A biotechnology company puts the pieces together in a new way, learning through team building with Magnovo’s Bike-A-Thon™.

Genentech’s Team Building Program Touches All

The employees from saw ‘team building’, and we could practically hear the groans. But it didn’t take long for that attitude to turn around! Magnovo’s Bike-A-Thon™ to benefit the Napa County Bicycle Coalition turned out to be the best team building program they’ve ever attended, said most.

We had about 30 participants join us at the beautiful Westin Verasa Napa. The hotel set us up in a large ballroom so we had lots of room to work and play comfortably. We divided the group into teams. Folks were pretty easy-going and reserved at that point. But once we started our games and activities, the mood shifted. Suddenly, each team was playing to win!

Building a Team Through a Bike-A-Thon™

Each team received a limited number of bicycle parts. Then we had teams play games and complete challenges. Each win meant another bicycle part. Once teams had collected all the parts they needed, they assembled their bicycle.

The Bike-A-Thon™ has been developed and honed over the years to maximize the intangible yield of each component. Every activity supports employees’ understanding of others’ personality styles. This greater understanding makes it possible for employees to more fully support each other in the workplace. Folks better understand how vital individual members are to the success of the whole group.

Genentech Helps Kids in Napa, CA

The Napa County Bicycle Coalition is a local advocacy group, and they were only too happy to accept our donation of kids’ bikes. These bicycles directly supported their mission, including accessibility to bicycles by youth riders.

It was definitely a win-win for Genentech, though. Because the team we met with left the event with a greater understanding of interpersonal relationships through personality styles. This insight helps with conflict resolution, problem-solving, and general, day-to-day communication.

Joel King of the coalition came to the team building workshop to acknowledge the hard work of the Genentech team, and to thank them for their efforts. The bicycles would be delivered to kids in need at a community-wide event the next day. King spoke to the group about the work the coalition does.

He acknowledged how hard it can be to get disparate groups to work together toward a common goal. But he also remarked at how much can get done when folks truly pitch in and work together as a team, as the Genentech employees discovered that day. Overall, participant feedback at the Bike-a-Thon™ was extremely positive; we definitely changed more than one person’s idea of a team building program that day!