As the sun finally reaches its highest point in the sky, we celebrate the first day of summer. The longer days and warmer temperatures present a perfect opportunity to step outside and rejuvenate both body and mind. For those of us immersed in the demands of the workplace, it’s crucial to remember the profound benefits that nature can offer. In the spirit of promoting wellness, we invite you to explore the breathtaking landscapes of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park.
Team Building
team building
Team Building Training: Building Stronger Teams
The importance of effective teamwork cannot be overstated. Whether you’re part of a small startup, a large corporation, or even a world famous sport team, the success of any organisation hinges on the collective efforts of its team members. That’s where team building training comes into play—a vital component in fostering collaboration, communication, and cohesion among employees. We’ll explore the significance of team building and how investing in team building training courses can lead to tangible benefits for your organisation’s bottom line.
Conquering Fears and Building Bonds: The Power of Fun Team Building Activities
Team building activities are often met with mixed emotions – some team members eagerly anticipate the opportunity to bond with colleagues, while others feel a wave of fear and apprehension. However, we believe that the very fear that people experience is the catalyst for creating stronger, more connected teams. In this blog, we’ll explore the transformative impact of fear and fun team building activities, shedding light on how overcoming these initial reservations can lead to improved communication, enhanced teamwork, and increased productivity.
Team Building Training
What is a Team
In this article, we discuss the importance of team-building training. However, before we get to that point it is first of relevance to define what a team is and how you develop its performance. There are several definitions of what represents a team. One of the better known is that a team is a group of people who cooperate in such a way that it achieves more than the total of the individuals’ achievements or a group of people united by a common purpose.
Finding the Right Place and Head Space to Learn
3.9 million people in the UK are living with mental health conditions and with two million of those in employment there’s no denying that its impact is being felt in the workplace. Mark Soanes, a Director of learning and development specialists Call of the Wild says that finding the right place and head space to learn is crucial.
Today marks a moment in time to reflect on how employers can proactively reduce the factors that contribute to poor mental health.
The Power of Shared Experiences in Team Building
In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, successful teams are the backbone of every thriving organisation. These teams are not merely a collection of individuals working together but rather a cohesive unit bound by shared experiences that foster a sense of camaraderie and mutual understanding. The power of shared experiences in team building cannot be underestimated, as they play a pivotal role in strengthening relationships, promoting effective communication, and ultimately driving team success. We explore the significance of shared experiences in team building, backed by research from the Yale University study titled “Shared Experiences Are Amplified” (Boothby, Clark, & Bargh, 2014).
Unleashing Team Potential: Why Outdoor Team Building is the Key
In the fast-paced and competitive world of business, nurturing a strong and cohesive team is crucial for success. While traditional team-building activities have their merits, it’s time for companies to explore the benefits of taking team-building days outdoors. By shifting these activities outside, organisations can unlock a myriad of advantages, including enhanced team dynamics, improved mental well-being, fresh perspectives, and the opportunity to push individuals outside their comfort zones. Let’s delve into these positive outcomes and discover why the outdoors should be the new frontier for team building.
In The News: May 2023
We’ve pulled together some of the latest leadership and management-related news.
This includes some topical subjects which many of you might also be experiencing in your workplace.
Weartech invests in people as workforce grows to 105
A Port Talbot-based manufacturer has expanded with 11 new recruits, taking its workforce to more than 100 people, and recently completed a bespoke learning and development programme with Call of the Wild.
Aston Villa Football Club
Key Data
Focus: Development of relationships and team building Aston Villa First team squad
Objectives: to identify and develop key team development behaviours and to transfer these to the pitch
Delegate Number: 35
Venue: Our Development Centre Brecon Beacons
The Client
The squad from Premier League Football Club Aston Villa
The Objective/Brief
The management team asked for a challenging programme to build team relationships
The Solution
The Programme
A two day programme with an overnight stay
Overview
The group were split into teams sent to rescue a downed reconnaissance pilot (RP) and recover the camera and film from the plane.
The search for RP took place during the afternoon and early evening set in the demanding and beautiful natural environment of the Brecon Beacons and was combined with a series of challenges to test the team’s:
• Communication skills
• Problem solving
• Leadership
• Team work
• Individual behaviours
• Navigation skills
The exercise concluded when, having successfully completed the challenges, having followed the clues, the teams tracked down the RP’s hiding place to secure their extraction.
