Corporate Team Building Events

Corporate team building events vary a lot. This part of Bluehat’s website is designed to explain some of the science behind successful corporate team building events. These are the reasons why Bluehat has been nominated Team Building Company of the Year so many times.

Team building activity indoors on Da Vinci Code

Team Building Activity outdoors on Chequered Flag

82% of organisations use team building activities to maximise the potential of employees and boost company performance
CIPD Training and Development Survey 2004

If you’d rather see ideas for team building events straight away then please go to the Team Building Activities over 2 hours or Team Building Activities under 2 hours section depending on how much time your team has available for their event.

Or you can speak to someone in the Bluehat team on 0845 207 2001.

Corporate Team Building Events are based on people having fun

Bluehat’s corporate team building events are always fun because having fun together automatically unites people. Having fun together improves team spirit and motivation.

Bluehat has developed a unique and tangible way to measure the impact a corporate team building event has on team spirit and motivation. For more details go to the Measuring the impact of Team Building section.

Having fun together on a corporate team building event also provides a unique chance to explore natural behaviours because when people are having fun they’re relaxed and they behave more naturally than at any other time. The result of exploring behaviours is learning.

Bluehat Corporate Team Building Events are Designed for Fun and Learning

There is an important distinction between team building events that are just fun and Bluehat’s corporate team building events.

If you’ve ever been on a Stag or Hen Weekend then you’ll know that you can have a lot of fun by doing activities that may sound similar to a team building event. These activities are different to the most successful corporate team building. Some fun activities may even have a negative effect, for example, paint balling - because shooting your team mates with paint filled cartridges will not improve collaborative teamwork. Similarly, Go Karting or Rally Driving is great fun but the teamwork required is minimal.

Bluehat has won team building awards because Bluehat designs fun new corporate events and because Bluehat can tailor your event so successfully to the level of learning that you require. Sometimes the learning on your event is implicit, sometimes it’s explicit.

Clients often say they just want a fun team building event. They know that they want people to have fun together and that this will bond the team, raise morale and act as a bit of a thank you for all their hard work. These clients don’t necessarily want the team building event to feel like a training exercise. This is subtle team building in which the learning is implicit.

Bluehat’s corporate team building events are designed so that the emphasis is on having fun but that participants still learn something subconsciously. On a Bluehat team building event participants have to work together to succeed and this requires specific collaborative behaviours. Simply by completing the team building game participants automatically learn these positive behaviours and teamwork improves implicitly.

Some clients see an opportunity in their team building event to explore this team behaviour more explicitly. To see more details on how you can explore behaviour on corporate team building events please go to Facilitation on Team Building.

Team building activity indoors on What NOT to Wear

Award-winning Corporate Team Building Events

Corporate team building events often reflect contemporary themes and popular culture because this guarantees the broadest buy-in to a team building concept. In other words, your team will see very quickly what they’re doing on their team building event because they recognise the theme from TV (or wherever) and they’ll be much more excited much more quickly. For example, if you’ve ever seen a program like Ready Steady Cook on the television you’ll probably readily understand the corporate team building event Thyme Management.

It’s important to remember though that team building is not as simple as that You can’t just design team building events so that they look like the fun people are having on the telly. There are 2 main reasons for this:

Firstly, the theme has to embody sound team building principles. A popular TV program like The Apprentice only works as a team building event if the level of competitive spirit doesn't drive people apart like on the TV program. After all, on the TV program they're all competing against each other to become The Apprentice. Successful team building should emphasise the achievement of the group especially when there is an element of healthy competition because it’s the sum of the individual parts that produces the result.

Secondly, corporate team building events must appeal to everyone who takes part. There’s no point in people feeling left out and (in the example using The Apprentice) if the atmosphere is too competitive then some members of the team may feel uncomfortable.

In the cookery team building example this means that the event must appeal to people who are not necessarily excited by cooking. That’s why Bluehat’s Thyme Management event includes team building exercises and activities that require different skills and interests. That’s why it’s an award winner.

