Dream11 finds novel ways to build team spirit

In early June, fantasy sports platform Dream11 sent about 700 of its employees to Switzerland, where teams from across the vertical spent close to a week on a slew of activities, including trekking, ziplining and skydiving.

For the startup, which grew from 260 employees pre-Covid, it was an opportunity to build rapport among team members who hadn’t really had a chance to bond in the nearly two years after the pandemic. “It was a great way for coworkers to collaborate without the pressure of work. In a different setting, a different country, the camaraderie spread through the teams,” said Kevin Freitas, chief human resources officer of its parent company, Dream Sports he said.

Team building through adventure sports and group activities – these are what companies are betting on to energize employees and build connections and engagement in the post-Covid situation in general. Even as many employees continue to work in remote/hybrid mode or are easing back into the office, more and more organizations are focusing on such activities so that the COVID-induced minimum in-person interaction To promote better bonding between team members.

Bajaj Finance, Mastercard, Philips, RPG Group, Bridgestone and P&G Health are among those who have recently chosen such programs to help employees bond outside the workplace. Companies specializing in such outdoor activities. Pepperfry through its Trek to the Top initiative has organized rappelling sessions for the employees at Garudmachi (near Pune). About 10 seasons have been held in teams so far. “In a hybrid work environment, it is essential for employees to be able to bond and we are looking for ways to help them do that,” said Aditi Pareek, Head of Human Resources.

Muddy Boots, an organization that promotes active leisure and adventure sports, said the demand from corporates has doubled from pre-Covid levels. “In the last two years, people were trapped in their own cocoons. As the situation returns to normal, companies want employees to be motivated back, and work as a team with strong bonds. Such sessions, which can last anywhere from half a day to three days, promote just that,” said Pradeep Murthy, director, Muddy Boots. The company has organized corporate getaways where people participate in team-building activities which include kayaking, rafting, ziplining, trekking, caving and much more.

High Location Management, which specializes in outbound/outdoor management development programs, had about 50 such clients with about 1,500 participants in the past three months. Its Chief Operating Officer Premjit Magdum said, “Our programs are being offered to meet a variety of organizational needs including team building, effective team players, leadership, management transformation and more.” Companies say that such activities are paying off. “While we have adapted very well to the virtual world and have adopted various means to stay connected over the years, we still miss the personal interactions that were core to our culture.

Over the past few months, many teams have organized their offsites to take a break from their day-to-day work and build team spirit,” Bhargavi Kakunuri, head of HR at P&G Health, told ET. The company, which incorporated Muddy Boots for some of these seasons, said that a session or offsite typically involved 5-20 employees, depending on the size of the team.

Originally published at Pen 18