Sports Leagues: A Unique Option for Team and Relationship Building

Amy Short and Samantha Stark

© 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ert.20102

Along with the wonders of the electronicage comes the growing digital displace-

ment of relationships. More and more indi-viduals’ lives revolve around the Internetand electronic communications in both theirpersonal and professional lives. Sites such asMyspace.com have become a dating phe-nomenon, and long gone are the days whenemployees frequently walked from theirown offices to their peers’ to personally dis-cuss a work or relationship challenge. Inthis hurried era, it’s unfortunately morelikely that quick, sometimes cursory e-mailsare the primary form of interaction amongemployees, employers, clients, and friendsof the organization.

These developments have made the cre-ation of meaningful working relationshipsmore challenging then ever. Not only doesdependence on e-mail and instant messagingfrequently lead to miscommunication, butthe quality of relationships also suffersgreatly, from the loss of the emotional andphysical nuances of person-to-person interac-tions in an authentic team environment.

One approach to solving the interpersonalcommunication problems faced by compa-nies today is the social sports league, whichconnects people through casually competitiveteam activities. This article draws from theexperience of the New York City SocialSports Club (NYCSSC) to illustrate the manybenefits of this unique opportunity for team

building and relationship development. NYC-SSC Commissioner Amy Short created theclub in July 2004 to provide people with asense of community, but she and her clientsquickly recognized that it also offered ameans to improve employee relations in cre-ative new ways. Since its inception, myriadtypes of events have been created for adiverse group of corporate and nonprofit par-ticipants, with the focus on three main areas:intracompany events, intercompany events,and company teams.

PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION

The main idea of the social league is to con-nect people through physical team activitiesthat balance the many hours they spend infront of the computer. While many differentsports are offered, the league focuses on eas-ily played games that foster positive teamgrowth—for example, dodgeball, broomball,kickball, touch football, ultimate Frisbee, anddisc golf. The NYCSSC offers adult players arelaxed, coed recreational environment. Itsteams are composed of six to ten players andlast about six weeks (not including playoffswhen appropriate), and all teams mustinclude at least one female player. Games areplayed at various parks and recreational cen-ters, though some can be staged in-office.The club also arranges for social outingsafter game events and at other times during

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Employment Relations Today

the year, and it hosts promotions at arearestaurants and bars to create additionalopportunities for networking.

INTRACOMPANY EVENTS

Companies seeking to enhance workforcerelations can hold events for a variety ofemployee groupings. Possibilities includeintradepartmental teams, cross-departmentalteams, teams from different office locationswithin a metro area, teams from differentdivisions of the company, and teams of men-tors and juniors.

Benefits of Intracompany Events

Among the many organizational benefits ofhosting intracompany social sports events areteam building, employee health improve-ments, and workforce stability.

Moving from a Group to a Team

The casual use of the term team refers to agroup of individuals with a common connec-tion and cause. In the company setting, how-ever, the term refers to “a group of people

who work together toward a shared andmeaningful outcome in ways that combinetheir individual skills and abilities and forwhich they are all responsible.”1 In thissense, teams are more meaningful thangroups; teams are cohesive units. The movefrom group to team offers the “potential tosynergize your and other people’s individual

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efforts into a new whole that is greater thantheir sum.”2 Intracompany sports leagues pro-vide an enjoyable and lighthearted way forgroups to become teams.

In his book Teams and Team-Working, PhilBaguley writes:

Good teams develop when the team mem-bers are:• Loyal to each other and the team;• Able to identify and agree on a collec-

tive outcome—rather than have a collec-tion of individual ones;

• Keen to cooperate and collaborate inorder to achieve that collective out-come;

• Focused toward creating a team—ratherthan individual—outcomes or products;

• Able to identify these outcomes in waysthat are specific, tangible, measurable,and meaningful to all team members.3

All of these criteria are met through socialteam activities. League events break downoffice barriers by offering team members away to spend time together in a differentenvironment, one in which they’re morelikely to feel comfortable and sociable. Thisopportunity to escape traditional office roleshelps to form cohesive bonds. Playing a sporttogether fosters loyalty among the team mem-bers and bonds them together in the pursuitof a common goal.

