Did your team start off tight-knit and close, but there’s been a drop in productivity?
The solution might be simpler than you think – corporate team building activities
Avoid clearing out the team and starting from scratch at great cost to your time (and budget). Instead, get your team motivated and moving again!
Experiences that are shared bring us closer together along with giving us stories we get to tell. Working alongside colleagues or friends also helps us to feel like we are part of something that is larger than ourselves.
Team building is one of those activities that draw people together through shared experiences.
Below is a list of the 5 stand-out benefits you and your team can pick up from the team building activities you are planning next.
#1 – Develop Confidence
Team building builds confidence in yourself along with your teammates.
Stepping out of a comfort zone is often unnerving, yet when you do and when you succeed it can boost your confidence in a significant way. Watching your co-workers step out of their own comfort zones often provides a similar effect.
In many cases, employees are hesitant to work alongside one another. They may not feel confident about the abilities or capabilities of others (and have concerns that they may end up carrying the group). Others might be concerned about their personal abilities (and that they may be viewed as the weak link).
Team building eliminates these fears.
When you watch co-workers overcoming fears and setbacks, or when you are able to overcome your own obstacles (or even better, you are able to overcome them as a team), your trust in your teammates and your yourself will increase.
This combination of trust and confidence will result in an increase in cooperation when back in an office environment which translates into more productivity and profits.
#2 – Role Reversal
Team building also involves exercises that prompt employees to move away from their standard roles. For example in a team-building activity, the manager might turn into just another team member, or an employee might be given a management or leadership role.
When it comes to team-building exercises and games, employees are offered the chance to try out new roles and to experiment with how it feels. This gives way to discovering unexpected talents, or you might start to understand and appreciate the complexity of your coworker’s responsibilities or positions.
Couples counsellor Glen Munt explains why this is beneficial. He says “Role reversals allow people to experience someone else’s problems and pain points, rather than just observe and react to them. This can be confronting to enact in a professional work environment. So to use it in corporate team building is a creative and highly innovative way to grow trust and compassion.”
Gaining this perspective often results in more cooperation and less confrontation in the office.
When employees start to appreciate each other along with their different roles and responsibilities in the company, it results in less conflict and hostility in an office environment.
#3 – Meet New People
In most office environments, some employees are not offered the opportunity to network with other employees.
In larger corporations, some employees may not even know about each other. For example, when there are cubicle walls that extend above eye level, or for those who sit in front of a monitor all day, there is usually no or minimal interaction with other coworkers.
Team Building is one of the answers to these problems.
Office picnics or parties might be okay, but if socialising is not high up on your list of priorities, these types of activities will not help much to build up your confidence or your people skills.
Team building is an activity that brings individuals together in order to accomplish goals or complete tasks. It also offers the opportunity to not only meet other coworkers but a way to find out more about these people.
Team building also encourages the ability to make friends. Friends will work a lot better together and care for each other. This is one of the highlights of successful team building.
#4 – Team Spirit
Employees that learn to trust and care about each other usually translate into these people trusting and caring more for the company that they work for. They will start to see the office as a group of friends that are all working towards common objectives.
Corporate wellbeing coach Tony Neale explains that doing a great job involves more than just the next paycheck. He goes on to say “It is also about helping coworkers to achieve a common goal. Team building offers a way to turn jobs into careers and offices into a home away from home. Any opportunity to engage in professional team building should be seen as a priceless investment in your company.”
Employees will start to feel as if they form a portion of something much bigger. When they start to think about more than just themselves, they start understanding that if one person succeeds, then they can all succeed.
#5 – Teamwork
This is the most important benefit of all.
All the elements of teamwork result in a workforce that works in harmony. All the above-mentioned benefits result in teamwork.
Once your employees start to care for one another, they can trust each other and themselves when they begin to believe in their company, and they gain a better understanding of their roles. This is when they all start working as a team towards common goals.
Employees will enjoy coming to work every day. They will start to arrive early and may even stay after hours. They will also be more open to helping each other out. They will begin working as a team rather than just a group of individuals.
The benefits associated with team building activities outweigh any costs. The effects of a couple of hours that your employees spend together outside of the office will
reap rewards in your office for many years into the future.
Team building can be seen as a type of investment that you are making for the overall future of the company.
Are you ready to kickstart your team’s motivation and energy? Get in touch with the team at Urban Quest to find out more!
Written by: Lucas Richardson
