Today's Team Story

Teambuildinginc.com Sets New Monthly Record!!!
The month of November, 2001 saw over 23,000 visitors to our site, a new record. And some of you have sent wonderful messages regarding our site's design and content. If you have any suggestions on how we can continue to improve, including new products or services, please let us know!

AstraZeneca Visits "Fufu" (click photos to enlarge)

About 60 administrative coordinators of AstraZeneca (30 on each of two days) spent a rousing day of teambuilding and development at the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware. The half-indoor/half-outdoor day had teams creating companies and overcoming obstacles at the "island" of Fufu to collect and save the rare Fufu eggs. Combining our Building High Performance Teams and Portable Ropes Teambuilding sessions, the day borrowed a little from the TV "Survivor" themes, providing learning, fun, and adventure for everyone.

MDA "Spirit Day" a Real Energizer (click photos to enlarge)

This year's Muscular Dystrophy Association regional staff development conference for 100 people in Teaneck, New Jersey featured a high-energy, half-day Building High Performance Teams session with Peter Grazier. These great people, who do so much for others, enjoyed an opportunity to learn new team skills and let off steam at the same time. According to MDA's Debbie Camner, "The reviews are in---and everyone (and I mean everyone) loved the session!"

Gemplus Visits "The Maize"

Twenty-four energetic MIS folks from Gemplus in Horsham, Pennsylvania, spent a morning in team development activities, then ventured to a local farm to "get lost" in The Maize, a huge and intriguing labyrinth of paths winding through acres of cornfield. The perfect autumn afternoon ended with all teams successfully completing the journey. There are over 100 cornfield mazes in the U.S. and Canada that host teambuilding activities!. Check them out at www.cornfieldmaze.com.

Teambuilding R.O.C.K.S. at AstraZeneca
Al Lucia brought down the house with our Teambuilding R.O.C.K.S. session at another of AstraZeneca's administrative coordinator development days held in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Combining important learning lessons with classic rock-n-roll melodies was just what the doctor ordered.


Team Developer Training Scores in Canada - Dr. Darrel Ray kept 28 people totally engaged at his Team Developer Training and Certification recently in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Sponsored by Loyalist College, Darrel's session addressed the critical elements of implementing Self-Directed Work Teams. This is a top-flight seminar drawing on Dr. Ray's extensive knowledge of workteam processes. A note of thanks to those at Loyalist College for their hospitality. (See next scheduled sessions in our Upcoming Events section.)

Recognition and Motivation…It's Here!
What is the one secret that, if you knew the answer, would change your workplace forever? Check out our new session on these powerful topics.

Website Highlighted in Magazine
Teambuildinginc.com was recently referenced as one of only two online resources in American Airways Magazine (7/15/01).  The article It's Not Just a Job…It's an Adventure Race, a discussion of adventure-based teambuilding at Seagate Technology, was the feature article of the Business Section. The article discusses the company president's (William Watkins) use of Adventure Racing as a way to build team and business acumen in the competitive market of disk drives.

GSK does "Team Hollywood Awards" in Philly! Twenty-six members of GlaxoSmithKline's R&D Procurement Department (both English and American contingents) participated in a teambuilding event they won't soon forget. Divided into 5 teams, the participants were given video cameras, costumes, and props and told to go about Philadelphia filming a 10-minute "movie" combining blockbuster movie themes with company initiatives. The teams spent the day producing highly creative renditions of Gladiator, The Godfather, Caddy Shack, A League of Their Own, and Blair Witch Project.

Kicking off the day were world champion rower Dan Lyons and Sean Astin (producer, director, and actor in such films as Rudy, Goonies, and Memphis Bell). What a treat to be coached by these truly outstanding professionals.

The day ended with dinner, viewing of the movies, judging, then presentation of the Team Hollywood Awards. All of the GSK team members were proud of their highly creative and entertaining productions…a testament to the power of teamwork.

