Employee interests key to team‑building exercises
by Jackie Farwell
Associated Press

If your boss told you to go jump off a cliff, you’d probably clean out your desk and start updating your resume. But before you grab a cardboard box, better office rapport might be what your supervisor really wants.

Many companies are devising creative team‑building exercises that reach far beyond the typical summer picnic and softball league, a recent survey found. Among the activities reported were bungee jumping, cubicle decorating, and navigating through a cornfield maze.

Wackier events included line dancing on the beach in matching outfits, hosting a dog show, and designing and playing a miniature golf course, according to the telephone survey of 250 advertising and marketing executives.

Collecting input from employees about their interests and abilities, however, is critical before managers drag everyone away for a weekend of tackle football, said Dave Willmer of The Creative Group, a staffing service that conducted the survey. “What may seem like a good idea to a team leader or a manager may not be to the team,” he said.

Rapport‑building activities should further the company’s goals, such as going skydiving to encourage risk‑taking on the job, Willmer said.

One company instructed workers to build a lifeboat and then kick people off it, one by unfortunate one.

Maybe updating your resume wasn’t such a bad idea.