Overnight Camping
The event continued with an overnight camp. Giving the opportunity to the team to experience the beauty of night time in the hills and to take part in the challenges which flow naturally from setting up camp – pitching tents, building a fire and cooking their own evening meal – all superb tests of people’s behaviour and attitude at the end of a demanding day.
Staffing
Range of experienced staff including our Head of Programme Delivery Dr.Phil Knowles and former Royal Marines.
Outcome and Impact
Top placed English Manager in the Premier League and team on course for highest league finish in top flight since 2010 when then under the management of Martin O’Neil.
Review
‘I was just one of the boys that day rather than the actual leader.’
‘A lot you could see thinking ‘What are we doing? but as it went you could see they were thinking ‘This is all right. Actually, better than running round a field in pre-season’… They certainly got a lot out of it – you saw new relationships form.’
Dean Smith, Manager
“Out of all this he has emerged with a stronger club and a markedly improved team.”
Jonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent, The Sunday Times. Article in Sunday Times 7th March 2021 where this event was referenced by Dean Smith.
Remington
Key Data
Focus – Team event to support a new product launch
Objectives – Call of the Wild were given the challenge to create an event that brought the launch team from Remington together in an environment that would inspire,challenge and allow them to celebrate the launch of a major new hair care product into the UK marketplace.
From the outset the client stressed the need for an event location and programme that really provided the wow factor – Call of the Wild responded to the challenge by listening very carefully to the exact requirements of the Remington event team and then added value by facilitating a discussion which further explored and refined those requirements.
Delegate Number – 50
Venue – Call of the Wild found the perfect venue within an hours drive of the Remington headquarters in Staines, this 4 star country hotel with grounds provided a truly spectacular backdrop to the event and greatly added to the success of the product launch.
Alstom
The Client
Alstom is a global leader in equipment and services for power generation and rail transport. The Group is present in more than 70 countries worldwide and employs around 76 000 people.
The Issues
Call of the Wild, after a number of meetings with the clients HR consultant, identified the problem as being a new group of senior management not working together as a team.
Objectives
Objectives agreed with the client were:
- Team to gain an understanding of each other as people not just in business
- Get past the ‘storming phase’
- Implement peak communication
- Share a common experience that bonds the team
- Explore effective communication
- Help identify preferred leadership styles
The Solution
In consultation it was decided the course should take the form of a team development intervention for 8 members of this new senior management team. This intervention would begin to identify and break down the barriers to high performance, the group would be encouraged to reflect on their learning and incorporate resolutions to transfer back to the work environment.
The Programme
The client requested an outdoor based experiential learning event taking the group out of their comfort zone and putting them under pressure in an unfamiliar environment. The objective was to stretch the individuals in order to draw out the lessons required through the facilitation and intervention of Call of the Wild staff. Call of the Wild designed and delivered a three day programme. This involved a series of physical, mental and behavioural challenges including: orienteering, camping, navigation and command tasks. The group were asked to camp out overnight and prepare their own evening meals which included preparing a rabbit and pigeon for the group to cook for their dinner.
In order to transfer the learning to the workplace for maximum relevance, a Power Station Challenge was incorporated as the culmination of the 3 day event. This was included to test the group members when they were fatigued. The group were required to design, on site, a retrofit for a power station and present their findings to the Station Manager.
Staffing
The programme was delivered by our facilitators David Thomas, MIC, CIPD and Fiona Thornewill, MBE. Dave is a highly experienced management training facilitator with a particular expertise in outdoor experiential programmes. He is one of the highest qualified outdoor facilitators in the UK.
Fiona Thornewill, has an impressive CV which is second to none. She was the 1st British woman to ski to Geographic South Pole,1st British woman to ski to the Geographic North Pole, 1st Woman to ski to both Geographic Poles, Fastest woman to ski – Geographic North Pole in 55 days, 1st British woman to ski solo & unsupported to the Geographic South Pole and fastest (man or woman) to ski – Geographic South Pole – unsupported in 41 days 8 hours 14 minutes.
Outcome
Here’s what our client thought of the programme:
“We are a large business operating across continents with customers that are household names. We searched many suppliers, and only one could give us what we wanted – Call of the Wild. With a new top-team and a massive change agenda together with a stretching annual target, it was critical to embed the new team as quickly as possible.
