Bond over games

Blind man’s buff’ is a game that you would typically associate with a bunch of bratty kids — giggling, running all over the place and having a whale of a time. Little does that stop some grown-ups from participating in it. Says Poornima SP, an HR professional, “This game was a huge hit at the outbound training programme that we conducted for our employees. It enabled them to get away from their daily work schedule and bond with their colleagues.”
Outbound training is conducted at a resort or at a boot camp of sorts depending on the preference of the organisation. The employees however are thrilled just to be able to interact with their colleagues in a non-office setting. “I have been part of several team bonding activities. My favourite was the cricket match that we played against the senior management. How often do you get to see your higher-ups run enthusiastically to catch a ball mid-air!” says Sharada Ganesh, senior tech lead, MetricStream. “When I was with Oracle, costume making was one of the team-bonding activities that I had a blast with,” she adds.
These programmes allow people to discover new avatars of their colleagues. Says software professional Ananta Basudev Choudhury, “The team-bonding activity that I was part of in Aztecsoft was a real eye-opener. I never knew my superiors, who I’d always assumed to be the serious sort, could be so much fun. My favourite activity was ‘raft building’ where we fashioned a raft (that functioned) out of bamboo sticks, a tube and rope.” Adds Vinutha GR, project manager, Oracle, “When you are placed in an external location, far away from home, with no choice but to interact with people outside your clique, you end up getting to know them much better.”
Values that the organisation believes in are incorporated in the activities planned, and employees learn about them amidst fun and games. Says MR Sreesha, faculty member, Pegasus Institute for Excellence (that conducts outbound training for corporates): “Something as adventurous as the raft building exercise is actually a lesson in interacting with the clients, getting a design approved, creating a product and putting the finished product out in the market. It helps people understand their work better.”
Organisations end up spending an average of Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 per employee for these sessions, but it is money well spent say HR experts. “We have seen a surge in the productivity level of our employees post these sessions. The organisation gains from this ultimately,” says Poornima.