|
FAQ's
What do people get out of a program?
We believe that the best learning occurs when learners own responsibility for it from the very begining. In effect, people get more out a program when they are personally invested in it. If people come expecting us to do something to them, making us responsible for their outcome, then they could underachieve relative to the potential. We put a lot of energy at the outset by encouraging everyone to identify what they personally and collectively want to get out of the program. We respond by identifying how this process may contribute to their desired outcome, what more may be required, and then encourage them as a group to make that happen. At the end of a program we spend time identifying the shared key learnings from each group and help them identify ways that they can take follow-on action back at work. People who leave clearly understanding their responsibility to make a difference are more likely to make it happen. We are very grateful for the complimentary feedback we get on a regular basis from people telling us how our program contributed to their success.
[ Back to top ]
How do we know which program is best for our needs?
Often people call us with exactly what they want in mind. With nine different teambuilding formats, several seminar topics, and innovative consulting services its often worthwhile to explore your options before you decide what you want to do. Customization is a foundation to our service such that each program format is simply a template upon which we add activity elements specific to your needs. We can talk over your interests and propose a program that is specific to your group and your goals.
[ Back to top ]
How much does a program cost?
Each program cost is determined after we discuss your specific request. We have a set fee schedule that takes into account your choices regarding number of participants, time, location, program type, and staffing preferences. You can expect a typical program to cost in the range of twenty dollars per participant program hour - plus or minus five dollars. Programs can cost even less (or more) given your needs and flexibility.
[ Back to top ]
Can we get a price break?
For those on a fixed budget it saves time to let us know what your constraints are from the outset. Our objective is to give you the best program to meet your needs given your constraints. We don't charge a client more or less because they can afford more or less, so openness about a fixed budget is appreciated from the outset. We aim to find a formula to meet your needs and that totally values your involvement. The more time and/or participants that you can commit to from the outset the less costly a program will be on a per person basis. Since our fee schedule reflects a lower costs per person for longer or more heavily attended programs, contracting a series of programs for a number of groups can make a company-wide effort very cost effective and productive.
[ Back to top ]
How many people can participate?
There is virtually no limit to the number of participants we can involve in a program. We conduct our programs in activity teams with from seven to twelve participants in each. Large programs are made up of multiple teams. We provide a facilitator per one or two teams, depending on the program format and activities selected.
[ Back to top ]
Where will we do the program?
The client chooses the program location. We can arrange for the program needs with the coordination staff at your chosen location - anywhere in the world you like. If you're doing this in our little corner of the world - in Austin, Texas - our main program locations include The Hills Fitness Center, The House on the Hill, Barton Creek Conference Resort, Lakeway Inn, and The Four Seasons Hotel. There are several other alternatives we have used before - including rural and rustic - and can offer suggestions. (See 'What happens if it rains' below.)
[ Back to top ]
How much lead time do we need to schedule a program?
We like to be able to respond to any request, and we have conducted programs with a couple days notice. However, given staff schedules, programs are best agreed to at least three weeks in advance. Of course, all programs are subject to resource availability. To ensure the greatest likelihood of getting the dates you want for a program we recommend planning your program at least two months in advance.
[ Back to top ]
What happens if we decide we want to do a Team Craft program?
When you decide you want to commit to a program, Team Craft sends you a Letter of Agreement that specifies the basic details of the program that you requested. An invoice accompanies this agreement. Upon your review and approval you return a signed agreement to Team Craft. No specific date, personnel, or resources can be committed to a client until a signed agreement is returned to Team Craft. When we receive the agreement back, we e-mail you with a confirmation. Specific details of the program agenda and schedule are typically completed after the agreement is returned. This process can be done in person or through fax or e-mail.
[ Back to top ]
How do I get a schedule for our program?
Each program overview describes the basic flow of each program. Since several program formats have varying durations, and customer requests are even more varied, we don't post a standard schedule on the website. Sample schedules are provided during the planning process. A final schedule is agreed upon several days or weeks before a program.
[ Back to top ]
How long does a program last?
A typical Teambuilding program lasts from four to nine hours. A Seminar typically lasts one-day, but can be shorter. An "in-depth" Learn the ROPES program can last three or four days. Shorter programs can be conducted in as little as one hour. The important thing is to set realistic expectations given the time and resources you are committing to the program. Very short programs can act as ice breakers or theme setters for more in-depth meetings. Half day programs often provide a spark of enthusiasm for teams and frequently also suggest ways you can improve your performance. Longer programs actually allow teams to identify new work processes that have a greater likelihood of being transferred to work situations.
[ Back to top ]
Who selects the activities we'll be doing?
The client reviews a wide array of activity options specific to the program format selected, and is free to select activities that best suit a group's preferences. Alternatively, we can suggest or select activities for your program. We can even allow each facilitator in a larger program to select activities specific to each team. Whichever approach you feel best meets your needs is how activities will be selected.
[ Back to top ]
Who decides who is in which group?
Typically the client organizes the teams before the program. The most typical arrangement is to have teams made up with people from across the organization so participants can get to meet some new people at the program. We can do a random selection activity at the outset if you prefer.
[ Back to top ]
Who are the people on the Team Craft team that will be leading our program?
The Team Craft team consists of group of highly experienced professionals from the fields of teaching, training, and counseling. Since we operate our programs in small activity teams, large programs will have several Team Craft staff, each working with one or two activity teams. Team Craft staff are professional facilitators with credentials for what we do. Most staff have advanced degrees in the study of groups and organizations. So we know how to ask good questions, get everyone involved in the process, and, at times - most important - know when to step back and let the group be itself. Discussions that follow activities are designed to lead the group to figure out what is most applicable to their work setting; not what an outsider might assume to be important. And we know how to keep the process fun and insightful - no matter what happens. Background information on Team Craft staff can be found at "About Team Craft". You may request a specific staff person if you like.
