Working with Homes and Communities Agency
Having been Team Development supplier to The Housing Corporation (now the Homes and Communities Agency, (HCA), and Tennant Services Authority) since 2006, Quest was delighted to be asked to work with the HCA government agency once again on December 16th.
Quest Team Building Helping to Build One New HCA Team
The South and South West Operating Area, HCA has been through huge change in the past two years, and are now operating as a new team with many new operating procedures. Two key requirements of the team building were that it had to assist colleagues to find out and learn about one another, and it also needed to enable all the delegates to work together as one team in an experiential exercise.
MBTI and TV Newscast ~ The Perfect Combination
Time for the overall day’s team build was constrained and delegate numbers were large so the method of delivering Myers Briggs needed careful consideration and thought. It was agreed to dispense with the MBTI pre-course questionnaire and work straight through self-assessment and expansion upon that, on the day. Similarly the delivery of TV Newscast had to be carefully planned and delivered.
An Unusual Venue
HCA wanted the programme to be delivered in an unusual venue with charitable links, which was also in central Bristol. After speaking with a number of potential organisations Quest recommended the exciting @Bristol Interactive Science Centre, and HCA duly agreed and confirmed. It was a wise choice, and a great place to deliver high energy, high impact team building. The service was great, and the facilities well laid out and modern. Worth a look!
Three Truths and a Lie
In view of the key requirements for the Team Building, and despite the shortage of time Quest recommended starting the team building day with the high energy and fun ice-breaker, 3 Truths and a Lie. Once again it delivered superbly and in 30 minutes all of the delegates were far more knowledgeable and informed about their colleagues and their team than they had been at the beginning of the day.
A Morning of MBTI
In usual dynamic and exciting style, Jan, Quest’s lead MBTI facilitator got the day’s team building off to a terrific start. Any delegates who were still under the misapprehension that they were going to spend the morning sat down being talked at were soon made aware to the contrary. Discussions were soon in full flow, and the delegates moving around the room, working in sub-teams, reflecting with one another, and most importantly learning loads about themselves and their colleagues.
An Afternoon of TV Productions
After lunch there was the opportunity to put all of the morning’s discussion, reflection and learning into practice. The overall team were divided into three sub-teams and given their intentionally highly detailed instructions for the production of a TV Newscast to be filmed live to camera. The sub-teams had just two hours for the preparation/production stage of what they would ultimately film, and after the predictable “shell shocked” response to the instructions, activity was soon accelerating fast. Various “curved-balls” were thrown at the teams as the team build progressed, and despite the added pressure this caused the teams coped very well.
Rehearsals and Final Performances: It is always a positive sign in this team building event when teams build in enough time in the preparation period for full rehearsals and having been with this HCA team for a few hours, it was no surprise that all three teams built in enough time for a full run through. As those practice sessions came to an end the clock started to count down on the first team to go live to camera, and very soon after that the chilling words “and live camera,” were announced by the Quest film team and the first team was broadcasting.
Ten O Clock News Team Watch Out: The TV Newscasts were outstanding. The prescriptive items-for-inclusion list had been well followed by all the teams, but each had put an individual twist on that list. The final results were professional, imaginative, very well linked to current HCA issues, and very amusing. In addition they all gave great material for the programme review session at the end of the day. The team build had been a great success and all had learned a great deal about themselves and the new team of which they are now a part.