One of the coolest things that we get to witness is when companies and teams experience a team-build that benefits their local community. We find that these experiences seem to add another layer of meaning and purpose to the dynamics of the team build. Such was the case with a major healthcare consultancy that we worked with recently. Believe it or not, this company hadn’t done a company retreat in over two years. This happens with fast-growing companies but we think it’s awesome when growing companies decide to come up for air and invest some time in their people and culture.
This particular company’s focus is in the healthcare technology and services realm and as a consultancy, fostering a culture of service is extremely important. With that in mind, we knew a Community Impact experience would be a great fit and put the group through what we call our ‘Built for Need Bicycle Challenge.’ This experience consists of 3 stages (similar to a bike race) where teams must create kid-size bicycles, race the bicycles – yes, adults are riding kids bikes (we promise no bikes get damaged), and then donate said bikes and helmets to local children in need through the inner city youth program known as cityWILD. It’s truly a perfect blend of teamwork, fun, and service.
One of best parts of these experiences is watching the teams come together and gel from one stage to the next. In building the bikes, the teams really had to demonstrate strong communication skills and know how to delegate effectively. Once the bikes were built and ready to race, the teams couldn’t stop laughing and smiling at each other as their adult colleagues attempt to race on a kids’ bikes. It’s amazing how a little goofiness and fun can help people grow closer. Lastly, the teams then got to donate the bikes to inner city youth, which is a truly special experience that helps the teams and individuals see a world beyond themselves in the spirit of service.
In the end, twenty-four bikes and helmets were made and then donated to cityWILD. Something of particular note for this experience – we did notice at the start some individuals weren’t crazy about having to do a ‘team build.’ This is totally understandable as many team build experiences are outdated and not applicable. It’s safe to say that most of the participants probably didn’t expect a team build where at the end of the day they would be giving bikes to inner city kids in need. Needless to say, the entire group was ‘all-in’ and totally invested in the experience by the time all the bikes were donated. Like we said at the beginning of this blog, pretty cool, right? We like to think so.
To learn more about our Community Impact experiences such as this one, feel free to click here.
