Five Reasons to Book a Corporate Team Challenge

In 2016, Forbes named team-building the most important corporate investment. The problem is that no one wants to do it. Building bridges with toilet roll tubes, egg drops, and blind drawing all feel a bit… naff. Like something your kid might do in Reception class, not a bunch of 30-somethings with responsible day jobs. But corporate challenges are a completely different proposition. You don’t, for example, get many five-year-olds scaling to the Everest Basecamp. So, why should you consider booking a corporate challenge for your team?

Five Reasons to Choose a Corporate Team Building Challenge

1. Corporate team challenges are really challenging

One of the main reasons most team-building exercises end up feeling a little lame is because they’re not actually challenging. They feel pointless because the only point to them is to bring your team closer together. And while that might be reason enough for you, it can take more than that to get your employees on board. When faced with a real challenge – climbing Kilimanjaro, conquering the UK’s three highest peaks – your whole team will have to work together. They’ll laugh, sweat, and probably cry together. They’ll let their collective guard down. And they will support each other through a shared experience. And it’s an experience that none of them will ever forget.

2. Team building challenges can help you to put your employees first

For too long, the corporate focus has been on getting the job done at all costs. But in the last few years, we’ve seen a growing emphasis on mental health and employee wellbeing. Spending time in nature has been proven to benefit mental health. Exercise and physical fitness has been linked to beating depression. And fitter, healthier, employees are less likely to need time off work. What’s this got to do with a team-building challenge? You don’t just stroll up Machu Picchu without prep. If your teams are preparing themselves for a big challenge, they’ll be improving their physical fitness. And in improving their physical fitness, they’ll be improving their mental well-being too. Add in the sense of achievement that comes from challenge completion, and you’ve got a serious injection of feel-good factor.

3. Personal and professional development

Self-belief can be difficult to instil in some employees. You might know they have the wherewithal, but it can be difficult to convince them that they’re ready for the next big challenge. Or, indeed, any challenge. Hike to the K2 Base Camp, and they’ll be ready for anything. The physical and mental challenge of such a feat brings clarity. It forces problem-solving and encourages relationship building. Leadership skills can often emerge under stress. And camaraderie always grows.

4. It builds connections

Depending on how your business is organised, there’s a good chance that you’ll have employees who have never met. They recognise a voice on the other end of the phone, or a name from an email, not nothing more. You may have team members who wouldn’t recognise each other if they passed on the street. Corporate team challenges bring people together and help them to build connections. Not just putting names to faces, but creating a cohesion that will improve working practices, build interpersonal relationships, and foster understanding.

5. It’s great PR

And this point works on two levels. At its most basic and cynical, there’s no better way to get your business in the news than doing something impressive for charity. And having 12 team members trekking the High Atlas Mountains is pretty impressive.

But it’s also a great way to attract new talent. If your company has a reputation for investing in team cohesion, more people will want to work for you. Team challenges are experiential. They don’t just aid communication and unveil hidden skills. They create life-long memories. While providing an absolute sense of achievement that can be difficult to find elsewhere in the workplace. And prospective employees know that.

Team building challenges can be a big undertaking for a business. But the results speak for themselves. Making every penny spent and every minute spared undeniably worth it.

Get in touch to find out more about Choose a Challenge corporate challenges.