Summertime can mean different things for AEC firms: company picnics; summer hours; softball teams; group outings such as sailing trips, architectural tours, and ballgames; and special community projects. What do all of those things have in common? Team building and an overall esprit de corps.
This year, firms are conservative about their summer policies and plans. They are looking for more economical ways to accomplish the benefits of summer activities in the workplace. I have a suggestion to explore during the final few weeks of this summer and into the fall: organize a geocaching experience.
Website definition: Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache.
People who try geocaching tend to get hooked. It’s like a modern-day treasure hunt. You just get a GPS mobile tracking device and a group colleagues, and end up searching your area for ‘hidden treasures’. Geocaching is cool because it provides an opportunity to explore, discover new areas, build camaraderie, and exercise the body and the mind.
There is an entire geocache system on the website, where you can select various ‘hunts’ based upon location and level of difficulty. There are also many different types of caches. Here’s an example of a search sheet, which includes not just coordinates, but also a verbal description (sometimes a riddle or poem): I Love Chicago! – Osaka Gardens 2. You can see by the comments that this particular one requires some teamwork, and I can vouch for that from my own personal experience in trying to find it!
Perhaps you put a young, inquisitive person in charge of organizing some sort of office-wide treasure hunt competition. Or, if you think it’s best to keep it organic and somewhat un-official, then perhaps you simply suggest it as a cool thing to do, and see if the staff chooses to self-organize.
This is not a seasonal exercise; obviously geocaching can be done all year round! But now, especially if the firm is struggling a bit with morale, might be the perfect time to explore. Remember, too, that architects and engineers are by their very nature inquisitive, process-oriented people. I think geocaching could be a perfect thing for them to hone their team building skills while doing something they will find intriguing.