For more information on our newest teambuilding event, go to "Team Hollywood."

Teambuilding Treasure Hunt in Laguna Beach, CA  Fifty hearty souls of the SCAN Health Plan met in Laguna Beach, California, (our newest treasure hunt venue) for a day of teambuilding and fun. The morning session included Peter Grazier's Building High Performance Teams, and in the afternoon, our Treasure Hunt with David Blum provided some hands-on application of team concepts. Sand, sun, and a relaxing seaside community…what a combination for a great outing and a meaningful team development opportunity!

Blue Cross Team Wins the Gold
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. won first place at the Association for Quality and Participation Team Excellence Awards Competition. The SAO Claims Project Team was established to ensure the tools, processes and procedures were implemented to exceed the claims processing standards established with the State of Florida. The results were a 32.5% increase in productivity and a 19% decrease in cost per claim. For information about all of the 27 outstanding teams that entered the competition visit the AQP web site.

20,000 visitors in March!
Teambuildinginc.com achieved a new milestone with 20,530 visitors in March. Keep coming back…we just keep adding new resources every month!

Teambuilding, Inc. accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express for catalog items.

Gallup Validates Importance of Engagement
It's no surprise that everyone agrees about the importance of employee engagement--and most of those in charge will claim that the level at which their employees are involved is of the utmost importance for their companies. But how true is this? Do the higher-ups really believe that a worker's level of engagement has an effect on their company's end results?

A recent study released by the Gallup Management Journal reports that engagement is still a vital part of overall company success. "A more 'satisfied' employee is likely to be more cooperative, more helpful to colleagues, more punctual," the study reports. In fact, companies consistently reported higher rates of customer loyalty, sales and profit margins for their engaged employees. For one company, Gallup found that those with a high level of engagement had a turnover rate slightly above 15 percent, while workers who were not had a turnover rate of 35 percent. So how can companies control engagement?

According to the study, several key factors can contribute to the overall outcome, but only some can be influenced. For example, needs dealing with self-validation can be affected by a paycheck and a sense of belonging. While managers can easily control the amount employees are paid, it appears less clear how to provide for intangible needs.  Nonetheless,  it is important to keep in mind that, "On the production line as at the shop counter, basic human needs for self-validation, whether they are satisfied or thwarted, determine degrees of engagement and hence the value that is created or destroyed for the company."

For more studies and statistical analysis, visit the Gallup web site.
To read the study featured in this article, see the Gallup Journal.

Training Partners on TV Get ready to watch Teambuildinginc.com training partner Robyn Benincasa on the USA Network and Discovery Channel, as her dynamic racing team placed first in the demanding Eco-Challenge held last August in Borneo. The USA Network broadcast will be April 1-6 and the Discovery Channel airing of the Southern Traverse will be April 22-23. Robyn and her co-trainers conduct the Mini EcoChallenge program, a powerful adventure-based development process for corporate teams.

Miscellaneous: Some fun seminar photos 

Need for Teambuilding? Analogous to road rage, desk rage can be the dangerous outcome of office workers stressed by long hours, excessive e-mail, unrealistic deadlines, and soulless workplaces. Effects can range from headaches to physical violence.

Integra Realty Resources' Oct-Nov Survey of 1305 adults in the workplace reveals the following:
Observed yelling or verbal abuse 42%
Yelled at co-workers themselves 29%
Cried over work-related issues 23%
Damage of machines or furniture 14%
Violence in the workplace 10%
Struck a co-worker 2%

Source: Business Week, 11/27/00

Job Satisfaction Falling Sharply
A new Conference Board survey indicates that more workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. Over the last five years, those satisfied with their jobs has dropped from 59% to 51%. One official states that "It appears that today's fast-paced working climate is triggering more mailaise than we've imagined."  Although the decline occurred in all age groups, the lowest satisfaction reading (46.5%) occurred in those aged 45-54. 

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