TEAM building today comprises fewer leadership and novelty games, and more specialised activities.
Groups of people now learn to sail, build man-sized sand castles, or cook a five-course meal. Previously, team-building meant playing blindfolded games or solving puzzles.
The draw of the newer type of team-building sessions has meant companies offering them are seeing increased business.
The specialised activities can be more meaningful, said Mr Alvin Lee, 50, the founder of Beautiful Minds, which conducts corporate training through building 2m-tall sand castles.
"Many companies still see '?team building' as a physical education session. To me, that's silly fun," he said.
"A lot of the time, people only remember the cheers and high-fives, but cannot remember anything else."
He said that building sand castles teaches course participants the value of teamwork and of having focus.
He declined to give numbers, but said he and his five full-time staff work "about 20 days a month in a good month".
Ms Samia Ahad, 49, who founded restaurant and cooking school Coriander Leaf in Clarke Quay, said that because traditional team-building tends to be physical, "a lot of it doesn't work because someone (can be) not as fit as another person".
Participants in her team-building sessions, in which they have to cook a full meal from scratch, start off on
roughly equal footing because "most professionals don't actually cook for themselves", she said.
It costs about $110 per participant, and the fee includes the dinner they have prepared.
At Clay Cove, a pottery-making workshop at Funan Digitalife Mall, participants co-operate to design and create ceramic objects.
This is a creative activity which is popular with women and older executives, said one of its executive directors, Ms Moni Pang, 40.
She said: "A number of people say Singapore's weather is too hot for them. They are looking for something relaxing, yet creative, indoors."
The important thing is to relate the activity back to the needs of the organisation, said Ms Pang, who used to work in management consulting.
A team clay sculpting project teaches flexibility and adaptability as well as stretches creativity in a non-pressurising environment, she said.
It can be a lucrative business too, said Ms Samia, who started corporate training at her other venture, The Screening Room, in Ann Siang Road.
Here, groups work together to produce a scripted show.
The money-making potential is so good that all the businesses reported "copycats" moving in to try and duplicate their programmes.
Said Ms Samia: "In fact, I've started sending people to our competition because I just cannot accommodate their dates."
