At a Glance
Positive About Inclusion was commissioned by Age UK Sunderland to facilitate a half-day team building workshop with their Essence Team. The brief was to design and deliver an engaging and interactive workshop to support members of the team to:
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Get to know each other better
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Explore the characteristics that make a good team great
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Identify the tangible steps to take as a team to move from good to great
About the Client
Age UK Sunderland is a strong, local and independent charity run by and for the people of Sunderland. They support older people throughout the city through the provision of quality services and by campaigning on issues that affect them. Age UK Sunderland aims to promote the well-being of all older people throughout the City of Sunderland, improve their quality of life and help them maintain independence.
Challenges and Objectives
Age UK Sunderland required a session that would get everyone engaged and fully participating, they wanted the session to be enjoyable and yet challenging and to focus on behaviours and attitudes. In our proposal we suggested that one of the outcomes of the workshop could be the co-creation with participants of a ‘Team Charter’. A list of the behaviours the team would commit to display and to challenge when these are not displayed by other team members.
Solution
Using a weather related theme for the event we engaged participants in a range of fun activities which explored:
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Getting to know each other better and how whilst we are all unique there is more that unites us than divides us
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The ‘glue’ that brings a team together and the value of the different skills we bring
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The key elements of effectively working as a team
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Personal values and what we value most in working as part of the Essence Team
In the final activity team members agreed and signed up to their Team Charter, describing those values and associated behaviours that they will actively demonstrate and constructively, positively challenge if not demonstrated by others.
“I really enjoyed the session. It was fun and Karen and Lucy really put everyone at ease.”
“I found the session useful, in particular that it reinforced for me how well we do work together as a team.”
“It was an enjoyable morning, the activities were fun – we all worked well together and great to see the differences (as in choice of words exercise) that make us a team.”
“I was a little apprehensive initially but Karen and Lucy put me at ease quite quickly. It was good to reinforce the core values and appreciate other team members values and what is important to them.”
“I found it fun and very enjoyable.”
Feedback from Session Participants
Impact
The workshop was really positive, everyone engaged from the outset and they really enjoyed learning more about each other through the various activities. The build-up activity in advance of creating the Team Charter was really insightful and honest and this meant that the co-created Team Charter will be owned by all of those who were involved. Following the workshop we typed up the Charter and sent it back to Age UK as a poster which included a team photograph from the day which can now be displayed in the office.
It was great for us to be asked once again by Age UK Sunderland to support them with a team development activity, clearly demonstrating that the workshop we held with their Board several months ago had been well received!
“The session was lively and encouraged active participation. Engaging delivery by the facilitators who helped us explore and focus on our values as a team. Good to have the time and space to reflect and reaffirm our core values, and to understand what is important to each member of the team as well as to us as a collective.”
Session Participant
“I would like to thank you both for facilitating such a positive session, it was a really powerful way to open communication within the team and provoke thought around individuality and shared core values. All of the team members participated and were fully engaged which promoted collaborative working. The team were able to recognise their strengths and weaknesses and those within their group which will make them stronger moving forward. As a result of the way the team connected we were able to improve motivation and productivity.”
Leah Abdulla, Operations Manager, Age UK Sunderland
