The Job Hunters: team building exercise
Our five Swansea-based job hunters come from different backgrounds and have a range of personalities, skills and experiences, much like the workforce in many companies.
In last week's programme Tim, Gareth, Gemma, Alan and Dwayne were grilled by two business gurus to find out their strengths and weaknesses. One of the key things the experts were looking for was how well they would fit into a team.
So this week, we decided to see how well they can work together on an outdoor team-building day at Red Oak Creek, just outside Cardiff.
Team building expert Nick Lyons explained to Rhodri: "Although they're running round the woods it's all about communicating and the effort you put in. Just solving the simplest little problem can translate back to the workplace and that's what we're trying to do here.
"We quite often see conflict and difference of opinions, so hopefully this will help the guys come to a common goal or a common answer."
Nick and Rhodri watched as the job hunters performed tasks to test their communication, initiative, planning and leadership skills. In the first challenge, four of the group were nominated as 'sheep' and then blindfolded. Then Alan, the 'shepherd' had to herd them into a pen using animal noises!
In the bridge building task, the group built a swing bridge over a ravine, using just three pieces of wood and some rope. This time, Gemma took a commanding role, while other group members worked steadily to decide on the shape of the bridge.
Eventually, after an hour of discussions and arguments in the pouring rain, the job hunters worked together to build a structure which transported them all safely across.
Expert Nick was impressed with their determination and told Rhodri: "Even in the rain, the enthusiasm was great. Hopefully they've noticed things about themselves and working with others that they can put into practice in future."
Let's hope it's an experience which will help them all when they enter the world of work.
Comment number 1.
At 9th Feb 2011, Thadz wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)