Team building can get a bad reputation. When you think of team building, often memories of cringeworthy activities spring to mind, however, we’re here to tell you why you should give team building another chance. Put simply, team building activities can help renew the sense of teamwork and increase job satisfaction!
Why You Should Give Team Building Another Chance
Increases a sense of collaboration – it’s easy to see the sense of collaboration that’s created between teams that win team building events together. Problem solving in group activities can carry forward to effective communication in the work place, helping to build trust as well as creating a shared sense of responsibility for tasks.
An opportunity for all team members to socialise – it’s hard for employees to socialise in the office. Sometimes colleagues will arrange to socialise outside of work but often it will not be the whole team. Team Building is a way of getting the whole team together doing a fun activity. Read our blog on 10 Ways Socialising with Colleagues is Good for Business
Enhancing team working skills – Competitive team building exercises can help teams work both competitively and productively with one another. Activities help bring the ‘fun’ to competition creating a more social environment while maintaining the right kind of competition that breeds productivity.
Improve work satisfaction – giving your employees time away from the workplace to have fun and enjoy themselves greatly improves work satisfaction. It can make employees feel valued when their workplace offers something outside of the norm. Read our blog on Work Satisfaction Has Been Declining Since The 1960’s: How To Improve It
Increases understanding – seeing your colleague in a different light, out of the office doing something different increases understanding of each other and builds a connection that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.
The Bottom Line
All the benefits above lead to more engaged employees and therefore increased profitability to a company. Team building should be one of your priorities rather than something you avoid as it breeds productivity, healthy competition and a more collaborative workplace.
What Not To Do
Don’t make the team building about the business, make it purely fun and enjoyable. Make it an event away from the office so employees can bond over having a good time together.
Don’t make it a one-time only event, as the benefits will just fizzle out. If you make it a regular activity then the benefits will build rather than dwindle.
What To Do
How do you know what team building activities your employees will enjoy? Take the time to ask them what their bucket-list or life goals are. It might be to conquer their fear of heights, so take them to the highest zip-wire in the area. Not only will employees bond over the exhilaration, they will also bond over feeling like they have accomplished something major in their lives. They will love your company even more for it.
Maybe one of your employees has always wanted to do a fitness challenge; The potential activities you can choose from are endless. Just make sure they are something a bit different and out of the norm, and no-one will be bored.
Identify whether the team building activity was successful. Ask yourself, was there laughter, excitement and accomplishment; if so you are onto a winner!
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