Building Teamwork with Tinkertoys
We got to play with Tinkertoys® on a recent Friday afternoon.
It was all part of a PAN staff exercise called Tall Ships designed to develop teamwork that will “help us better serve our customers and members,” said Brian Dowd, manager of marketing, education and customer service. Brandon Ryan, human resource business partner with ADP Total Source, led the activity by first dividing PAN staff and management into six teams.
Each team had to race against the clock to build the tallest ship mast for the lowest cost. With each round of play, teammates learned the skills behind the seven factors most critical to effective team performance – clarity, capability, collaboration, commitment, communication, continuous improvement, and creativity.
We discovered which of our co-workers were competitive, ingenious with design, committed to improving the original designs and those who were willing to collaborate to achieve the best possible outcome.
“The Tall Ships team building exercise helped build teamwork and communication skills among co-workers who I don’t typically get to work with on a day-to-day basis,” said Jonathan Marencel, PAN customer service representative.
Customer Service Representative Becky Kern agreed. “I learned how to work with people I don’t normally work with,” she said.
We laughed, worked hard at our tall ship masts and ultimately gained a new insight into how to be the best team players we can possibly be – for PAN and our members.
It was all part of a PAN staff exercise called Tall Ships designed to develop teamwork that will “help us better serve our customers and members,” said Brian Dowd, manager of marketing, education and customer service. Brandon Ryan, human resource business partner with ADP Total Source, led the activity by first dividing PAN staff and management into six teams.
Each team had to race against the clock to build the tallest ship mast for the lowest cost. With each round of play, teammates learned the skills behind the seven factors most critical to effective team performance – clarity, capability, collaboration, commitment, communication, continuous improvement, and creativity.
We discovered which of our co-workers were competitive, ingenious with design, committed to improving the original designs and those who were willing to collaborate to achieve the best possible outcome.
“The Tall Ships team building exercise helped build teamwork and communication skills among co-workers who I don’t typically get to work with on a day-to-day basis,” said Jonathan Marencel, PAN customer service representative.
Customer Service Representative Becky Kern agreed. “I learned how to work with people I don’t normally work with,” she said.
We laughed, worked hard at our tall ship masts and ultimately gained a new insight into how to be the best team players we can possibly be – for PAN and our members.
