No one can be an island in the world of business and team interaction. To learn more about how their people behave, firms organise out-of-office activities, writes John Downes

Anyone involved in sports such as GAA, soccer, hockey or basketball will be only too aware of the importance of teamwork.

Indeed, you can be the best footballer in the world but if you don't have a team behind you that is ready to support your talent, then the chances are that your efforts will not lead to the long-term success of your team.

Similarly, a group of average or good basketball players can become title-winners if they truly believe that by working together, they can become greater than the sum of their parts.

Such common sense is not lost on the business community.

Indeed, many of Ireland's largest home-grown and multinational companies have long realised the benefits of encouraging team-building exercises within their own workforce.

This has also created significant business opportunities for event management companies looking to facilitate such activities.

Elana Cosgrove, managing director of event management company Jigsaw Management, says her client companies can look for a wide range of activities.

In relation to team-building exercises, these can vary from activity days to the hiring of motivational speakers, and staff parties, she says.

Her company takes the responsibility for the smooth running of the event out of the hands of the client company, she explains. But, she stresses, to generate new business it is essential to gain the confidence of potential clients. As a result, Cosgrove says her company relies to a large extent on word of mouth to do this.

"At the end of the day, if we don't make it as good as possible, then it's the company that gets the blame. So there is a lot of trust there," she says.

"We would handle everything from making sure staff are briefed, to booking accommodation, to making sure any third party comes through us, to transport - anything that needs to be done."

An activity day does not necessarily need to be expensive for the company, she points out, as much depends on what they are looking for. Obviously, holding an event in a four-star hotel is going to cost more than if they keep it small and simple.

Activity days can include physical team-building exercises, with teams given inflatable or real "obstacle courses" through which to manoeuvre their way together.

Parties for staff, on the other hand, usually revolve around an anniversary or achievement, and offer a company an opportunity to thank their staff for their achievements during the year, Cosgrove says.

"Away day" activities are ordinarily more focused on specific teams within a company, rather than the whole company, she says.

"These things can happen at anytime [during the year]. You would nearly always have a briefing of some sort, maybe in the morning, followed by activities in the afternoon," she says.

In choosing motivational speakers, however, she says her clients frequently turn to people who have shown they have a proven track record in getting the best out of themselves or a team.

In this regard, motivational speakers can be absolutely anyone, ranging from world-renowned "gurus" such as Edward de Bono to sports stars or celebrities.

But trying to build a real sense of teamwork within a company - and improve its efficiency - does not necessarily require "outward-bound" events, says Jenny Hayes, head of management training with employers' body, IBEC. Indeed, she says many companies prefer to look at how an individual or group interacts with others during their everyday work, through the provision of "in-house" training sessions.

For example, she cites a recent case where a team of seven people within a company were not working well together.

There were two or three clashes of personality within the group, which was in turn affecting its overall performance.

By assigning leadership tasks to the group, Hayes says it was possible to analyse how individuals within the group related to one another - and offer suggestions as to what could be done to improve the situation.

"You are taking people out to get feedback on how they interact with others," she says.

"I think having someone come in who is external to the company means they are more likely to be able to facilitate the group in terms of looking at where that group is going." But "outward-bound" events can be useful in increasing communication between all levels of a company, she points out.

"One advantage of outward-bound events are they are a great leveller," she explains.

"You can have the managing director of a company climbing a mountain with someone more junior."

She also says staff parties can be an excellent way for companies to celebrate particular successes they have had.

Particularly for younger people, it can be important that they are able to socialise with their colleagues.

Such events can also incentivise employees to continue to work together for the overall good of the company.

But building a successful team requires significant amounts of trust, Hayes underlines.

"Trust is a huge element of effective teams - they need to trust each other, that it is for the common good, and that certain individuals are not being favoured," she says.

"But a high-performing team undoubtedly will achieve more than a team working individually."

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