Survey reveals #1 thing clients value in team-building activities

Businesses value "enjoyment" most in a team-building activity — more than pricing, logistics, or even having a great guide.

That’s the key finding from a recent survey of 73 former clients who booked corporate team-building events with BCN Adventure.

We collected the data via messages and emails from our clients. The results showed that team assistants, HR professionals, and corporate leaders overwhelmingly pointed to the same thing: their team had fun. Enjoyment ranked higher than how well the event was organized, how knowledgeable the guide was, or whether the activity offered good value for money.

Each respondent completed the survey after their event had taken place, sharing open and honest feedback about what stood out most.

Below, we break down the results and explore what today’s businesses are really looking for in a successful team-building experience.

BCN Adventure (also known as Barcelona Adventure) is a corporate events company in Barcelona specialised in team building. Since 1999 we’ve helped bring corporate teams together with fun & well-organised team-building activities.

Corporate teams value "enjoyment" most

A majority 77% of corporate teams value "enjoyment" most in a team-building activity.

We found that 56 out of 73 respondents mentioned this as the standout factor following a team-building event with BCN Adventure.

The specific terms used were phrases such as:

• "The team had such an AMAZING time"

• "My team loved it"

• "I didn't hear any negative comments, only fun, laughter and smiles"

• "My colleagues and I really enjoyed our team-building day"

• "The feedback from everyone was very positive"

Many team-building statistics highlight the benefits of team building in terms of improved collaboration, communication, and employee engagement. Or they tie team-building activities to improvements in employee productivity and business outcomes such as revenue growth.

Yet in our survey, not a single respondent explicitly cited these as the most valuable outcomes.

It may be that “enjoyment” serves as a proxy — creating the positive environment that naturally fosters better communication, productivity and collaboration when back at work.

The other 4 most valuable outcomes of team-building activities

From the 73 responses we identified four more valuable outcomes:

• Organisation – For example, that the event was completed to a tight schedule, or the organiser showed flexibility in accommodating last-minute adjustments or requirements.

• Guides – For example, that the guides were knowledgeable, engaging or created an enthusiastic environment.

• Memorable – For example, that the corporate team took pictures or later revisited the pictures or footage taken during the team-building activity.

• Good price – For example, that the event was well-priced or offered great value for money.

We found that 23% of corporate teams cite organisation as the most valuable aspect of a positive team-building event (17 of 73 responses). For example, our former clients used phrases such as:

• "Remaining flexible throughout"

• "Well organized and went according to plan"

• "Efficient service"

This suggests that team building events are often part of a busy schedule – often taking place during a break between a seminar or conference, during a meeting with international team members, or taking place during a work day.

It speaks more of the logistics of a team-building event rather than a positive outcome among the corporate team itself.

We also found that 14% of corporate teams cite the "guides" as the most valuable aspect of a positive team-building event (5 of 73 responses). This was followed by 7% of corporate teams citing "memorability" as the most valuable aspect, and 1% mentioning the competitive price.

How the survey data was collected

The data was collected after asking former clients of BCN Adventure to write in about their experience, following a team-building activity.

Some of the clients left their comments in a Google Review on our Google Places profile.

Others responded directly via email or WhatsApp.

We did find that 5 of the responses did not name a clear valuable outcome. In these cases, a former client said the event was a "success" without identifying that success in terms of being an enjoyable experience, fitting into a tight schedule, or similar.