Annual teambuilding is an event on which companies spend a lot of time and effort. Ideally, it should improve collaboration between team members and create new bonds based on mutual trust between people who are part of the same organizational culture. EXE Software is one of the companies that tries, year after year, to provide their employees with entertainment opportunities. The HR department has established some guidelines when planning the event that should gather all colleagues in an informal environment.

For the companies that decide to organize their team buildings outside the cities where they are headquartered, the most popular destinations are mountain or seaside resorts and, of course, the Danube Delta. All activities are supposed to bring people out of their comfort zones and help colleagues socialize with one another.

Team buildings sometimes have a pre-established program, based on competitions, but they often allow participants to enjoy leisure activities to stimulate creativity.

“We have just come back from our most recent teambuilding, from the Danube Delta, where we tried a different approach,” revealed Karina Tătui (Uță), HR Manager EXE Software. “After receiving feedback from my colleagues that they would like something different from last year, we came up with activities that encouraged creativity. Therefore, we spent some time creating handmade themed objects, such as chests or lamps, that we could take back home as memories. Besides that, we had a photo competition, with two main challenges: best landscape and most pictures with local animals from the delta. Besides leisure activities, we tried to bring some knowledge to the team, through personal development classes that we planned together with our collaborators. This time, we learned about how to build and maintain client relationships, how to offer and receive feedback and other interesting topics.”

The process of choosing team building activities always has one purpose: encouraging communication, consolidating team spirit and making each person feel they belong to a united group. In addition to this, the location is chosen based on certain criteria: the distance, the indoor vs outdoor space (because we seek diversity we need both) and the possibility to customize the space according to our agenda. It is highly important that people relax and enjoy themselves during the time spent together out of the office.

“Over the years, we tried many teambuilding options,” the HR Manager added. “Until this year, we had a clear agenda with activities such as a treasure hunt, where the clues were spread around the facility so that we also had the chance to explore the area. The entire game was facilitated through a dedicated app installed on a mobile device, and the winning team was the one that managed to complete all tasks in the shortest time. On another occasion, we planned escape room activities – each team had to look for certain clues, but in the end, they all had to cooperate to solve their puzzle.”

When it comes to these types of events, normally about 75% of employees are present, and at the end, they are encouraged to offer relevant feedback. To ensure the answers are honest, people can fill in an online form which can be anonymous. Employees’ opinions are taken into consideration when planning upcoming events, such as Christmas parties, other teambuilding activities or internal workshops.

“We usually choose a theme for each party. For instance, once we had a ‘neon party’, with vibrant lights and music, or ‘Comic-Con’ style, where each person could become their favorite superhero,” Karina added. “Normally, we prefer themes that are easily implemented, so that everybody can enjoy the atmosphere.”