The management team, where I work, recently decided to send a group of us on a teambuilding exercise. The exercise has resulted in two of my workmates leaving and one is currently facing disciplinary action.

Attendance on the teambuilding weekend was entirely voluntary but many felt that non-attendance would not be good for their careers so everybody signed up for the three day, two night event. They had planned a packed intinerary including archery, hiking, climbing and orienteering. But no sooner had we arrived and things began to go downhill.

There had clearly been a major breakdown in communication as many people apparently had not been told what they needed to bring along. Many people had turned up without sleeping bags and some had even omitted to bring any proper outdoor clothing. This immediately led to arguments between some of my workmates and a small contingent decided this was their cue to go to a nearby pub for some lunchtime refreshment.

The organizers had provided all of the essential camping equipment including optional tents, hammocks and tarpaulins, ideal for the hardier, experienced campers. I opted for the log cabin option as this was comfortably furnished with bunks.

When my colleagues came back from the bar they had clearly had too much to drink. An orienteering exercise had been arranged for the afternoon that would take us out into the local woods. The organisers had arranged a 6 mile treasure hunt through the nearby woods. Those who had just returned from their liquid lunch were clearly not up for hiking so they hid away in the woods, smoking and drinking whiskey.

When the evening came it was time for us to prepare our evening meal over a campfire. We were provided with a selection of raw indredients to cook for our supper including chickens, potatos and other vegetables along with dried fruit and juices. A few of my drunken colleagues decided that the menu was not to their liking so they got on the phone to a pizza delivery service in a nearby village. This prompted the orgnisers to call a meeting with all of the attendees to make certain we all knew what was expected of us.

Things went from bad to worse, largely fuelled by alcohol. The crowd who had gone to the pub for lunch had missed the opportunity to select comfortably bunks in the log cabin so they were expected to sleep in the tents. This didn’t go down well and several said that they would prefer to go to a hotel. When the organisers pointed out that this was not in the spirit of the teambuilding exercise they became quite aggressive and one even threatened one of the organisers.

The outcome was that several of those who were unhappy with the trip ended up going home. Those of us who stuck around had a really excellent time but the organisers will not be inviting us back.

Hopefully this tale will prompt managers to make certain that they communicate with their team to ensure that everyone buys into the teambuilding activity. Its really important to make certain that everybody knows what is expected of them and what is expected of the exercise.