Imagine this: A driver downshifts, swerves right and then accelerates past another driver half way through a turn, stealing away the inside track just as it opens up, leaving the others in his dust and zooms down the straightaway to victory.
For Indy fans, this might sound like a familiar scene. But these aren’t professional racers. They are employees of a Kyiv software company.
While not always popular, team-building exercises have been around for years, especially in the Western world.
In an effort to boost workplace morale and encourage teamwork, human resources departments and corporate trainers have employed a variety of tactics, sometimes at the cost of employee pride.
Television programs like The Office have poked fun at such activities on more than one occasion. A season three episode of the show pitted employees against each other in a winner-take-all match of Call of Duty, a military-style shooter computer game first made popular in 2003.
But in recent years companies have steered away from activities like trust falls, where employees fall into the arms of coworkers, the human knot, in which employees randomly join hands and work together to unravel themselves without letting go, and on-screen games. Instead they’re opting for more physically demanding tasks, such as rock climbing and cyclo-cross, paintball and, yes, kart racing.
“It motivates (the employees), especially in the IT industry, where employees get few (tangible) awards,” said Irina Mordvinova, human resources manager for NCube, a software development company based in Kyiv. “We’ve done a little in every field. There was paintball, fencing, riding, bowling, billiards, laser tag and climbing.
Undoubtedly, everyone’s favorite is karting.”
While tangible results stemming from team building events can be difficult to gauge, Mordvinova said she sees positive changes in her coworkers following the activities.
“Absolutely, the team’s productivity increases,” she said. “Immediately it changes the spirit of the team. (The employees) are more upbeat, more up to challenges.”
Some changes in her employees, she said, come with time. “People learn to communicate, transmit and receive information much easier, to trust a colleague. And this is a good way to identify leaders.”
Mordvinova admitted that problems resulting from competition arise sometimes. “In addition to positive aspects, in some cases we traced changes of internal roles in the team. It takes some time, but a fairly strong conflict can occur that does not benefit the team.”
But the benefits tend to outweigh the few problems, she said.
Eko Korporativ, a Kyiv-based consulting company providing an array of services to area businesses, offers a number of team building activities, including canoeing, off-roading, rafting, sailing, obstacle courses and more.
The most popular activities are themed packages, according to the company.
A medieval-themed team building day package includes jousting and sword fighting, while the day in the army option puts employees through boot camp. There is also a knights of King Arthur and a Viking option, which include archery and manual labor, respectively.
A favorite is high-altitude city, which pits employees against one another as they race through an obstacle course suspended high in the trees.
However businesses choose to motivate their employees, Mordvinova said the real focus is on encouraging and improving trust and openness among employees, “and to have fun,” of course.
Climbing gym
UP! Climbing Gym
27, 40-Richchya Zhovtnya Ave., Holosiivska subway st.
Open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Children, students and adults are all welcome. Prices start at Hr 50 and go up from there.
Bowling
Dream Town
(044) 428-3611
Obolonsky Ave. 1B
The popular entertainment complex has bowling, starting at Hr 50 per hour, as well as many other activities.
Roller skating (Hr 20-40), curling (Hr 800-1000) and bumper Cars (Hr 20) are all good alternatives.
Kart racing
Block Buster
(044) 237-3222
Moskovsky Ave. 34B
www.blockbuster.net.ua, www.bkart.com
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Karts racing starts at Hr 70 for ten minutes racing time.
Laser gun fighting
Block Buster
(044) 499-8374
Moskovsky Ave. 34B
Open from 12 a.m. to 10 p.m. on work days, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends
Hr 30-50 per person per 20 min.
Paintballing
Hyperion
(044) 353-1000;(050) 717-8686
46 Frunze St.
Open from 9 a.m. to midnight, the arena is just a seven minute walk from Shevchenko metro. Prices start at Hr 150 an hour.
Kyiv Post staff writer Chris Miller can be reached at [email protected]
