imperative that all activities are
directly related to intended objectives to ensure a positive ROI.
4. Pre-workshop team surveys are what we highly recommend and gladly
conduct for you with quick ‘survey monkey’ online questionnaires to all
your colleagues. It enables us to assess: levels of communication, both vertically & horizontally, clarity of goals & roles, cross-functional understanding, accountability at the mid-level, willingness to provide feedback and cross-cultural effectiveness? Based on what we learn from both the quantitative and qualitative data, benchmarks are set for post workshop follow-up, and we ensure design of the off-site is based on the ‘real issues as perceived by all.
5. What has worked in the past at team retreats, and what hasn’t? What type of learning activities fit with your organizational culture?
6. How experienced is your facilitator in designing original business
simulations, cases and creative challenges to suit the needs of your team,
and be able to professionally de-brief all activities. Is he or she also fluent –both linguistically, and culturally — in both English and Thai?