This was a Bike-a-Thon Charity workshop we staged for a group of 45 recent college graduates who were interning for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Chicago, IL. We’d done a similar workshop with Blue Cross Blue Shield the year before, so we had a decent idea of what to expect before the actual activities started. And although last year’s workshop was very successful, we felt that this year’s was a substantial improvement. This is what happens when you combine hard work, preparation, and clients who are willing to learn.

A Great Plan Perfectly Executed

One of the Magnovo team’s greatest assets is their collective willingness to design and implement a workshop that fits a company’s specific needs. Unlike some team building companies who force ineffective activities onto a client just because they’ve always done things that way, we consider it our duty to remain flexible and responsive. Nowhere was this willingness more on display than at this particular workshop. Our facilitators achieved an ideal design by learning from the year before and paying attention to who the participants actually were.

All of these interns were intelligent, driven, and highly educated, with many of them having earned multiple master’s degrees. But because many of them had never met one another before the internship began, we knew it would be wise to ease them into the morning activities slowly. This proved to be a good strategy. The shyness dissolved pretty quickly and the group was able to apply their talents in a productive way during warm up games like Flip the Cup, Dice Banking, and Say What I Say.

Chicago Youth Programs Headquarters Was one of The Big Winners

Similar to the year before, this group of interns was incredibly diverse, with representatives from many different backgrounds and nationalities. These differences quickly became a strength, however, as all the different teams communicated more and more effectively as the workshop continued.

In fact, they transitioned magnificently from the mix of warm up activities to the parts earning and assembly phases of the workshop. Of course, it didn’t hurt that they were working to donate bikes to a fantastic organization like the Chicago Youth Programs Headquarters. This seemed to give even more incentive to an already motivated group as everyone pushed their egos aside and worked together for something bigger than themselves. All in all, this was a wonderful experience for everyone involved.