A team building’s purpose is to improve trust within the team, increase communication, collaboration and motivate team members. This is one way for the team to just relax and relieve them of work-related stress. You must never forget that although your team is dedicated to their jobs they are still human beings who need a break every now and then.
Team building can also help foster friendships. Friendships within the team can help boost morale and performance within the team. A side effect of this is it builds trust, which is one of the goals of a well thought out team building. This trust can also extend to the manager or supervisor. Trust between the team and the one who manages it will help improve communications and in turn the performance. Improved communication will lead to better engagement. Better employee engagement will lead to reduced employee attrition. The point is, a well thought out team building has an overall positive impact in your organisation. You might already have some ideas for an awesome team building event but check out these things on what to avoid when planning a team building event.
Holding The Event In The Workplace
Holding the activity in the workplace is not a good idea. It beats one the purpose of the team building which is to relieve your staff of work related stress. Even if they are not doing any type of work during the activity, the workplace’s atmosphere can still give the impression to some of your employees that they are still working. It can be consciously or subconsciously. It can also come off as cheap and boring. Spice it up and go to a different venue. Anywhere but on-site.
No Goals In Mind
When planning a team building event, you must have a goal in mind. Think of one of the purposes of team building events. You can have activities centered around good communication or building trust. Maybe talk about your experiences with regards to the goal of the team building. As mentioned in one of my previous articles, spending resources on team building is like investing. Your company should be able to get something out of it in the future. A team building event without a goal is just a day off.
The Team Comes First
A team building event should be first and foremost, fun. Choose activities that cater to the members of the team. Maybe do a survey during the planning phase. Activities should be varied to cater to the different personalities of the team members. But do not forget that those activities should have a goal in mind.