TeamBuilding @ WorkShop, the creative workplace

At WorkShop, we refer to teambuilding as a Creative Work Session. It's creative because the WorkShop environment and trained facilitator will inspire your team to tap into their sense of teamwork and collaboration. It's a work session because at the end of the day, your team will know one another better, will have learned some new techniques for working together, and will have identified next action steps.

  Your teambuilding experience at WorkShop includes:

1.   Prior to the session, we will meet with you to discuss your goals for the session and any issues or challenges your team may be experiencing.
2.     Next, we will design your session with your goals in mind and send you a copy of the proposed activities/agenda for your approval.
3.     Your team comes to WorkShop and we facilitate a great day of team building.
4.    After the session, and optional, you are invited to meet with or receive a
summery of the session outlining the facilitator’s observations and recommendations.

The following are two examples of themes for a Creative Work Session with some of the topics relevant to the theme and potential activities facilitated by a trained WorkShop facilitator. Each session is specifically designed to be highly interactive, targeted to your goals for the session, fun, inspiring and educational. Each session will also include pertinent process models.

Theme: Team Vision - A focus on our team: Who are we, how do we see ourselves (roles-responsibilities), how do we want other departments to view us, what are the best ways for us to work together, what do we want to be doing that we aren't doing, what are our strengths and weaknesses. Includes: Getting to know one another better, building trust, clarifying roles and responsibilities, collaboration, and identifying team action steps.

Potential Activities: The Ideal Team, Headlines, The MAZE, Pipeline, Build it and they will respond, Ball Toss, Pick a Spot, Choose an Archetype, Fact or Fiction.

Theme: Imagination, Previews of Reality Focus on creative thinking and problem solving. Team will identify specific workplace or team challenges and learn how to apply the creative thinking model for solutions to the challenges. What are the tools and the techniques for getting unstuck, what are some better ways to respond to change, what if I not only did a great job at work - but had a great time doing it? Includes: Cultivating creative thinking skills, more proactive-less reactive, opportunities for improved communications, partnerships and synergies.

Potential Activities: The Ideal, Stream of Consciousness, Walkabout, Improv, What's the Story.

WorkShop can design a teambuilding experience specific to the goals you wish to achieve with your team. We invite you - to think about what you would like to achieve- experience with a session at WorkShop - give us an opportunity to design the session and then visit us at WorkShop where we can answer any questions you may have about your session and show you some of the props for our activities.

WorkShop has been providing teambuilding experiences for companies during the past eleven years. Partial list of clients include: Humana, General Electric Co., Louisville Gas & Electric, Brown-Forman Co., YUM!, First Securities, Boys & Girls Clubs, Walden Theatre.

A Sample Session Outline

8-830        Team arrives, Continental Breakfast

830-845     Logistics, Introductions, Goals for the Day

845-9           What the Team Wants from the session

9-930        Archetypes, Heroes and Me (Relationship Building Activity)

930-1030    Headlines or Ideal Team Activities (Teams identify and clarify the elements of their ideal team.)
                  What is the gap between the ideal and the present? Team identifies opportunities for experiencing
                  the ideal team and chooses action. Discussions may include roles and responsibilities, how other
                  departments view us, etc. Ends with plan of action.

1030-1045  Break

1045-11        Ball Toss Activity (Energize and set up for next discussion)

11-1130       Team's Successes so far this year! What's working well? What could be working better?

1130-Noon Relationship Building Activity

 Noon-1     Lunch

 1-130          Intro of Creative Problem Solving Model, Various Activities to Support Model and preparation for next team activity.

130-3            Team will explore and identify opportunities for moving what could be working better into the what's working well category.
                 We will use one or more of creative problem solving techniques to generate the opportunities/solutions. Team will identify specific action steps.

3-4                  Working as a Team Activity around: change, communications, conflict-resolution

4-415            Review of Days Goals and Most Valuable Moments

415-5           Closing Team Activity

Cost: $1495 for up to 12 participants. Over 12, $35 per person. Includes use of WorkShop, the creative workplace space and facilitation. Payment Terms – Check or Credit Card.

 WorkShop offers several other teambuilding experiences.