Team building: following teams live with a control desk

When you organise an outdoor team building event, the same question almost always comes up: once the teams have set off, how do you know where they are? Without visibility, the organiser improvises, makes endless phone calls and ends up chasing after groups instead of enjoying the event.

That is the role of the control desk. In TeamLab by QuestRides, it is the control screen that lets you follow team progress, spot a situation that is dragging on and step in within a clear framework. Here is, in practical terms, what it shows, what it lets you do and what it deliberately refuses to do.

What is a control desk for?

TeamLab turns a treasure hunt, a trail game or an orienteering race into a managed group experience. The engine is the same for every format; it is the route that is designed for each one, together with the client. TeamLab is designed in Marrakech, where it is available today.

On the participants' side, everything happens on mobile, with no paper map, in French, English, Arabic and Darija. On the organisation side, the control desk brings together everything happening in the field. It is not a surveillance gimmick: it is the tool that lets you keep track of an event in which several teams move at the same time, each at its own pace.

What you see during the game

Each team's progress

For each team, the control desk displays its progress: where it is on the route, stage by stage. You can compare the pace of the groups at a glance, without having to contact them. Stages are validated automatically thanks to photo validation, which means nobody needs to be tied up checking each piece of proof.

Inactivity and connection status

The control desk also shows how long it has been since a team's position changed, as well as which teams are paused or offline. This is raw information: it is up to you to interpret it. A team that has stopped moving may be working out a riddle, taking a well-earned break or having a network problem. The control desk gives you the signal, and your knowledge of the group does the rest.

One position per team, never individual tracking

This is a point that HR managers look at closely, and rightly so. In TeamLab, only one position is transmitted per team, from the team's team lead phone. The other participants have nothing to activate and are not located individually.

Privacy follows the same principle:

  • participants register with a first name, with no email address or phone number;
  • there are no individual scores;
  • there are no psychological profiles and no ranking of individuals.

The aim remains collective: to observe a team's dynamic, not to assess an individual. This also makes it easier to win over participants who might be wary of a tracking tool.

The six possible interventions from the control desk

Seeing is not always enough: sometimes you need to adjust how the game unfolds. The control desk offers six interventions:

  1. the reserve stage;
  2. the timed surprise mission;
  3. the freeze;
  4. the slowdown;
  5. the pause;
  6. the resume.

Each one is governed by two rules. First, before any intervention, the control desk announces its target, its effect and its duration: you know exactly what you are about to trigger and for whom. Second, no intervention is applied while a team is on the move, so as not to disrupt a group in mid-walk.

These levers are used to rebalance the game, to get a team that has fallen behind going again, to call a collective time-out or to re-energise everyone with a surprise mission. The control desk does not, however, send any hint or message to the teams: it acts on how the game unfolds, not on the content of what the teams say to each other.

As an option, talismans between teams (Frost, Hourglass, Mirage, Aegis) add an element of interaction for groups who enjoy a bit of competition.

Who runs it, and what remains after the game?

Accessible management

The system provides for five staff roles, including safety and observer, to share responsibilities in the field. The organiser can also run it personally, without a technician: an office manager or an HR manager can operate the control desk for their own event. For agencies and DMCs, TeamLab fits into their seminars, and the client can be autonomous on their quest if access is granted. A dedicated entry point is available on the page TeamLab for agencies.

A log for the debrief

Everything that happens is recorded in an event log, with its timeline. It serves as a basis for the debrief: you go back over the key moments, the team's choices and the difficult stretches. The game ends with trophies and awards, presented at a final ceremony held at a dedicated venue, never at the hunt's finish point.

Preparing a managed event: where to start?

A control desk cannot do everything: its value depends on a well-designed route and clear scoping. Before the event, teams are created and put together, with their names, a captain and roles suited to the group size. Registration is done remotely, followed by the briefing and the road book.

Online scoping lets you lay the groundwork: objectives, participants, format, transfers, meals, ceremony, full stay and budget. It leads to a tailored proposal in the form of a bespoke quote. You can start it on the page Scope a team building event.

In summary

A good control desk does not try to control everything: it gives the organiser the visibility they need, with each team's progress, any inactivity, pauses and offline teams, plus announced and clearly framed levers to adjust the game. All of this with respect for participants, with one position per team and no individual assessment.

If you are preparing a seminar or a team day in Marrakech, discover TeamLab, our team building solution, or start your online scoping straight away to receive a proposal tailored to your group.