TeamBuild!™ | Fun Teamwork Training Activity

• What factors make a good team
• The need to be organised, setting clear objectives
• The importance of double-checking work to avoid costly errors
• Problem-solving skills
• The need for good administration and a smooth running operation
• The importance of utilising each team member’s special skills

TeamBuild! is a two-stage, competitive activity. Teams first receive a Team Brief, a set of 16 Tasks and a Scoresheet. The tasks are a mix of conundrums and puzzles, requiring different skills. Some are easy some less so. Each team is given a unique PIN to access the (one) computer program and enter their solutions. If a correct solution is entered into the program, the team banks a full score for the task - BUT it has to be right first time. Second and third attempts score progressively fewer points. So attention to detail and double-checking are crucial!

Key to the activity is the need for teams to organise themselves in such a way as to maximize their point score. Who is best suited to do this task and who will double-check it? How can time be maximised? Coordination is key. As well, for each correct answer, the program reveals a letter of the alphabet (16 in all) which can be arranged to spell out a simple instruction. This leads to the second stage of the activity, a construction task, and the need for a totally different skills-set. Using newspapers, sticky tape and scissors, teams must build the tallest, free-standing giraffe possible. All attempts to cheat (strapping to table legs, leaning on pillars etc) is strictly forbidden - but that won't stop teams from trying! Fun activity, serious learning.

Leader Option

With a slight variation in the running, TeamBuild! can be used to address both leadership and teamwork skills. All details are supplied in the Trainer's Notes.

1. Divide participants into teams. Introduce the session - briefly. PowerPoint provided.
2. Issue a Team Brief and set of the Task Sheets to each team. (For the leadership option, select or elect team leaders. Call the leaders to the front and issue a Leader’s Brief to each.)
3. Observe participants at work. Are they forming an effective team? Do they organise themselves? Do they minimize the chance of error? Do they cooperate with each other? Etc.
4. When teams collect all their points and letters of the alphabet and worked out the message, issue additional resources (newspapers, tape and scissors) for stage two - the construction.
5. At the deadline, stop all work. Measure the height of each construction (that conforms to the conditions).
6. For each team, retrieve their problem-solving score, from the computer, and add it to the height (cms) of their ‘construction’.
7. Before announcing the final scores and winning team, lead a discussion on what happened and what key lessons were learned from each stage.

Full guidance supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.

• Trainer's Notes
• Trainer's PowerPoint
• Computer Program (internet access required)
• Team Briefs
• Set of 16 Task Sheets
• Team Scoresheet
• Performance Checklist
• The Best Approach
• Leadership Option: Leader's Brief
• Leadership Option: Team Brief
• Scissors & Sticky Tape
• Tape Measure

This activity is for face-to-face classroom use. It is supplied as a hard copy pack and the digital files are supplied via the Northgate Trainerhub.

This Northgate Training activity comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 30 participants at a time, for use by Trainers based at one licence-holding site.

All Trainers physically based at the same office location can access the Northgate resources during the five-year term, including the digital resources supplied on the Trainerhub via your own site-specific Trainer Dashboard. If you have Trainers based at other locations, and/or remote workers, who would like to access and use the Northgate resources, we can advise further depending on your requirements.

For further information on our licence terms please view the Northgate Licence Agreement.