Team building: Your tips to get it right first time
Once upon a time team building wasn’t really “a thing” amongst businesses. Most were just interested in getting the absolute maximum from their employees, and the thought of using team building as a method of doing this was utterly out of the question. In fact, some just viewed it as a day off.
However, office culture is changing, and there has been a greater shift to really value the work that employees add to a company.
It means that team building is most definitely a key consideration for businesses, although there are naturally right and wrong ways to approach it.
Suffice to say, today’s guide is going to hone in on the former and show how to make team building a really worthwhile concept for all concerned within your organisation.
What is the goal of the day?
First and foremost, expectations need to be set from the outset. The last thing you need is to take your employees out for the day, and everyone to return home scratching their heads about the purpose of it.
As such, while you don’t need to give everything away, at least provide a few pointers. Do you want your team to work better? Are you trying to get new recruits integrated into the team more? Or is this a purely process-driven day, where you are looking to fine-tune the work-related processes that can help your team function better.
It’s not just about pub crawls
As we alluded to at the start of this article, team building days once had something of a stigma attached to them. They were once regarded as being purely social, which is great in one respect, but probably isn’t going to benefit the overall performance of your team.
Nowadays, they tend to be a little more formal. For example, some companies will hire a conference facility at somewhere like the Belfry, and hold an informal get-together there.
In short, the world is your oyster – but don’t fall into the trap of making this about excessive alcohol consumption.
Make sure it’s within work hours
Sure, some bosses might not be huge fans of this next concept, but in the interests of getting the most from your team building day, it is really important.
If you ask employees to attend a team-building activity outside of normal hours, you won’t get everyone turning up. Excuses will roll in, and you’ll struggle for numbers. However, put it during standard working hours, and immediately employees will feel more committed. In the end, all parties will get so much more out of it.
It’s not about competition
This final point relates to some of the potential activities that are stereotypical of a team-building day. Once upon a time it might have been making employees compete against each other, usually with some fun-packed day. However, times have changed, and collaboration is on the menu. Try and arrange activities that will make people work together better – rather than work against each other.