Acquired Consulting

Spring Has Sprung:

Using Easter Egg Hunts to Improve Teambuilding

As written by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins

Peter Cottontail

Here comes Peter Cottontail,

Hopping down the bunny trail,

Hippity, hoppity,

Easter is on its way.

Bringing every girl and boy,

Baskets full of Easter joy,

Things to make your Easter bright and gay.

He's got jellybeans for Tommy,

Colored eggs for sister Sue,

There's an orchid for your Mommy,

And an Easter bonnet, too.

Oh! Here comes Peter Cottontail,

Hopping down the bunny trail,

Hippity, hoppity,

Happy Easter day.

Here comes Peter Cottontail,

Hopping down the bunny trail,

Look at him stop and listen to him say:

"Try to do the things you should."

Maybe if you're extra good,

He'll roll lots of Easter eggs your way.

You'll wake up on Easter morning,

And you'll find that he was there,

When you find those chocolate bunnies,

That he's hiding everywhere.

Oh! Here comes Peter Cottontail,

Hopping down the bunny trail,

Hippity, hoppity,

Happy Easter day.

OK, back to business.  How does this apply to your organization?  Well, we could do a sing along with everyone (yep, like that will make American Idol top charts.)  Somehow you guessed that was not my intent?  Good for you.  So how do we equate this to our organization?  What can we take away from Peter Rabbit?

The song refers to Easter egg hunts, something we should all be familiar with (for some that were not indoctrinated to all this, ask a teammate.)  Easter egg hunts at this time of year are basically a rite of spring.  It is the signal that daffodils are blooming, trees are sprouting leaves, and improvements at home begin.  Plans for gardening are started, windows are cleaned, and house painting starts before the heat of summer sets in.  Birds are building nests and businesses should be reviewing improvements.

So how does this all tie into our organization?  How do we build teams with Easter egg hunts, daffodils blooming, and all the other passages of spring?  OK, we can see how an  Easter egg hunt would possibly build teams, but let's look beyond the hunt.  Let's hunt for something more productive.

Teams are far too often deployed outside the workplace to "build" teamwork.  While this does improve teambuilding, there are other ways organizations can build teams while being more productive.  When we determine a need to build teams, we should look more inward organizationally on how we build our teams and leverage productivity.

Here are a few tips on using these opportunities to your organization benefits:

Building maintenance.  Who checks your building for maintenance needs?  When was the last time someone walked the inside/outside of your building to determine needs for leaking windows, carpet wear, gutter cleaning, or duct cleaning?  Why not use this opportunity to get teams involved in their areas to report back on needs for your planning and budgeting?  A great opportunity for both organization and team improvements.

Safety.  Who performed your last safety walkthrough?  Why not engage a team in an Easter egg hunt where within the area searched, members must find the safety status or needs in their area?  Firefighting equipment, stairs, power upgrades, or even evacuation signs:  All should be inspected at least annually.

Partnership with HR.  When was the last time your organization instructions were upgraded/reviewed?  Can your employees read and understand sexual harassment instructions?  Sometimes management writes an instruction that looks good on paper, but in reality workers just do not understand the written material.

System processes.  When was the last time you discussed the processes and improvements with your team?  Many times we continue moving in the same direction without reviewing our process for change.  It's like having one foot nailed to the floor.  You move but never move ahead.

Many of these events are likened to Easter egg hunts.  You can remove the religious overtones by simply changing this to scavenger hunts.  You get the same results without the worry of offending someone.  There are many ways we can improve our organizations, personnel, and products using the Easter egg or scavenger hunt methods.

Contact us for previous articles.

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