OneDigital Hartford Takes Time Out for Teamwork

The dog-days of summer are upon us and as with every summer, our OneDigital Hartford team came out from the protection of the AC to enjoy an afternoon of fun in the sun. This year, the crew ventured 20 minutes south to Empower Leadership Sports & Adventure Center for a day of scavenger hunts, obstacle courses, team building exercises and of course, a grilled lunch. Unlike previous years where we all worked together to accomplish a task, this year we broke into teams to compete against each other. Several weeks in advance, each group was charged with coming up with a team name and some sort of matching uniform. The instructions did not encourage weird or bizarre team uniforms, but inevitably, this bunch of characters all went there. The teams included: The Semi-Pro Ballerz, ‘Merica, Sons of OneDigital, Bob’s Burgers, The Rockers, and The Buccaneers. I think the photos tell the full story…

The day was split into two activities: 1) scavenger hunt in the woods and 2) team building relay course in the field. Three teams started head-to-head under the canopy for the scavenger hunt, while the other three teams kicked off on the open grass. The scavenger hunt consisted of navigating to six different outposts and completing a time-limited puzzle or task at each. The first activity in the field required some planning and basic engineering skills (aka 4th grade physics principles) to take water from one bucket to another located 30 yards away with nothing but ropes, a small pail and a bungee cord. Oh yeah, and you couldn’t touch the bucket or stand within 20 feet of it. The last event was a relay course that started with a tarp, ended with a puzzle, and was filled with complete mayhem.

It’s an interesting dynamic to witness teams come together to accomplish something completely different than the normal requirements of their day job. It builds camaraderie and allows you to develop a relationship that normally may not have developed in the traditional work setting. Perhaps more importantly however, you learn some interesting traits about your coworkers. For instance, who knew Gina spends all of her free time practicing riddles and that Bob Marino’s endless energy transfers outside of the world of employee benefits.

While the day came and went quickly, it’s nice to look back and reflect on why this type of event does so much good for the development of a positive company culture. Thanks to our team of “Marketing Mavens” for hyping up the event and handling all the logistics. A second thanks to the leadership team that promotes these activities and continually builds the
great culture that has helped us to be so successful. Lastly, thanks to the folks at Empower for being great hosts; I’d encourage anyone out there to consider them for a group/company event in the future.