For many companies, encouraging staff to participate in challenge events are an integral part of an employee engagement programme. It provides an occasion to get to know each other in an entirely different environment, bringing teams together and getting the benefits of swapping conversations by the water cooler to helping each other get over the finish line.
A challenge event can foster a true team spirit where colleagues learn to collaborate, trust each other, and develop a sense of camaraderie and fun. A challenge event offers a chance for employees to integrate with one another outside the office and facilitates more of a level playing field across different departments, functions, and locations. It is a shared experience that can translate across all levels of the business.
Everyone knows that teamwork and communication are essential for high performance and a team building challenge provides the opportunity to grow respect for each other in a non-threatening and fun environment.
In January of this year, it would have been possible to sign up for a challenge event every weekend of the year. Tough Mudders, 3 Peaks Challenges, Mountain marathons and bike rides were all options that colleagues could have taken on. This year of course has been a different story. In March everything changed, and big gatherings have become a distant memory. Lockdown and subsequent restrictions have meant that employee engagement challenge events have been somewhat curtailed… or nearly!
The Youth Adventure Trust’s annual 10 Peaks Challenge event in the Brecon Beacons National Park had to move from June to October, but the charity modified the event to that it could still be run in a socially distanced, safe and Covid compliant way. Teams were delighted to still take on the challenge of 10 peaks in 10 hours over 34 kilometres. After months of online meetings and screen time, colleagues could safely see each other face to face in an outside environment.
The weather in the Brecon Beacons was always going to be unpredictable, but no one could have predicted that the day of the event on Saturday 3rd October would be the wettest day on record. Although the route had to be amended, teams bravely faced the elements and still returned to the challenge base with smiles on their faces.
After a year of restrictions and the trials and tribulations of home working, the challenge provided a perfect excuse to do something different…. to get outside, encounter a different landscape and have a bit of an adventure as well as raising money for vulnerable young people. Despite the unfavourable weather, one company said “our whole team have come away with a huge sense of achievement”
For participants, it may not be easy to see how walking in the rain up a mountain can translate into the working environment, but building resilience and confidence, exceeding expectations, facing adversity and going beyond what is thought possible are all invaluable lessons that can be taken back into a team dynamic.
With 2020 being the year of the screen and home working, there is an even greater appetite for people to seek out opportunities to escape the four walls of home and see people ‘in real life’ in 2021. Companies that develop a culture which supports staff in their team building challenges will undoubtedly gain greater respect and build positive morale which will be reflected in the day to day performance of their workforce.
The Youth Adventure Trust 10 Peaks event will be taking place on 10th July 2021. Contact Philippa on philippa@youthadventuretrust.org.uk to find out more about entering a team.
