The Power of Play

Teambonding has other creative ways to get employees know each other.

The "Progressive Dinner" is a four-course, table-swapping meal, in which employees have an opportunity to mingle with different colleagues as an MC coordinates several tabletop games. As a result, coworkers learn the importance of unity and communication through their own actions, without it being pushed on them.

Teambonding also is also involved with nonprofit charities such as the Boys and Girls Club and Bikes for Tykes, or a client can pick a favorite charity. One related event, "Build-a-Bike," has employees building bikes for disadvantaged children. Another teaches employees how to make teddy bears for kids with Down syndrome. "There wasn't a dry eye [after giving the teddy bears to the children]," notes Goldstein.

Not only do employees feel good after these activities, they also learn problem-solving and time and resource management.

Follow Through

After each event, participants are debriefed by the Teambonding facilitator. This gives employees some insight into what they have experienced and learned.

"This is something that the facilitator tailors to the team ... it is taken from the information provided and the goals discussed. The debrief is not something that is packaged or scripted," says Goldstein.

And as Goldstein points out, employee-morale events can work in all marketplaces. "When the economy is strong, people are working so hard [that they] don't get a chance to know each other. When the economy isn't good, companies have some downtime to give employees the chance to really know one another."

The prices for Teambonding's activities range from $1,500 to $5,000, but the effect on a company's employees -- and its resulting product -- will be far beyond that.

So the next time you are thinking of creative ways to encourage communication and problem-solving in your company, think about play -- you might be surprised at its benefits.