Over the last several years, we have seen an increasing number of businesses moving away from having competitive work environments and instead are switching to workplaces where cooperation and collaboration between staff members are viewed as being the key to their success.
This change involves an increasing number of companies undergoing team building activities on a regular basis. Those activities may range from retreats that last several days to short, problem-solving activities. And although team building activities are viewed by some people as being just a nice break from their work, there is a serious purpose behind them: to develop your staff member’s knowledge and skills.
If you can implement team building activities with objectives and a purpose behind them then your organisation will be able to enjoy an entire range of valuable benefits.
Improved Productivity
One of the most popular goals that organisations have for their team building activities is to improve their productivity. Take the time to identify ways of improving the three P’s (procedures, processes, and policies) that can affect your productivity. When you encourage your employees to learn how to work more effectively together and reduce the duplications of effort among your employees they will be able to work more efficiently and productivity will be improved.
Increased Motivation
One of the main benefits that team building activities offer is the chance to increase the motivation of employees and nurture a successful culture within the company in several different ways. Whenever a group of employees is able to complete one of their team building activities successfully, it results in them feeling good about themselves, creates momentum, and increases the confidence of employees in their team’s ability and their personal ability. It also demonstrates to employees that their organisation is willing to make an investment in them.
Increased Collaboration
When a team building activity is properly planned, one of the most valuable benefits is the increased collaboration between employees that occurs. Collaboration is all about who has knowledge about what (or is able to answer a question) and having trust in them and their experience and having the ability to access this person whenever you need them. When you create activities that are enjoyable for people and that can be experienced together as a group, employees will have the opportunities to get relationships established and develop networks of personal contacts outside of their daily roles that will be very beneficial to them in the future as well as the present.
Encourage Creativity
In order to run a successful business that is based on innovation and creativity, you must employ different individuals who have diverse expertise and perspectives to cross-pollinate your organisation with new ideas. Team building tasks that are out-of-the-ordinary, like treetops Guildford, will give employees that chance to use their imaginations to find creative solutions, and it will send the message that you welcome bouncing ideas off of one another and creativity within the workplace.
Embracing Different Workplace Personalities
A company culture that is successful will have the ability to nurture different personalities instead of trying to force everybody into the same box. Acknowledging different people’s interests, motivations, skills and styles of working shows employees that the organisation values them as an individual and actually allows them to flourish. In return, more loyal employees will give more valuable input to the organisation.
Positive Reinforcement
You can also use team building activities as a way to provide employees with recognition by rewarding the work that certain employees are doing as well as behaviours leading to the person receiving the recognition. When recognition is incorporated into your team building it sends a strong message to all attendees about the values that your company hold and what they mean to your organisation’s success.
Improved Communication
The key benefit of having a team building activity that is properly planned is perhaps the improved communication that results between employees. Fun, enjoyable activities allow employees to get to know one another better, create a better understanding among each other, and help to break down mistrust by encouraging individuals to focus on the things they have in common instead of their differences.
Incorporating team building activities into your organisation can be a very powerful way of developing trust and collaboration, address weaknesses, nurture strengths, and improve motivation. however, they must be properly planned and have a real purpose behind them in order for team building activities to have a real impact instead of just giving employees a nice break from the office.