Mingling – form an unlikely team!

If you have a large and streamlined workplace, chances are you have multiple departments, possibly spread across multiple floors or even multiple buildings. Employees might know each other on a professional level, or a casual personal level – but unless you have a chance to work with someone, it’s hard to know who they are or what their strengths are. In our team building events, we create multiple teams to compete against each other, and we strive to make sure that these teams are a mix of people who don’t often work together. Joining a team of coworkers from different departments or offices and navigating around the city in our Great Race challenge is a great way to discover people’s leadership styles and see skills they don’t normally exercise in the office. Plus you’re guaranteed to get to know someone better. Imagine being led around blindfolded by someone you’ve only ever spoken to over email!

Play – loosen your tie!

Researchers of both human and animal psychology understand that play is an important part of how we learn – as children, it teaches us teamwork and rules and motor skills – but what about as adults? Adults often feel set on who they are, and what activities they like or don’t like. But playing releases endorphins, makes us feel energized, and challenges our brains to think outside the box. In our team building activities, it’s easy to correlate skills like teamwork and communication and leadership back to the workplace – but what about silliness? Our team building games are not only designed to test collaboration, but also to be pure and simple fun. Try running across a raft of floating kayaks in our kayak teambuilding, or get imaginative in our sand sculpture competition. In the go-go-go world of work, we all need  the occasional break to laugh and splash around.

Emotional Intelligence – be smarter with feelings

One of the keys to team success, personal success, and overall happiness is knowing how to use your emotions intelligently. Being able to recognize when you’re stressed, angry, embarrassed, frazzled, etc- and then navigating away from that emotion, is not always easy to do. Team building games and activities are often designed with this very subject in mind. Try a high ropes course to practice supporting and encouraging one another. Think about how a timed scavenger hunt relies on prioritizing and adaptability. Or discover how something as simple as not being able to talk during a team challenge can help you focus on being empathetic.

We all get into routines at work – repeating the same tasks, in the same location, with the same people. No matter whether you want to boost creativity, trust or empathy, or whether you just want to get everyone loose and happy, a team building event with Santa Barbara Adventure Company can break your team out of those routines, and is guaranteed to get everyone smiling and laughing together.

Just wanted to thank you again for a great event last Friday. Our office staff really enjoyed the team building trip at El Capitan. Matthew was an exceptional leader and engaged us easily all day. The whole team will be talking about this event for a long time – we really enjoyed ourselves.
We will look forward to working with you again in the future.

Anissa Irwin, Amgen

The post Why Team Building Is Important For Companies appeared first on Santa Barbara Adventure Co..

Programs We Offer

Field or Beach Olympics – Fun, upbeat competition!  Teams strategize, communicate, and work together to successfully complete each challenge before moving onto the next.  The team that successfully completes the most challenges in the allotted time wins!  Facilitated at any beach, park, or conference room.

Low and High Ropes, Zip Lining – Teams develop strategizing, teamwork, leadership/ followership skills. Individuals breaking down barriers, personal comfort zones, reaching their highest potential!  Facilitated at various sites on the Central Coast.

Wine Country Bike Tour or Wine Blending – 2 Great ways to see the sites and get to know your team! Join us on a bike ride through the gorgeous wine country of Santa Barbara with well-deserved stops to sample local wine varietals. Or let your team create their own wine blend at a local urban winery, with the best tasting results bottled and sent back home!

Orienteering, Great Race, & Geocaching – 3 Different Programs that challenge your groups navigation, creativity and teamworking skills. Teams use GPS or a basic map and compass to find their way to challenge points.  Teams must successfully complete each challenge before moving on to next point.  Facilitated in nearby hiking trails or downtown location.

Kayak Challenges – Can your team learn a new outdoor skill while working together to complete fun on water challenges? Enjoy the scenic beauty of the Santa Barbara Channel from a number of different locations: On the mainland in Santa Barbara Harbor or Refugio State Beach or make it a full day experience out to Channel Islands National Park!

Bike Build for Charity (CSR) – Teams work together and follow instructions to build a bike from disassembled parts.  Some parts and tools must be traded with another team in order to complete.  Once bikes are built and inspected, they are donated to a charity of your choice.  Facilitated at any park or conference room.

Give us a call at (805) 884-9283 or email LetsGo@SBAdventureCo.com to learn more about how your corporate group can join us for an adventurous team building experience.

The post Corporate Team Building appeared first on Santa Barbara Adventure Co..

Understanding fellow workers and to truly trust them is an important part of any successful organization.  It is also important that people understand that most of their own limitations are created by a fear of failure.  Let people remove their own boundaries, and let them experience success.  Find out how, with those perceived limitations removed, those people can soar, and so will your organization. Team building programs create a healthier work environment and a more motivated and efficient team.

1. Communication – Whether you have a tight-knit group who has worked together for years, or multiple branches coming together for the first time, team building initiatives can help to improve communication.  In many activities, like The Great Race or Field Olympics challenges, good communication is the key to success.  These fun and fast-paced challenges encourage participants to think outside of the box and navigate differences in opinion.  This builds trust and encourages discovery of more efficient ways to communicate, which can lead to healthier communication in the workplace. When going through these activities, people learn to trust each other, focus on problems, and work together to solve those problems and cooperate with each other.  The facilitators from the Santa Barbara Adventure Company will be able to help your group make the necessary connections between what they do in their day spent on the beach doing our Olympics, Sea Cave Kayaking, or another one of experiences and how these experiences will translate and help them at work.
2. Creativity and Problem Solving – The novelty of team building activities calls for the creation of processes and procedures to achieve a goal.  Most people have never created their own wine blend, designed the label, and bottled it for a competition before (Sounds fun though, right?  We think so too).  The value lies in the unfamiliarity, which highlights teams’ strengths and weaknesses as they develop skills of creating clear organizational plans through trial and error.  The ability to problem solve and create new procedures and solutions translates directly into the business and increases productivity and system efficiency.  By the way, if you’re still thinking about wine, check out our Wine Blending page.
3. Motivation – After a time of refreshment and experiential learning, employees can return back to work with a renewed energy and clearer vision of what needs to be done.  A day on the water Sea Cave Kayaking or conquering a High Ropes Course can result in participants feeling cared for and invested in, boosting their motivation upon return to work.  Higher morale also leads to a reduced turnover rate, which ultimately saves the company money in the hiring process. Everyone will come away from with fond memories, more self-confidence and more team confidence, and of course memories that will make everyone smile for months and even years later.
4. Group Roles Defined – New situations allow opportunities for team members to show their strengths and to assume new group roles. Challenges outside of the work setting can create space for employees to highlight their different skills and abilities.  Some, for example, may be great at finding a practical solution to the problem at hand, while others may excel at communicating the vision and directing its operation, and so on.  This may also allow employers to see new strengths in their employees that can be utilized at work. Take your crew to an adventure course and learn how to solve problems as a team, relying on different members of the team for different, out of the box solutions.  Learn to take chances by trusting that other members of the team are going to be there and it will work out all right.  Have experiences that you cannot have in the cubicle or in the office setting.  Experiences that are really adventures!
5. Increased Productivity – The combined effects of team building can ultimately lead to increased productivity in the work place.  Enhanced communication between team members, along with refined creativity and problem solving skills builds a cohesive and efficient environment.  Increased motivation and new group roles can bring a fresh outlook and renewed approach to the business, resulting in increased productivity and an overall improvement to the workplace.

Looking for more Team Building activities?  We have lots to offer!  Check out our site for programs, testimonials, and to request a proposal!

The post Top 5 Benefits of Corporate Team Building appeared first on Santa Barbara Adventure Co..