Project Objective
People need and crave healthy connections in all areas of their lives. Making healthy connections goes beyond simply avoiding feelings of loneliness and isolation. Our relationships impact our well-being, including physical, mental, and spiritual health, and our ability to flourish at work and in every other area of life.
Genealogy, for example, benefits a person’s well-being. Healthy connections to our roots and the past improve self-worth and identity, strengthen connections with family – past and present, help us identify with our cultural heritage, and increase happiness and resilience. Doing genealogy also allows us to have more tolerance and understanding for people different from us. In the younger generation, it even promotes self-identity and self-awareness.
The idea for the project was to take aspects of genealogy and apply them to a work setting by creating a team-building event. Could genealogy healthily impact a work environment? The goal was to use a Genealogy Team Building event to help staff members get to know each other better, build team unity, have fun, and form positive work connections. Team building can cultivate company culture, foster dedication, loyalty, and respect, build skills, and improve morale.
Thus, the main objective was to make a Genealogy Team Building event that successfully unifies co-workers uniquely within a retreat or team-building setting, which could then be transformed into a new business model to market to corporations and events that utilize team-building.
The Project
The Prescott Valley Library Staff had a three-hour Genealogy team-building event for their staff retreat in October 2023. There were thirty-two people in attendance.
The passport represents some of the activities they participated in for a reward. They rotated to different stations to complete the task.
People participated in a birthday challenge where everyone who had the same birthday per month got together, discovered what they had in common, and shared it with the group.
The photo booth was a fun way to build camaraderie.
The Genealogy Ball was a popular game where they sat in a circle and threw the ball to each other. Wherever your thumbs landed were the questions you answered about a story in their life. It was a great way to get to know your co-workers.
The ancestor basket was filled with questions to answer about your ancestors or heritage. It was amazing how much they loved sharing stories about their ancestors or opened up with questions about how they could learn more about their ancestors.
They participated in old-fashioned games their ancestors may have played, such as Jax, marbles, cats in the cradle, and more. They all enjoyed these games, and the older staff member taught the younger ones.
In addition, there were several other activities the staff could participate in, such as the family crest activity, a scavenger hunt, heritage jewelry making, old-fashioned treats, and a surname challenge with maps where they pinned the place their ancestors came from in the world.
Challenges
I encountered a few challenges with running a Genealogy Team Building event for the first time. First, I needed to find a group willing to test out the Team Building event. I succeeded in finding a group willing to do this – but first, I had to put together a persuasive pitch.
For the event to succeed, an actual working staff had to include the genealogy round table activities as part of their staff retreat. A working team had never done this type of team-building event before. So, part of the challenge was to convince people how this event would build team unity, increase positive employee relationships, get the employees to look at the patrons differently, help the employees have a better attitude, and increase work productivity.
I also needed to figure out how much to charge the group per person or group size, the event time, what activities to include, and expenses. This challenge required me to assemble a business proposal or a pricing chart for team-building events. Ultimately, The Prescott Valley Public Library staff agreed to participate.
Now that I had a group on board, I needed to ensure the event successfully built unity among co-workers – a new challenge. For the event to create harmony and help co-workers get to know each other better, the staff needed to be in groups with co-workers they did not typically hang out with. I accomplished this by grouping people by birthdays to find out what they had in common and report their findings at the end of the event.
Another challenge was to divide the staff members up and have them rotate from genealogy stations at set times. However, this required figuring out how much time to spend at each station while ensuring each person had enough time to accomplish the set tasks for that booth. And if they finished early, there needed to be something for them to do before switching to the next station. I resolved this issue by having a food table of vintage snacks plus extra time for individuals to participate in the birthday challenge.
The biggest challenge, however, was getting the staff members to participate. Staff retreats are typically long and tedious, so there was initial hesitation from a few individuals – but ultimately, everyone joined in and left positive feedback.
