Increasing Innovation for Southampton FC

Southampton FC wanted to increase innovation in their team. So we had 360 people build their own free kick machines!

When Southampton FC approached us, they told us they needed a bespoke indoor team building activity that aligned with their new Corporate Strategy. This needed to be a 1 hour session to form part of a corporate conference at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton. We put them through our 5 step process to tailor a solution to their unique needs.

Finding the Purpose

Our consultants identified 3 elements that Southampton FC wanted to make a key focus of their event:

1. Innovation: Their team needed to innovate more with the skills and resources available in order to maximise marginal gains.
2. Unity: They wanted their team to work towards a collective goal by using everyone’s unique skills to best effect.
3. Relevance: The chosen activity theme needed to be relevant to the 360 employees of a world class football club.

Tailoring the Event

We decided to base Southampton’s team building solution on our Construction Project format. This is because it can be adapted to require a large team to work together as a unified whole, while generating innovative ideas and managing resources effectively. This ticks off key elements 1 and 2.

To address key element 3, we decided to change the machine being built. Rather than have teams design and build a catapult or bridge, as in our off-the-peg format, we tailored the activity to Southampton FC. We had their teams build football free kick machines!

Delivering the Team Building Event

On the day, 360 people in 40 teams were given limited resources from which to build a machine that could ‘kick’ a ball to the next team’s conference table. Their resource packs and briefing documents were branded to reflect Southampton FC’s theme for their corporate event. And teams had to innovate to use the skills and talents available to overcome a challenging brief.

To encourage overall team unity, we gave the 40 teams a collective goal. If the conference room achieved 20 ‘passes’ between tables, everyone would win a prize!

With 360 people in one large room, we wanted to ensure engagement stayed high. So we liaised with the client’s AV supplier to project all the action onto a big screen for all to see. Our professional hosts and facilitators also circled the room to make sure teams were on task and schedule.

Successful Outcome

The activity went brilliantly. The finale free kick challenge was highly engaging and energising for all 360 employees. The whole room achieved a great score of free kicks and earned several collective prizes.

The timing was exactly 1 hour as per Southampton’s requirements. And the event team captured lots of photos and videos to share with them after the event. The club’s feedback speaks for itself:

“Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and the team yesterday. Another great delivery and activity. Everyone really enjoyed it! I’ll look forward to working with you again,” Southampton FC.

Want to talk to us about one of our events? Get in touch on +44 (0)1905 330660 for an obligation-free chat about what you’re looking for.