This was a Bikeathon Workshop we held in Raleigh, NC for the fine folks at Merz Pharmaceuticals. It was attended by 24 customer service reps, all of whom were looking for energetic and competitive fun. Here’s how it all went down.

Merz, A Team in Transition

The Merz Customer Service Department was on the cusp of a huge transition when they came to us for a workshop. They’d recently hired a lot of new faces and wanted activities to help them all get connected. In addition to all these new faces, they were also about to consolidate three different customer service facilities into a single hub.

As challenging as all that might sound, it gave us a pretty good idea of what Merz management’s goals were and what it would take to get them there. With so much seismic change happening in a single department, management wanted activities that focused on connectedness, creativity, and teamwork.

A Great Workshop and a Hectic Pace

We got things started with little warm-up activities like Say What, Air Count, and Circuit Ball. These were designed to get the team members’ competitive juices flowing, but we found out pretty quickly they didn’t really need any help with that right away!

There were 24 people going at it hot and heavy by the time we divided them up into teams and started the Bike Parts Scavenger Hunt. Every last team member was completely engaged and determined to finish building their bike first. And while they seemed to learn the value of individual contributions, they also did a great job working as a team.

The proof of these lessons was in the results. The Merz Customer Service team made excellent use of their resources, assembling four great bicycles to donate to the Wake Forest Boys and Girls Club. We didn’t get to see the kids receive the bikes, but Jessica from the Boys and Girls club was there to read the Merz folks a very touching thank you letter.

A Fun Time That Did Some Good

All in all, the Merz Customer Service Bikeathon was a great success. It was a fast-paced and highly competitive workshop, with enthusiasm and smiles all around. We heard nothing but positive comments from the participants and the management team was excited to see these same teamwork skills applied in their new facility. The short version is that it was a lot of educational and philanthropic fun for everyone involved.