Overall, with a few tweaks here and there, the Genealogy Team Building Event was a success despite the challenges I faced. The Prescott Valley Public Library staff received the event and activities well, and people enjoyed themselves. They smiled, laughed, shared stories, had fun, and discovered much more about their co-workers and themselves than they expected.
Processes
There are steps to planning a smooth execution of any project. I used those processes to organize and execute the Team Building Event:
First, The Prescott Valley Public Library staff and I determined the project goals and objectives in the planning phase. The project goals and objectives helped define the project scope, what we were trying to accomplish, time allotment, and budget. Estimating costs and working within a budget was necessary.
Another necessary step was using a WBS( work breakdown structure) to determine which tasks, subtasks, and deliverables were needed for a successful event. We also set a timeline on when we had to complete all the tasks and by whom. During this process, we utilized a Gantt chart.
Finally, it was also essential to plan out resources and to have the right people with the right skills and capacity to help the project run smoothly. Thus, each booth needed a volunteer with the proper skills to help facilitate that activity.
Ultimately, these processes helped lead to a smooth and successful event.
Overview of Experiences
The experiences these last few months working on this project were all positive – even if challenging. My mentor gave me excellent advice, I better understood my business model, and I enjoyed putting together and running the Genealogy Team Building Event. The project’s goals to create a new business model and help co-workers unite within a genealogy team-building setting proved successful. My goals were met, and the turnout exceeded my expectations. People who usually don’t participate or find training tedious loved it, and the staff enjoyed all the activities.
How The Experience of the Genealogy Event Worked:
The team had eight stations to rotate during the event, which proved effective and fun. The events accomplished the goals of team unity, getting to know each other better and looking at each other differently, upping team morale, and getting people excited about who they were and where their heritage was from.
At the start, I gave each person a passport to fill out (a stamp for each of the eight stations) to win a prize. People loved them! Besides the passport and stations, there were family trees, other family history hand-outs, and old-fashioned candy treats.
When the event officially started, I began by explaining what genealogy is, how fun it can be to get to know each other, and that we have more in common than we realize.
We started with a birthday challenge where everyone who had the same birthday month got in a group, discovered what they had in common, and then reported it in front of the group at the end. Everyone enjoyed this activity, excited when they found something in common they did not know about each other before.
One successful activity was The Surname Challenge – getting people engaged and discussing their heritage. The staff members entered their surnames into the computer using the free Family Search app. The search revealed the top three places where most people lived with that surname. They then put a flag pushpin onto a world map on a corkboard. Ultimately, we reported where everyone came from and talked about shared heritage and how well the staff got along, even though some had pretty diverse heritage backgrounds.
Another activity was the photo booth. It had a vintage library backdrop with various dress-up props for different heritages and time periods. There were handheld signs people could hold up with fun sayings. Many took group photos together – smiling and having a good time with each other.
An activity that encouraged more engagement was the story ball – where an individual sat in a circle and tossed the ball to someone else in the circle. The question you answered was where your right hand’s thumb landed on the ball. Everyone loved this activity because they got to share memories of their childhood and life. There were a couple of people who did not have great childhoods or family memories, so there were alternative questions they could answer so they could be involved. A backup for those who may not have great childhood memories or families was necessary. And not just with this activity.
The Genealogy Event included a few fun, hands-on activities as well. The team created Morse code bracelets or keychains and chose an inspirational word that means something to the staff member based on heritage, work goals, or inspiration. They made a coat of arms and participated in an ancestor’s hero scavenger hunt.
Another successful activity was utilizing the Relatives Around Me on the FamilySearch app – which helped people work on their trees, see who they were related to in the room (increasing connections), and find out what famous people they were related to.
Arguably, the most popular station was the Old-Fashioned Games booth. Everyone could also take home one of the games at the end. People were smiling, laughing, and having a good time. The nostalgia had a positive effect on the team members participating.
After the event, cheerful and praiseworthy comments were heard and talked about for days. Since all the activities were popular, interactive, helpful, and fun – the event ultimately helped create greater unity and a stronger team.
