The Harvard Business Review recently published an article claiming that companies who participate in teambuilding exercises that solely focus on teambuilding and nothing else will never achieve lasting long-term results. However, companies who have their employees come together and mutually decide on goals and objectives are much more successful.
Just a week after the article was posted, VMS cleared two days from our busy schedule of client work to bring all our employees together to do exactly that – to better understand all the facets of VMS and to determine our goals and values as a group.
At VMS the needs of our clients are constant and ever-changing. Many of our managers are gone for weeks at a time, consulting on dozens of projects.
So why then, did the VMS Management Team decide it was worth our time to devote two full days to non-billable work?
Because it is their firm belief that to produce the best results for our clients, our team needs to be unified. We need to know that everyone has the same definition of success, is working towards the same goals and has a full understanding of our services, capabilities, and the talents of our team.
Based on a survey of our employees’ experiences at VMS’s offsite, the event was a valuable use of everyone’s time.
How did we make our offsite a success?
By using the same practices we utilize on our client projects. As we began planning our offsite, we asked employees what they wanted to achieve during the event. What information did they want to take away? What did they think VMS’s strengths were? Where could we improve?
With the information we received from all the different functional areas, we looked for common themes and issues. Next, we developed a plan on how the event would address those concerns. We also asked for feedback during and after the offsite, so we could make on-the-fly adjustments and begin planning how to improve next year’s event. One example of the many outcomes which emanated from the offsite was the group identification and prioritization of the values we hold most important at VMS. These included:
- Care and Concern
- Innovation
- Invest in People
- Trust
- Humility and Grace
Ultimately, by building a solid internal foundation, VMS can better serve our clients. By operating as a cohesive, well-informed team, VMS ensures that no matter the challenge, or who is on our team, we will deliver the exceptional results we are known for.
