Team building is one of the most important investments you can make in your team, and even more so now that colleagues are able to reconnect after spending such a long time apart during the pandemic. A team that works together performs and excels and team building not only help build relationships, but also it can lead to a more open collaborative culture.
Gareth Warnock, Group Sales Director at De Vere, a collection of historic mansion house estates and distinctive contemporary hotels and event destinations, looks at the benefits team building can have to a business as face-to-face meetings and events are back in full swing.
Reuniting with your team
Although virtual meetings and events have proved successful, nothing beats the energy, creativity, and passion of teams being in a room together, something which we are appreciating more than ever now face-to-face meetings are back on.
The benefits of team building include enhanced planning skills, increased communication, developing trust between employees, and improved employee motivation and collaboration. After teambuilding sessions employees better understand each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests, which can be difficult to gauge while working remotely. It is important to add fun team building activities into your schedule to keep your team engaged and driven so that they avoid ‘meeting fatigue’.
Get some fresh air
Our properties offer plenty of outdoor space for guests to explore and help clear the mind with onsite jogging trails and walking routes, including De Vere’s exclusive Strava routes, to enjoy. Our outdoor space also provides endless opportunities for outdoor breakout sessions; dining al fresco; and working in the sunshine – thanks to the super-fast Wi-Fi that stretches up to 100m around each property.
For those looking to embrace the great outdoors with some on-site team building, De Vere has a range of options. De Vere Wokefield Estate is set in 250 acres of Berkshire parkland – which includes an 18-hole Championship golf course – and offers delegates onsite team building activities with Graham Robb Associates. Their wide range of team building activities, including swinging in the trees on the high ropes, are proven to maximise team interaction and boost self-confidence. Participants can also undertake the challenge of surviving in the bush or enjoy a strategic game of woodland laser combat, with programmes designed to fit a range of budgets.
With the demand for teambuilding on the rise, De Vere Tortworth Court, located in the South Cotswolds has recently introduced a number of new outdoor activities with their trusted partner ACF Teambuilding & Events, allowing them to deliver tailored events and teambuilding activities for groups of five to 500. Keep your team entertained with country pursuits including air rifle shooting; archery; axe throwing; blind 4×4 driving; duck herding, falconry, gundog agility, sheep herding or rage buggies.
De Vere Tortworth Court was recently included in The Times’ article on the best hotels with gorgeous gardens, as the property is surrounded by 30 acres of landscaped gardens and manicured lawns as well as one of Britain’s finest arboretums, housing over 300 plant and tree specimen. For those who would like to explore the grounds, the hotel offers woodland adventure sessions including Wildlife Walks, where teams can learn about the flora and fauna within the grounds; Survivor, which tests teams to see how they can you survive going back to basics including shelter building, fire lighting and scavenging; and The Hunted, an exciting team building package run on an app where teams will dodge the sniper and work together to avoid being caught.
We understand that energetic team building activities aren’t for everyone however, our properties offer plenty of other ways to get your team to connect. Why not arrange a relaxing spa retreat, private dinner, an evening drinks reception or a night away so the team can bond in informal and relaxing surroundings?
Choose your activity
Located in London, the south east and the Cotswolds, our properties offer an array of fun team building exercises to suit a variety of personalities and group sizes, from geese herding and scavenger hunts at De Vere Beaumont Estate, wakeboarding and dragon boat racing at De Vere Cotswold Water Park to cocktail masterclasses with the award-winning Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery at De Vere Wokefield Estate and floral and craft workshops, yoga, and Tai Chi at De Vere Tortworth Court.
The Vendry’s Events in 2022 report found that 43% of event professionals are prioritising and seeing a rise in the importance of mental health, physical health and wellness surrounding events. With this in mind, this summer our hotels will once again be offering complimentary daily wellbeing sessions including yoga and Pilates classes.
Our properties also offer outdoor games, including chess, connect4, draughts and football, and picnic options for delegates and teams to enjoy. Those hosting their event at the iconic Horsley Towers at De Vere Horsley Estate, as seen in Netflix’s award-winning series The Crown, can enjoy a game of frisbee golf between meetings on the grounds.
De Vere offers large and flexible indoor and outdoor spaces, so team building activities can take place come rain or shine. Planners also have the added benefit of being able to see the venue before the activity through De Vere’s virtual tours to help to build excitement.
Come and visit us
Those visiting our properties will also be able to take advantage of De Vere’s market leading Smart Space meetings concept, which comprises nine service features designed to offer a highly responsive, personalised meetings and events service. The service includes everything from a live availability booking service to truly tech-savvy support, with up to 1GB super-fast Wi-Fi, interactive displays, and an on-site team of friendly experts to help overcome any tech issues a client may face.
Our new Smart Booker cloud-based meetings and events booking platform, in partnership with MeetingPackage, allows event planners to book their conference, event or teambuilding session with ease. Smart Booker allows planners to see real-time room availability across a number of properties; search, filter, and book event spaces in one simple process; and book on the go as the system is fully mobile optimised, to make the booking process as simple and flexible as possible for organisers.
Whilst De Vere properties are surrounded by acres of green space, parkland, and beautiful countryside, they’re also impeccably connected. Whether you are travelling by road, rail or air, our properties provide easy access to major motorways, railway stations and airports. They also benefit from plenty of on-site parking, and we even have electric charging points at some of our properties.
For further information on De Vere, please visit the website: devere.co.uk