Overall
Overall, the Genealogy Team Building Event at The Prescott Valley Public Library was a successful event enjoyed by everyone – from myself to the team leaders down to the entire staff. It was a fantastic learning experience. And I plan to take everything I learned from this project and implement it into my future business and life.
Mentor
Since the blend of Genealogy and Team Building is a new business model, an experienced mentor was essential to helping me make impactful decisions.
My mentor, Emily Stanford Schultz, is a senior manager, operational manager, and experienced leader at Family Search with broad and deep leadership roles in the Family History Department. Emily successfully manages programs, projects, and building teams. She also coordinates professionally with BYU, BYU Idaho, and Pathway and has successfully implemented, advertised, trained, and developed numerous projects, including RootsTech.
With her vast experience running, promoting, and working with genealogy events, she is not only a highly qualified mentor, but her experience played an essential role in working through the results of social impact using a team-building approach.
Insights
After running the Genealogy Team Building Event at the Prescott Valley Public Library, I had many insights into what worked – and what I could do to strengthen the business model and future events.
Thankfully, however, the event was successful and had an overall positive effect on all participants. The director, Casey, revealed it was the best team-building event she’s participated in, and she got to know more about her employees in that short activity than in all the years she has worked with them.
The Power of Genealogy Within a Team-Building Setting
Overall, I had many insights on the power of genealogy on individuals within a team-building setting. It’s impressive how genealogy can be fun, helpful, and even connect a person more deeply with a sense of self by learning about their family’s past—where they came from, who they were, what they did, the trials they overcame, the accomplishments they achieved, their dreams, and more.
As a new team-building experience, a genealogy event does more than help individuals; it helps lead to greater unity and empathy between co-workers. A Genealogy Team Building event boosts morale, forms workplace bonds, increases productivity, improves self-confidence, and forms unity.
The Prescott Valley Public Library event was a great team-building activity – even better than expected. It may be because it’s different from typical staff training. This was more interactive, allowing people to talk about themselves and get to know each other better through unique activities. Several people who have typically disliked team-building events gave compliments, got involved, and had fun. And in the end, all the stations were successful, with full participation.
Having seen the healthy connections built through genealogy, I know what effectively sharing heritage and cultures can mean to a group of people. It builds confidence and trust among team members with new ways to communicate and share ideas. Team members become more engaged and productive.
After the event, the feedback was all positive – from the director to the staff members. Every person participating enjoyed talking, sharing stories, and getting to know each other better.
A Polished Business Plan
After this experience, I can confidently market this event as a viable team-building option for corporations and companies. There is still much to do in developing a website and marketing material, but the model works. People were excited and motivated to continue doing their own family history work and were eager to find out what they had in common.
Even the Adult Services Librarian was thrilled to find out we were 8th cousins and that she was cousins to the Teen Librarian. Co-workers felt more connected to each other by the event’s end – something powerful to witness.
The Genealogy Team Building Event gave me real-world experience to see how an event using just genealogy would go over with a real-world team, what I needed to improve, and how many people I could have per group. I better understand how larger groups work and what I will need for resources, such as room size, table size, stations, computers, and how much time to devote to each activity based on the group size.
Now that it’s proven to be a successful model for businesses, I can invest in higher-quality backdrops, costumes, and jewelry. I realized I needed professional signage, a logo, a website, and a business name.
With a bigger budget and even a few staff members, the goal is to improve future events and fine-tune the business model. I will then market it and sell it as a viable option for team building, retreats, seminars, and more. I have a background in coaching and have worked with several corporations and attended many team-building activities to help strengthen a team and build trust.
All in all, I’m excited to get the business up and running. Genealogy Team Building Events will be one of my primary services. To do that, I plan to get approval for the approved list of Arizona Library presenters and many other venues.
I also have a name now. The business name will be “The Cultured Genealogist .”