Bengaluru: In early June, fantasy gaming platform Dream11 flew down nearly 700 of its employees to Switzerland. where teams across verticals spent close to a week bonding over a bunch of activities including trekking, ziplining and skydiving.
For the startup, which scaled up from 260 employees pre-Covid, it was an opportunity to build rapport among team members who didn’t really get a chance to bond over nearly two years of the pandemic.
“It was a great way for colleagues to collaborate without the pressures of work. In a different setting, a different country, the camaraderie seeped through across teams, ” said Kevin Freitas, chief HR officer of its parent company, Dream Sports.
Team building through adventure sports and group activities that’s what companies are betting on to energise employees and build connections and engagement in the post-Covid normal. Even as many employees continue to work in remote/hybrid mode or are easing back to office, more and more organisations are focusing on such activities to promote better bonding among team members after the Covid-induced minimal in-person interaction.
Bajaj Finance, Mastercard, Wartsila, Philips, RPG Group, TVS Motor, Bridgestone, Honey well and P&G Health are among those who have recently opted for such programmes as part of out-of- the-box ways to help employees bond outside the workplace, according to firms and companies specialising in such outdoorsy activities.
Pepperfry has organised rappelling sessions at Garudmaachi (near Pune) for employees through its Trek To The Top initiative. About 10 sessions have been conducted so far across teams. “In a hybrid work environment, it is essential for employees to be able to bond and We’ve been looking for ways to help them do that.” said head of human resources Aditi Pareek.
Muddy Boots, an organisation which promotes active vacations and adventure sports, said demand from corporates had doubled from pre-Covid levels.
“The last two years, people were stuck in their own cocoon. As the situation normalises, companies want employees back motivated, and working as a team with strong bonds. These kinds of ses- sions, which can last anywhere from half a day to three days, promote just that.” said Muddy Boots director Prade- ep Murthy. The company has organised corporate getaways where people parti- cipated in team-building activities in- corporating kayaking, rafting, zipli- ning, trekking, caving and more. High Places Management, which spe- cialises in outbound / outdoor manage ment development programmes, had nearly 50 such clients in the last three months with around 1,500 participants.