How do I choose a suitable team building day for my colleagues?

Team building days are meant to improve relationships between colleagues, so it is important to choose an activity that everyone feels comfortable with. It can be easy for some staff to feel alienated if, for example, they can’t join in rock climbing because they are afraid of heights.

As such it is important to do your research first. Make sure you are aware of everyone’s likes and dislikes and try to cater for everybody.

Go Ape runs ‘high-wire forest adventures’ around the country, with giant obstacle courses built in trees featuring ladders, walkways, bridges, tunnels, and zip lines.

As well as being open to the public, it runs corporate team building days to “get people out of their comfort zone”. Its head of marketing Will Blair says team building days are useful as they “give people common things to talk about, a common experience they can share”.

He adds: “It’s healthy to get people out of the office environment and working together. Spending time together like this helps them learn a bit about each other.”

While he says it is important to take into account people’s personalities, you can “still accommodate everybody”. He says that at Go Ape, for example, if one member of the team is afraid of heights, he or she can take on another role, such as photographer.

However, he adds that it is important to “find activities that have an appeal to everybody. Make sure everyone gets something from it, not just the managing director.”

Blair also adds that value for money should be taken into account. “You should strike the right balance between financial investment and the gain you get from it,” he says.