Team activities tend to deepen trust andstrengthen relationships. These strong rela-tionships will carry over from the waterfountain to the water cooler, from the base-line to the bottom line. The events keepemployees engaged with each other, whetherit is in the off-season, on a retreat, or inpreparation for a new undertaking within theorganization.

Intracompany sports leagues provide an enjoyable andlighthearted way for groups to become teams.

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Fostering Physical Activity

Although the sport league doesn’t focus on dif-ficult sports and intentionally selects sportsthat anyone can play, it can still provide play-ers with a meaningful physical challenge thatcan help them become more physically fitwhile building social bonds. Many league par-ticipants also find it easier to implement andstick to an exercise regimen after getting “backon their feet” through team activities.

How important is such activity to employ-ers? In his article “Exercise Incentive—Ten

Great Reasons to Exercise NOW,” Victor M.Parachin stresses that exercise can make amonumental difference in a person’s physicaland mental health, which can further lead toenhanced job performance, better interofficerelationships, and greater productivity. Exercisecan reduce the physiological and emotionalsymptoms of stress, relieving depression,increasing energy, diffusing anger and aggres-sion, improving the quality of sleep, and build-ing stronger self-esteem. According to Parachin,“Healthier bodies lead to healthier minds.”4

Workforce Stability

Another interesting benefit of the team is itseffect on staff retention. Losing trained andvalued employees can be very costly toemployers. When trust is deepened and asense of team inspiration is created, the over-all working environment becomes healthierand more pleasant—one that employees arereluctant to leave prematurely. Building ateam’s desire to succeed together and mak-

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ing the working environment more inspiringis a very effective strategy for employeeretainment.

In addition, social sports are seen by manyas hip, hot, and now. Events of this type aregenerally well received by all, and they canbe especially attractive to younger recruits.Hosting a social sport event is one way anorganization can demonstrate that it is intouch with youthful culture and interested inall of its employees.

Occasions for Intracompany Events

There are many opportunities for team-build-ing social sports events within every com-pany. The purpose may be to reward employ-ees who have done well; to motivateemployees beginning a difficult project; toput force and life back into committees,boards, or panels; or simply to make thework environment more fun.

Examples of reward-focused intracompanyevents organized by the NYCSSC include:

• Summer picnics,• Completion of an internship program,• The successful end of a project,• Company milestones,• A contract win, and• Welcome events for new recruits.

Occasions for events focused on relation-ship building include:

• Summer associate programs,• Off-season events (to take advantage of

slower workflow or a break in workflowand use this time to build relationships)

• Employee review and evaluation periods,• Annual conferences, and• Strategic retreats.

Building a team’s desire to succeed together and makingthe working environment more inspiring is a very effectivestrategy for employee retainment.

Employment Relations Today

INTERCOMPANY EVENTS

Intercompany events offer employers theopportunity to build relationships morebroadly in their business communities, withclients, vendors, partners, or even rivals.Organizations that are members of profes-sional or business associations may also par-ticipate in social sports events representingtheir association.

Focus on Networking

The occasions for intercompany events aremany and varied. Relationships can be main-tained through the off-season by an ongoingleague event. Or a company may break out ofthe mold by substituting a novel sports eventfor the usual party. For example, GoldmanSachs differentiated itself during a recent hol-iday season with a relationship-building gameof broomball with one of their clients.

Celebrations are natural sports event occa-sions as well; many companies find that afriendly game of kickball is an excellent wayto begin a new client relationship or kick offa new contract. Intercompany events can alsobe used to promote casual networking withindustry peers.

Benefits of Intercompany Events

Intercompany events share many of the bene-fits offered by intracompany events. Connec-tions are deepened through face-to-face interac-tion with vendors and clients one normallycommunicates with only via phone and e-mail.

