ESCAPING FROM IT ALL!

They say, ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’, but at Side by Side Training we disagree!  We believe that you are never too old to learn something new about yourself, your colleagues, or your field of expertise, which is why we decided to take time out from our day jobs and have a team-building day.

Our aim was to build on our communication skills and bond more as a team so that we can continue to provide the best service we can for our learners, and after considering various options we chose to experience an ‘Escape Room’.

Ok, I can hear some of you saying, ‘that’s just a bit of a jolly’ and an excuse to have a day off from working, but when you sit back and reflect over the activity itself, it offers so many opportunities to use and build on existing skills, try some new ones, and challenge yourself in a completely new environment.

Of course, after we ‘escaped’, (some were quicker than others!), we sat down and reflected over what we had learned.  We had not really expected to find out anything new, but in fact it was surprising what little bits of information came to light. For example, R likes to think in silence, whereas K doesn’t, and M is so much more competitive than any of us thought.  Our reflections also led us to explore the skills we used and how we tackled the challenges.  My team, for example, utilised the strengths of our players to solve different aspects of the puzzles we faced…..who knew T knew Morse code?!

We also reflected over the fact that we had walked into the experience with no guidance, or idea about what was going to happen, which, we found, slowed down our ability to succeed. If we had taken paper and a pen with us, we could have written things down, if we knew we would be required to listen to audio instructions we could have taken headphones to block out the noise……. but that would have taken the fun out of it!

So, whilst we did have a great day out and had lots of fun, our learning from the experience is that the more we know about each other, the more we can play to each other’s strengths or support each other in our growth and work cohesively as a team. Communication is key, especially in unknown environments, to ensure we are prepared and ready for what lies ahead, so that we can face it together.

Armed with this knowledge and understanding about each other, we can now take this back into our practice to ensure we provide the best learning environment for our students… don’t worry we won’t be adding Morse Code to the curriculum!!!

Reflections From the Team

Sharon: The escape room was a completely new concept for me, I had never even heard of them before our training day. The rooms are enclosed and to open the door you need to work out the combination either by doing several tasks or solving conundrums (although it reassured me that, if need be, you can get out at any time- especially as I am not keen on enclosed spaces) before you can escape. I had more fun than I thought I would, it was interesting learning about how you and your colleagues cope in these circumstances and a good experiment in supporting each other. Brilliant for communication, you need good listening skills and being observant is key to achieving your aim. Well worth a visit and a superb team building exercise. Would now love to do the other rooms especially the ‘diffuse a bomb’ room.

Rachel: Before entering the escape room, I was apprehensive and slightly worried about failing. As I’m not overly competitive, winning was not my primary goal, however the challenge of escaping the room within the allocated time was something I needed to do. I have always considered myself to be a good problem solver and communicator, but this experience was out of my comfort zone. The team selection was random, so we had the opportunity to work with different members of our team. We all had strengths to support the tasks and different ways of working, which was a great benefit. For me the most difficult part was not knowing what the goals and outcomes were. We had many clues and discovered lots of information, but we were unclear of the order and how this information could help us, which was very frustrating. We managed to escape the room in time, through clear communication, listening to each other and good teamwork.

I found the experience very challenging and enjoyable.

Chelle: The escape room was certainly a learning experience! Being put in a team with people I have only met at meetings was a bit daunting, but it allowed me to shape new friendships through sharing the set tasks and puzzles. We worked well as a newly created team. At first it was confusing, trying to find out what was asked of us. We found clues but none of them helped us in our quest. Eventually we found a logical sequence and we each set to individual tasks without even thinking about it. We communicated well and helped one another. At times it was stressful as we found that we all thought differently and needed different types of ways to evaluate the situation.

One member of the team needed quiet time to think, another needed to say her workings out loud. This caused a lack of communication, but we found that I was able to do both and through this, we were able to each work out the puzzles as a team. As the one member was having time to think, I and the other member was able to talk it through together. We all then came together to brainstorm. We had to learn to be patient with one another and listen carefully to how we saw each puzzle coming together. We all had different ways of problem solving, such as being logical or analysing the situation, or even being imaginative. It all worked well together as we became motivated to solve the puzzles and escape!

Having the set time limit of an hour was an added pressure, and we were always checking the timer! We did it though, with time to spare! We felt elated and relieved as we hugged one another. I had a mix of emotions though. As the other team was still in their room, I wanted to help them. I realised that I was person that had to help others when they are struggling. I am certainly on the right career path, as a Wellbeing Officer. This also came in handy as I felt I could calm situations when needed. It was an experience that I am keen to do again. I enjoy problem solving and I admit I was the only one that went in there to win!

Theresa: The team building day was enjoyable and for me personally after returning to work was a welcome back into Side by Side training group. The breakout room and meal afterwards were an opportunity to learn more about my colleagues and form both professional and personal relationships. Looking forward to doing something like this again.

Kate: I thought the escape room experience was fantastic for the team. I had the opportunity to find out about some of my strengths and weaknesses as well as those of my co-workers. We had an amazing time exploring the concept of effective communication between the team, we shared special moments together inside the room and I enjoyed us working together under the pressure of escaping the room and not giving up. We did it, we were resilient, persistent, motivated, and of course, a bit nervous trying to solve the clues and respecting everyone’s behaviour and personality. It was an incredible time engaging and discovering more ways to work as part of a team.

We would love to go back there again and try working with different people from the team, to discover and to get to know each of them more. Thank you to Side by Side for providing such an important opportunity for the team.