5 Things to Remember When Searching for a Team Building Specialist

Organizing a team building event is no easy task – in order for it to be successful and achieve its goals, you need to carefully map out the entire process and make sure that everything goes smoothly.

The problem is that, without the necessary experience, organising a team building event can be very difficult. There are so many different details to consider that it’s almost impossible to think of everything unless you have experience organising something similar in the past.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to opt for professional corporate event planners – not only can they offer helpful insights and suggestions to make the event memorable but can also help you find the most cost-effective solutions for achieving your goals.

But how do you choose the right team building specialists?

1. Establish a budget

The first thing you must do before even considering hiring a team building specialist is figuring out how much you’re willing to spend.

This means coming up with an estimated budget for the overall event, as well as the specialist – although these two costs are related, they should not be mixed into a single budget because you need to ensure that you don’t overspend on one at the expense of the other.

Once you know how much you’re willing to spend, it will become much easier to quickly rule out candidates that are out of your price range or adjust your budget in case you find there aren’t any good options for that price.

Whilst it’s vital to set a budget, it’s also important that your team building specialist is able to advise on this budget, provide alternative solutions and certain compromises if necessary.

2. Make sure they have good credentials

After you’ve narrowed down your list of candidates based on budget, the next step is to do a thorough background test to ensure that they’re up to the task of organizing the team building activities that you need.

The easiest way to do this is to ask for recommendations and to see examples of outdoor and indoor team building activities that they’ve organised in the past.

Seeing some testimonials or even talking to a few of the specialist’s previous clients will give you a much better idea of what kind of experience you should expect when working with them. You will also likely learn about their qualities and working methods which can give you a better idea of whether they’re what you’re looking for.

And if you can find out more about the events they’ve organised in the past, you can compare that to your own expectations and see if they’re the right person to realise your vision.

3. Find out if they can deliver what you want

Once you confirm they have strong credentials, it’s important to sit down and talk about your vision to see if they can deliver.

By talking about your project, you can see what kind of suggestions they offer and whether they’re able to provide a plan that enhances your initial idea and brings it to life. Not only is this a clear sign they understand your vision, they’ll be more likely to pull it off.

If a candidate is simply nodding along to what you’re saying and not giving any constructive input of their own, this can be a strong indication that they may not have enough experience in dealing with similar events and you might be better off looking for a more qualified specialist.

4. Check their event planning process

Team building event planners are professionals that usually have years of experience under their belt. That’s why, once you commit to a specialist, you should allow them to work using their own process; they probably have a better understanding of what’s the best way to go about organising a team building event.

Yet, before you hire someone specific, don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need about what their process is and how it works.

Even though you may not know the ins and outs of how to put together a successful team building event, you can still see if your candidate has that knowledge by testing them.

The ability to lay out a functional plan, even if it’s just a bare-bones version, is an essential part of the process that should be done before you make a firm commitment.

You don’t want to hire someone that can only talk in vague terms and isn’t able to offer a specific solution that fits your needs.

5. Find a specialist who listens

Finally, even if a candidate checks off all the other boxes, you need to make sure that they’re able to listen to your vision and make adjustments accordingly.

Even if you hire the best team building event planner in the world, it won’t matter much if they completely ignore your input and just organises the event according to their own preferences.

Putting together a successful team building event is a collaborative process, so just as you need to listen to your specialist and trust them to make the best decisions, they need to be able to work with you to ensure that the event meets and even surpasses your expectations.

Author: Sarah Hill is a content writer at Seven Events Ltd – one of the leading event production companies in the UK, providing conference and incentive travel, conference venue finding services, and corporate team building services. She started her career in the events industry almost a decade ago; as time progressed she became an avid event blogger sharing her insight on corporate event planning.