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The result is increased trust and more positiveworking relationships.

In general, long-standing business relation-ships can be reinvigorated through a socialsports event. Declining relationships can beimproved through the goodwill fosteredthrough these events.

COMPANY-SPONSORED TEAMS

Should your organization not be in a positionto host a private event for employees andclients, you may still garner the benefits ofsocial sports by sponsoring a team in a sea-sonal social sports league. Company-spon-sored teams can be composed of departmen-tal coworkers, new hires and mentors, clientsand client-based employees, employees andvendors, or employees and potential clients.

For example, the NYCSSC offers teamsports that rotate by season, all designed foractive fun for New York City–based profes-sionals. Sports options for the spring 2006 sea-son included two nights of dodgeball, onenight of floor broomball, and one afternoon ofdisc golf. The NYCSSC makes everything easyby providing all fields, equipment, scheduling,team t-shirts, and team standings. The leaguecan also organize postgame entertainment andoutings. Past and present participants includeDeutsche Bank, Ernst and Young, Viacom,Disney, PricewaterhouseCoopers, AmericanExpress, Capgemini, Mercer, Weber Shand-wick, and numerous area law firms.

Benefits of Company-Sponsored Teams

A social league team will have enhancedteam identity and team spirit, which fre-quently translates into heightened companyspirit and loyalty. In addition, the experienceof playing a sport together gives team mem-

In general, long-standing business relationships can bereinvigorated through a social sports event.

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bers a better sense of their role on the team—both on the court and off. Collaborationamong employees is fostered through theteam experience, and barriers to success areidentified and dissolved, whether they areorganizational barriers or personal barriers.Finally, this kind of enjoyable and light-hearted social experience allows for the natu-ral repair of soured or strained working rela-tionships. As with intracompany teams, theexperience of playing a sport together willsharpen the focus on a common goal.

While not obvious at first, another benefitof sponsoring an employee team can be youremployees’ expanded circle of friends. Con-tacts made in the field can yield new hires,new business, and new ideas.

Occasions for Company Team Events

Many occasions call for the sponsorship of acompany team. It may be used as a reward,perhaps for employees who have reached anorganizational milestone, or for valued mem-bers of the company. A company may spon-sor a team to “test drive” a potential on-the-job team, enabling the employer todetermine whether the members are able towork cooperatively, make decisions, andbecome integrated in the team structureprior to making a formal workplace commit-ment. Similarly, a company team may be the

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first step toward solidifying a bond amongmembers of a newly formed team or depart-ment. And a sponsored team can be used asa means of shaking up a group of coworkerswho need to improve performance, or toreenergize a preexisting team in which rela-tionships have frayed.

CONCLUSION

Henry Ford is reported to have said, “Comingtogether is a beginning, keeping together isprogress, working together is success.”

Though technological advances in commu-nication can bring people together withgreater speed and frequency, there is still nosubstitute for the bonds and camaraderie thatface-to-face relationships provide. Whateveryour company’s employee-development goalsand whatever its size, social sports leaguescan help. Your employees will be having somuch fun that they will hardly notice thetrue work accomplished.

NOTES

1. Baguley, P. (1966). Teams and team-working. Chicago:McGraw-Hill, p. 12.

2. Ibid., p. 11.3. Ibid., p. 13.4. Parachin, V. M. (1994, March). Exercise incentive—Ten

great reasons to exercise NOW. Supervisor, pp. 14–17.

Amy Short is the founder and commissioner of the New York City Social Sports Club.The club has been featured by such media as Time Out New York, am New York, Fox 5News, NY1, BBC, and Fuji TV, and it was selected by Shecky’s Best of New York 2006guide. She can often be found working on her laptop in Manhattan’s Union SquarePark and may be reached by e-mail at amy@nycssc.com. Samantha Stark is presidentof Stark Communications, a New York City–based public relations firm whose localand national clients include the New York City Social Sports Club. She may be reachedby e-mail at sam@starkcommunications.net.