Seven Questions to Ask When Selecting
a Team Building Company

Buyer Beware! Many team building companies are simply recreation majors who know how to play games, but don't understand business.

Possibly the best way to evaluate a team building company is to ask their advice on helping you solve an actual problem your team is facing. You might be surprised how many team building companies know how to play games, and they may even know how to debrief those games, but they don't really know team dynamics in the business world. The vast majority of team building practitioners do NOT come from a business background. They come from a recreational background. Therefore, they probably do not understand your business. By asking them to consult with you for 10 - 15 minutes on an actual team building problem you will see who can deliver the goods and who can't.

Q. Can you give me some advice on a specific problem I am having with my team?

It seems that "team building" is quickly becoming a buzz word for all kinds of service providers: from clowns to sailors to wine tasting companies. Effective team building must be delivered by a company with training expertise. Too often, companies which call what they do "team building" are simply wanting to take your money and play games with your people.

The quickest way to determine if a team building company can actually help you build your teams is to ask what training assessment instruments they are certified in. At the very least they should be certified in D.i.S.C. work profile assessment and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This question will quickly remove the fun n' games outfits from the serious team building providers.

Q. How do you help participants make connections from the activities to business applications?

There is a particular skill set involved in leading and facilitating an excellent team building program. The first skill is design and the second is delivery. Frankly, design is the easy part. Almost any team building activity can work for almost any team building issue. It is true that some activities lend themselves to particular outcomes (i.e. communication, trust, problem solving, decision making, cooperation vs. competition, etc.) but in the hands of a skilled, professional facilitator the activity will get debriefed according to the real world issue the team is facing.

The hard part in any team building program is delivery (facilitating). It is surprising how many team building companies simply don't facilitate (or debrief) the activities. They ask a few questions at the end of the game and move into the next game. Again, DON'T waste your money on companies like these. Instead, ask the company to walk you through their philosophy on how they debrief activities. Ask them to give you a sample of the questions they ask. Good team building companies will have a developed philosophy on how they debrief. Their strategy will make good sense once they share it with you, so don't hesitate to ask.

Q. What training assessments are you certified in?

If your people are reluctant to go to a team building program it is probably because they have been subjected to these fun n' games activities with little or no business applications. The MOST important transaction that can happen during a team building event is for your people to solve real world business problems. That is ultimately what your company is paying for and that is what your company should get.

Ask the team building companies you are interviewing how they help participants make connections from the team building activities to business problems. Good team building companies will be able to give you lots and lots of extremely relevant examples. Drill down and ask for specifics on how the team building events they use have specifically helped past clients. If they can't give you specifics, backed up with several examples, then they simply don't know how to link the activity to real world business applications.

Q. What is your philosophy on how you debrief activities?
Q. Can you give me a list of sample questions you use?

Of course the really good team building companies have a long track record of success. Many companies post client lists on their web sites. If a company does not have a client list, make sure and ask for one. This will tell you if they are just starting out (and using your company as a learning experience for them) or if they are a serious, established provider.

Q. How long have you been in business?
Q. Who are your past clients?

By asking these seven questions you will save your company a lot of money and your people a lot of frustration. Team building, when done right, is one of the most powerful ways to achieve significant breakthroughs in employee productivity. And hey, it is really, really fun too.

 

J.T. Taylor, M.A. is president of Team Building USA, a team building company which guarantees a 150% return on investment for their clients. J.T. gives free ½ hour consultations to help you solve team struggles. Contact him at (619)722-6566, or via email: jttaylor@teambuildingusa.com.

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