Incentive - September 2008 - (Page 72) Action! Start Teambuilding Now! By Rob Carey lthough most everyone in business has lived for years by the mantra “do more with less,” it looks as if the time of reckoning has truly arrived. The most recent economic forecasts call for painfully slow growth and higher unemployment between now and mid2009, if not longer. So with employees especially mindful of the need to prove their own value to management to avoid layoffs, it’s unlikely that many of them currently harbor the spirit to assist and support coworkers in their duties. Nonetheless, some firms are making the considerable effort to implement team-building programs, complete with pre-event assessments of group dynamics as well as continuous post-event follow-up. And despite the extra work that teambuilding brings to all participants—plus the cost—these companies are counting on a return-on-investment through increased efficiency, productivity and innovation. They’re also seeking to make employees more satisfied, and thus more loyal. “Teambuilding in difficult times should be aimed at the most valuable people in the company,” says Shawn Dunning, a director and lead facilitator for Adventure Associates, based in San Francisco. “It’s about learning how to stay effective through all this change: downsizing, reorganizing, mergers and shrunken sales. But the longer you wait A Many companies find that tough times are the best times to motivate employees to work together
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