CEO Bill Watkins of Seagate Technology, a computer hard drive manufacturer, holds an outdoor lab aptly named EcoSeagate costing about $2 million each year. EcoSeagate is a fitting name since it combines ecology or the study of the relationship between organisms and their physical surroundings, with the company name. Outdoor labs are used as a method to foster team development and leadership and often encourages discussion of leadership styles, teamwork, and interpersonal relationships (Brown, 2011). The participants consist of 200 Seagate Technology employees divided into teams based on physical ability, position in the company, sex, nationality, and personality.
I watched the videos of the 2008 EcoSeagate event and it was very impressive in terms of physical environment, team challenges, and camaraderie. However, I was still left wondering how much value it provided to the organization after they returned to their jobs. It was evident they were successful in using skills as a team to overcome competitive events, but I wasn’t absolutely convinced they gained $2 million worth of value for the experience. Did they learn how to learn more about each other? Yes. Did they learn how to work together to conquer biking, climbing, and navigating challenges? Absolutely. But the question remained: Did this outdoor lab fully translate into at least $2 million dollars or more of value gained? That I cannot answer accurately since CEO Watkins himself “has not been able to prove or point to quantitative results of EcoSeagate” (Brown, 2011, p. 274). I think that may be a problem. Brown (2011) suggests that team development is all about reviewing performance and “is an intensive examination of team operation focusing upon how members function as a team, and how they can overcome operating problems and improve their efficiency” (p. 270). So how is Watkins developing his teams if he isn’t examining their performance? I still applaud his efforts for at least showing his employees he is trying to invest in them. Many CEO’s would much rather put that kind of money in their own pocket or towards something that will guarantee a return on their investment.
I definitely think EcoSeagate provides value despite the lofty price tag paid out for this team development event and the lack of evidence that it is providing benefits to the organization. Maybe not $2 million worth of value, but value nonetheless since sometimes investments cannot be quantified. For example, outdoor labs can break down interpersonal barriers and “holding the lifeline for someone suspended off a cliff has a dramatic impact on both parties when they return to work, where they need to trust and depend on one another in a less dramatic setting” (Brown, 2011, p. 274). I believe my organization, or any organization for that matter, would benefit from an outdoor lab or other team development exercise. I remember joining a newly formed team and our supervisor would conduct a “team building exercise” at least once a year. This was a fancy way of getting everyone together to interact outside of the office. We’d typically go to someone’s house, have lunch, and play games. I didn’t see the value at the time but those events brought us much closer together and I viewed them more as a family than coworkers. Most people would do anything to help their family and that translated back to the workplace. We were there for each other no matter what. I think the key to these type of events is that value will be gained as long as the event is planned properly, performance is reviewed, and follow-up is conducted to ensure lessons were learned by participants.
References
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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