"Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR) Team Building

by Cynthia Shon 30. July 2009 04:15

I was recently interviewed for a magazine article on this subject. Below are the questions and my responses...

1. How do team building and CSR interact? "Corporate Social Responsibility" means doing things that give back to the community and/or reducing ones carbon footprint. Typically, we think of construction or repair projects or fundraising activities. With a little creativity, it makes a perfect team building event. However, just giving a "team" of people some supplies and instructing them to repaint the hallway of an inner city school is not "team building." It becomes team building when they need to make group decisions on how the project will be handled, how resources will be allocated and used, how to overcome potential problems, figure out how to meet the deadline, and how success is measured. The result is an event that helps the community, allows the team to practice important skills and provides them with a real sense of accomplishment. Additionally, these types of events can be a lot of fun with just a few creative twists added.

2. What impact do CSR team building events have on businesses? They provide teams with a greater sense of purpose. A lot of the old standard team building events challenge teams to construct things that are fun and certainly entertaining, but are ultimately discarded. Not only does a CSR event give teams a sense of accomplishment and pride, what they have done will have an impact on the community-- which other team building events do not have. And, in the case of a construction or repair activity, it will be a lasting symbol of pride and teamwork for those who worked on it.

3. What impact do these events have on employees? "Team building" has come to be associated with "fun and games"-- though real team building is much more than that, and I could go into a long dissertation on it, which is better saved for a different article. Though many are glad to participate in game activities, some are left with the feeling that it was not time well spent. A CSR team builder is always worth the time. And particularly now, when everyone is trying to do more with less and the call to volunteer has touched everyone.

4. What types of events have you been involved with? We organized a wonderful Habitat for Humanity landscaping event, where teams actually planned the backyard landscaping with the new home owners. They all went to Home Depot to buy plants and landscaping materials-- and finally did all the landscaping for four different homes. We also have a very fun, interactive Monopoly-type event which results in food donations to a local foodbank, or building bikes for underprivilieged children. We have designed an "Amazing Race" type of activity that sends teams to a variety of challenge stations throughout a community. The challenges are a variety of service projects, but teams do not get bogged down or bored at any one place; they keep moving. As they get to each challenge, they also receive clues and they work together to succeed at each station and get to the next place.

5. What size business can participate in CSR team building events? Just about any size group can do this. However, the really large groups of hundreds have more limitations as to what is available compared to a group of 100 or less. Also, time and place are huge factors as to what we can offer in this realm.

6. How much time is typically involved? At least 2-3 hours if not more.

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