BY SHAHANAAZ HABIB

FANCY a fresh and hip team building idea for your company? How about building a house for the orang asli in three days?

Since 2012, Epic Homes has started on a team building programme for companies that want to “get their hands dirty” and build a house for those in need.

So far, more than 20 companies have done it. Some loved it so much that they came back to do it again.

Epic Homes co-founder Jayne Kennedy said companies would first need to sponsor a house and this would cost them some RM42,000 including the GST .

Since Epic Homes is in the business of building homes for the orang asli, they already have a list of villages in need. So, companies can pick from one of these or they can choose one of their own.

A company would need at least 30 people (a maximum of 40) to be part of the team.

Then, it needs to pay RM30,000 to RM35,000 for the three-and-a-half day programme which includes planning, transportation, accommodation, food, training, tools, equipment and safety gear to build the house.

The programme starts off with a mandatory basic builder course for half a day.

“We have a small practical to determine which part of the house they will work on. Through that, we can tell what their strengths are and who can work with whom,” says Kennedy.

Epic Homes founder and CEO John-Son Oei says on the first day, the master builder in charge of the project will introduce the company employees to the family that they will be building the house for.

“This is to remind them that the overall purpose of what they are doing is not just to build a home but to build relationships with each other and strengthen the bonds within the company, family, villagers, rural community and urban communities.

“It is not just about providing shelter but it is really about dignity and working together with others for a goal that is bigger than yourself,” he says.

And the team of 30 to 40 would then be broken into smaller teams and made responsible for building different parts of the house.

“And from 8am to 6pm, no matter what the weather – rain or shine – they will work to complete the house,” he says.

Oei says that at the end of each day, the team will talk about things that happened during the day, experiences that touched them, what they could have done better, how they feel.

Oei points out that often in other team building activities like games, obstacle courses and exercises, there are no tangible results.

“You can see the work and energy and effort you have put into building the house and you can see the family’s reaction. It is so powerful. A lot of people at the beginning do not believe they can do it. They ask “Are you sure we can do this?’

“On the last day, they will see that they have managed to push past all the negativity and doubts. And that, together with their team, they managed to do what they thought was impossible.”

Oei believes this has another impact where it “lifts” the employees and boosts their confidence.

“They feel ‘I am proactive and I can do something’. This is where you want to get the team at the end of the day,” he says.

Oei says that one of the fascinating things they see come out of the build-a-home team building is how it works as “an equaliser” .

“Because the objective is to build a home for a real family in that short period of time, it becomes an equaliser because you may be the CEO, executive and the staff but when you are out there, you are all the same because you are all tossed in a situation where everyone is not comfortable.

“So, it gives everyone a chance to mingle and break through all that office politics and hierarchy.”

Oei says human resource managers have told them that it is also the perfect opportunity to see who really shines.

“That’s why a lot of companies come back. They come back with new guys but some of the older guys would want to come back as well.”