So, your business is performing well, but you realize it could be doing better. And it might be time to improve teamwork with some team building activities. You figure, “our company has a training department, they should be able to run team building, right?” Wrong.
Remember, team building is an investment and as such, you want to make sure your investment gets the most “bang” for your buck. That’s where an external facilitator comes in.
The Benefits of Hiring an External Facilitator for Team Building
Focus and Perspective
Internal training departments have other responsibilities besides team building… like training! When you partner with an external facilitator, they are focused on your team building activities, not other tasks, projects, or reports. They don’t have the additional responsibilities of other managers. They can focus solely on your team, ensuring that they develop the tools they need to help your organization achieve its goals.
Trust and Bias
While your team may not interact with your training department on a daily basis, chances are they have crossed each other’s paths a time or two. Even having only a passing knowledge of coworkers could result in biases that could impact the team building activities. Team members may be less trustful of these perceived or real biases and that can lead to the team building efforts being less effective.
When an external facilitator conducts team building activities, there is no inherent bias. So, everyone is treated equally, no matter their role. Also, external facilitators are able to remain neutral because they are not immersed in internal politics. With everyone on equal footing, and a neutral facilitator, your team can build the bonds that they need to foster vulnerability-based trust.
Expertise and Knowledge
External team building facilitators have undergone more intensive training and have the expertise and experience needed to help your organization achieve its goals. Chances are, your internal training department has a myriad of qualifications, but not qualifications as precise to the task.
An experienced external facilitator will know what the most effective program is for your team; and using the newest tools, strategies, and approaches, your team building experience will be optimized to its fullest. When your team is more engaged with each other, trusting of each other, and working cohesively, the positive possibilities are endless!
For more than ten years, Vida Aventura has been working with organizations to help them reach their goals through team building, executive coaching and leadership development. Are you ready for your team to unlock its true potential? We have the focus and the expertise to get you there.