Another reason Bluehat’s corporate team building events win awards is because participants normally learn something that’s personally useful to them as individuals as well as for them as members of a team working together.

For example, learning about wine tasting, folding napkins or table decoration in Thyme Management may be as personally useful for some people as learning a few chef’s tricks which might be useful for other people.

When participants learn something useful like this on a corporate team building event they remember the event because it’s made a bigger impact on them. This in turn reinforces the importance of the team building element.

You can find details on the team building events which have secured Bluehat their team building awards by clicking on the name of the event below:

Quest for Kudos Team Building Event – designed for Microsoft’s Magical Software Customer Service event in June 2001 and originally incorporating a “Harry Potter” feel to it – part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2002

The Mole Team Building Event – designed for Cisco Systems in October 2001 to incorporate indoor and outdoor Spy-like activities– part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2002

Independent Productions Team Building Event – designed for Freestyle New Media in May 2002 to embrace technology and creativity in a film-making team event – part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2002

Garden Challenge Team Building Event – designed for BSkyB in September 2002 to enable the company to put something back into the community – part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2003 and Highly Commended for Best Incentive / Motivation Event

Thyme Management Team Building Event – designed for Freestyle New Media in June 2003 to celebrate the company’s growth – part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2003 and Winner of Best Incentive / Motivation Event

I’m a Director…Get Me Outta Here Team Building Event – designed for Shire Health Group in July 2003 to unite company departments – part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2003 and Finalist in Best Incentive / Motivation Event Category The Mole Team Building Event – designed to incorporate the facilitation of communication issues for Wesleyan Assurance in October 2002 – part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2003 and Finalist in Best Incentive / Motivation Event Category

1000 Hours of Kindness Team Building Event – designed for Microsoft’s Corporate Social Responsibility program in June 2004 – part of the entry that was highly commended for Team Building Company of the Year 2004

Chequered Flag Team Building Event – designed and delivered by Bluehat for 300 participants from a pharmaceutical client in May 2004 – part of the entry that was highly commended for Team Building Company of the Year 2004

Quest for Kudos Team Building Event – redesigned for Shire Health in July 2004 to adapt the magical theme to include raising money for charity– part of the entry that was highly commended for Team Building Company of the Year 2004

City Shakers Treasure Hunt – designed for BT in June 2004 to break down barriers and set the tone for high achievement – part of the entry that was highly commended for Team Building Company of the Year 2004

Da Vinci Code Team Building Event – developed and designed in January 2005 to take team building to new heights – Finalist for Best New Event 2005 – highly commended for Best Team Building Event 2005 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2005

Storming the Ramparts Team Building Event – designed exclusively for Eastnor Castle in December 2004 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2005

Different Class Team Building Event – designed as a Back to School themed team building event for Insight International in October 2004 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2005

Thyme Management Team Building Event – designed to include a star performance by Ainsley Harriot for an event for 200 people in November 2004 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2005

What Not to Wear Team Building Event – designed for Wella UK in September 2004 to form part of an annual event programme – and part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2005

Garden Challenge Team Building Event – tailored for Egmont Books in June 2005 to include a local school as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility program – and part of the entry that won Team Building Company of the Year 2005

Da Vinci Code Team Building Event – personalised for Michael Page in October 2005 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Firm of the Year 2006

Mexican Railway Conference Energiser – personalised for CB Richard Ellis in May 2006 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Firm of the Year 2006

Team Work of Art Team Building Event – personalised for Total’s Corporate Social Responsibility program in March 2006 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Firm of the Year 2006

Italian Job Team Building Event – personalised for TriSystems in June 2006 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Firm of the Year 2006

Hells Bells Team Building Event – personalised for BHP Billiton in April 2006 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Firm of the Year 2006

Chequered Flag Team Building Event – personalised for Insight International in October 2005 – and part of the entry that won Team Building Firm of the Year 2006

Puppet Productions Team Building Event – created for Impact Plus in May 2006 and voted Finalist in Best New Event 2006

Hells Bells Team Building Event – voted Finalist in Best Incentive / Motivation Event 2006