Our demands were more than a match for any supplier, but not only were they met, Call of the Wild added great value throughout the team building process with ideas, determination, the ability to work to our precise needs, and demonstrating a leadership spirit that provided an excellent model to learn from. The instructors were of the highest quality and blended challenge, the ability to stretch comfort zones beyond anything we envisaged, whilst always maintaining the highest standards of safety.
“There is no doubt that our return on investment will be many multiples of the cost and, most importantly, we have a new team that has not only bonded, but understands how to operate with each other in the most effective way. This will only benefit the team, the wider business, and, most importantly, our customers. We are so pleased with the outcome that if you require any first-hand recommendations, please feel free to call us and we will tell you exactly how professional Call of the Wild is.”
D. Stephens, General Manager
Sytner BMW – Developing Teams
A Proven Return on Investment For Management Development Courses
Introduction
There has been and ongoing debate as to whether it is possible to measure the quantitative effect of management development courses. The existing evidence is somewhat contradictory and therefore Call of the Wild, as with all our courses, sought to find out if such a measure can be made in order to provide reassurance for the client that they would get a real rather than perceived return on investment.
Background
The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in work performance after completion of a typical three-day outdoor management development (OMD) session organised by “Call of the Wild”. This session involved participants working as members of a team in a variety of outdoor challenges, in order to develop skills that would prove valuable if they could be transferred back to the workplace environment.
The effectiveness of this session was measured using a specially adapted version of the Life-Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ) developed by Neill, Marsh & Richards, (2003), which measures a person’s life effectiveness, that is, how competent a person perceives himself or herself to be in a variety of areas necessary for success in working life, including communication and team-work.
Comparisons were made between participants’ life effectiveness in terms of various aspects of work performance prior to the three-day OMD session and one month after this OMD session. In addition to this, six telephone interviews were conducted with participants of this session, to supplement the information provided by the questionnaire data. The participants in this study were eighty-five employees of BMW/MINI, who were participating in the three-day OMD session organised by Call of the Wild Ltd.
There were seventy-four males and eleven females, with an average age of thirty-seven years. This session proved to be effective, as participants’ life effectiveness skills as measured by the LEQ were significantly greater one month after completion of this session than prior to this OMD session. The implications of these findings are discussed, and specific areas of future research are recommended, in order that more information can be obtained concerning the effectiveness of OMD and other outdoor learning sessions.
Method
Participants
Eighty-five (85) employees of BMW/MINI participated the OMD session conducted by “Call of the Wild”. There were 74 males and 11 females, and the average of the participants was 37 years. The details of all of the participants remained confidential, and their participation was entirely voluntary. The participants were split into teams of between five and nine members, depending on the part of the country they were from. There were a total of eleven teams from the different divisions of BMW/MINI. These were; High Wycombe, Harold Wood, Nottingham, Coventry, Solihull, Chigwell, Leicester, Sunningdale, City, Sheffield and Divisional.
Results
A one-way within-subjects repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted in order to see whether or not there were any differences in the skills measured by the LEQ across the test times (before the OMD session, and one month after completion of this OMD session). The results of this test show that there was a significant difference ( F = 9.7, p<.05) in the reported life effectiveness as a result of participation in this programme.
The descriptive statistics for the participants’ overall Life Effectiveness are presented below:
Time 1
Mean Score: 5.78
SD: 2.38
Time 2
Mean Score: 7.36
SD: 2.84
Descriptive Statistics for Overall Life Effectiveness from Pre-Test to Post-Tests
One month after completion of the OMD session, six non-rigorous telephone interviews were conducted with the participants of this session, in order to support and extend the information provided by the LEQ. The results of these interviews suggest that the OMD session had a positive effect upon those taking part, in terms of enhanced levels of trust and co-operation between team members. It was also suggested that many of the effects of this session were enduring, and that these skills successfully transferred back to the workplace environment, resulting in an enhanced level of individual and team performance within the organisational setting.
“Call of the Wild have designed, developed and delivered a number of superb team development events for the Sytner BMW/MINI Division . We were delighted with their speed and professionalism in working up a programmes for the 85 -100+ managers concerned.
We were very impressed with Call of the Wild’s project management, their design team and excellent facilitation of the events.”
Sue Sansome
Group Training & Development Manager
Sytner Group Ltd