[ Back to top ]
Some activities look dangerous or physically difficult. Are they?
Much has been done to ensure the fundamental integrity of safety systems related to outdoor experiential programs. When these systems are employed the degree of danger is negligible. The rate of injury in the field has steadily dropped as the popularity and use of the activities has increased. This speaks well for the professionalism in the 'industry.' Team Craft, itself, has a spotless safety record in our twelve years of operation. The risk involved in these activities is primarily what we call 'perceived risk.' Perceived risk is actually a fundamental ingredient in the formula for producing a rewarding experience. The activities are of a nature that most people can participate with the expectation that they can achieve the objective. But along the way participants may find it very challenging, and may choose to preempt their involvement. This is always an option in our programs. In the context of everything that happens in a program, opting out of a particular activity presents its own opportunity for positive learning. If someone choose not to participate in a particular activity that the group has selected, we identify a support role for that person to play so that he or she remains an active participant in the group process.
[ Back to top ]
Some people are concerned for their safety. How do you ensure our safety?
It is extremely rare for someone to become injured during a program. In twelve years at Team Craft we have noted about five injuries in total, ranging from a strained back to a cut finger. Nothing more serious. Injuries that do occur in this field are almost always related to a previous condition, resulting in a recurrent injury. To eliminate this possibility we require every participant in potentially rigorous physical activities to complete a short medical history and consent form. We emphasize that we need each person to carefully monitor their level of involvement and not to do anything that, given the safety briefing and their own assessment, would put them and others at risk. We have found that participants monitor themselves well, and we encourage restraint. We want our programs to be fun and enjoyable. Fear of injury or intimidation has no place in our programs.
[ Back to top ]
Aren't all ropes courses basically the same?
Given the effort to promote safety and efficacy within the field, much has been done to standardize the technology used on a ropes course. However, the ropes course is different from other standardized activity devices in that they are tools designed to promote interpersonal development. The benefits are not inherent in the mere fact that you used the device. How the activity is adapted to promote your specific learning relates to the skills of the experiential educators who are providing the program. Team Craft staff are highly experienced professional facilitators knowledgeable in both the experiential learning process and the dynamics of many work environments. We have developed a highly refined methodology that uses this environment to promote an effective team problem solving process on a level we have found unparalleled in the field. You can be assured that a Team Craft program is of the highest quality available.
[ Back to top ]
What happens if it rains when we have scheduled an outdoor activity?
Rain is not a common problem. However, we are prepared to have alternatives ready if it is a problem. Basically, since the client chooses the date, location, and type of program, costs associated with rain considerations are borne by the client. Fundamentally, the client needs to provide for alternative indoor space in the event of rain. If you are working with one of our partner meeting locations this is easy to arrange. InterActive Team programs can be conducted either indoors or outdoors, so if it rains, we will be prepared to move the program indoors. We take responsibility to modify the program to best meet your objectives if we have to move it indoors. Other program formats can either be conducted in spite of rain or may be rescheduled. If you had scheduled a low or high Ropes program, the indoor option may not be of interest to you. In this situation you may arrange to reschedule with us. We have a thorough "Rain Policy" that details all the factors to consider. This is available to prospective clients during the planning process.
[ Back to top ]
You also conduct actual meetings?
Much of what makes for effective teamwork has a lot to do with how people interact at meetings to share information, brainstorm ideas, make decisions and develop action plans. Corporate meetings provide an unusual opportunity to model new meeting skills that people can take back to their work groups. We can work with you to take your agenda and turn it into an experiential and action learning process that will add value to the session beyond the information you share. The meeting tools we use are well documented and easily transferable to the workplace. We can also be available as a resource to help with the transfer to the workplace. Ask us for more details.
[ Back to top ]
What is experiential learning and teambuilding?
Experiential Learning is a field of knowledge that focuses on the practices and processes for using direct experience to promote personal and interpersonal understanding and growth. Teambuilding is a field within corporate training and development that promotes the use of effective processes in communication, problem solving and organizational awareness within and across groups in an organization. Some people think of any social event that they provide to their employees as a form of teambuilding. A sense of purpose and design can help make these events useful, but they are not experiential teambuilding just because they involve an activity. Experiential teambuilding combines the technology of experiential learning with the skill sets of corporate teambuilding to provide a highly effective means of internalizing these skills among program participants. The experiential learning process is inherently fun and engaging as well as insightful and educative. - Is this the same thing as action learning?Action learning has grown in popularity as a concept in the past decade due in large part to the phenomenon of The Fifth Discipline. Based on the work of Chris Argyris at Harvard and Peter Senge at MIT, Action Learning has its roots in systems theory and more formal organizational development. It is useful to think of Action Learning as the ongoing process of organizational learning that we can promote and encourage through experiential teambuilding programs. The two approaches are very complimentary and share many of the same principals for promoting effective adult learning.
- Is it the same thing as holistic learning?
Holistic learning promotes the theorem that people learn best when they are engaged using multiple senses - and multiple intelligences. If we are promoting skills sets based on behaviors, then the learning process would most effectively employ our intellect, our physical actions, and our emotions. The learning likely needs to occur on all three levels - and be integrated as a mind-set. Experiential learning is an effective form of holistic learning. Employing the ideas of multiple intelligences, we take into account the learning orientation of our participants. Do they learn best with special consideration toward language (i.e., international groups), logic (i.e., engineers or marketers), space (location - indoors or outdoors), or kinesthetics (type of body movement)? We adapt our programs in consideration of our learners.
[ Back to top ]
|