To work together as a team effectively, efficiently and enjoyably, it is imperative to have a solid working relationship with the other members of your department.
Networking and Socializing
Spending time together, getting to know each other better, is an important part of team building. Learning the ins and outs of people’s personalities and how they work could improve the way in which conflict is handled in the future. Furthermore, it allows people to bond. Surely a team who are at least friendly towards one another is better than one who actively avoid the rest?
Boost Team Performance
Learning to work together during team building activities can certainly help the team members to learn exactly how the others work. Whether they are logical or impulsive, patient or stressed, everyone handles situations differently and being aware of their individual traits can really help decide which aspects of a task someone should be given and how to react on certain occasions. It is not just the team members who can learn valuable lessons from these activities, but the team leaders too.
Celebration
When things have gone well within a team, how is it celebrated? Team building is not simply something to do on the odd occasion, but on a regular basis. Treating a team to a box of donuts to celebrate landing an important contract or for winning an industry award will really be appreciated. Furthermore, it shows that team building is not just a tick box exercise, but something that the management really value.
Team Building Ideas
It can sometimes be tricky coming up with ideas of how to fill a team building day or weekend as well as the little and often approach, so continue reading for some of our ideas.
The first key thing is to get all members of staff feeling like a team. Look into either low scale or wholesale t-shirt printing, depending on your numbers, and have everyone feel that they belong. It is vital that everyone feels a part of the community that is this business, and personalized items are just the beginning, whether it is t-shirts, hats or even tote bags that you choose. There is a number of organized team building activities that you could sign up for, provided by an external company. Although they do come at a premium to cover staff and organization costs, they are usually carried out successfully and tend to have great feedback. Things such as raft building are popular and get everybody thinking in smaller teams to try to outwit others. Often, for those living in small towns, it is great to get away somewhere completely different.
Alternatively, you could plan your own. Escape rooms require everyone to think carefully and work together of the same end goal: being set free. Other things such as bowling, team sports and even quizzes are great options. Do bear in mind catering for the majority and consider any disabilities. For the little and often approach, a weekly internal quiz alongside a shared lunch could be a fun option. Ultimately, when it comes to thinking of activities, the only limit is the imagination of the organizer. Have fun!