Building Your Team
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” - Henry Ford
Why is team building important?
If you could increase retention, improve productivity and motivate your team with a monthly commitment of one hour, would you do it? Building a more effective team could be as simple as a monthly lunch.
Team building can encompass many things but it doesn’t need to be complicated. Think about what you want to accomplish and build on that.
When meeting with your team, whether for a business meeting or a group lunch take time to recognize individual efforts and achievements. This can help to eliminate any negativity that may be present and promote good will.
Asking for input on an upcoming project will also enforce to your team that you value their abilities and ideas. And you might come away with some great suggestions. When the boss interacts freely with the employees, the employees feel connected and valued.
Team building activities will also encourage new hires to assimilate more quickly, again improving productivity by encouraging stronger office relationships.
Another time to think about a team building event would be after a company merger. Implementing an activity that encourages new faces to connect may motivate the employees to begin interacting effectively and help alleviate any tension or uncertainly that may be present.
What kind of team building activities should you consider? It could be as simple as a monthly lunch meeting or as elaborate as a company sponsored outing to a sporting event. Think about promoting group involvement in a community service project or sponsoring a company team in the local league. Hold a celebration when a milestone is achieved or a goal is met.
Promoting time away from the day to day routine lets your employees know that you value them as individuals. It also has the potential to improve communication and relationships among employees and upper management.
What about that virtual staff member? Helping them to feel like they are part of the team is just as important. Consider inviting them to join a staff lunch via Skype. Since they aren’t able to meet up with anyone at the water cooler, make an extra effort to spend some time asking them about their weekend. You may want to occasionally send out an email to your team with an icebreaker question and have everyone “respond all.” This allows employees to get to know one another and elicits small talk that can’t happen when employees are located outside the office.
Investing in some simple team building activities will reap you big rewards by creating a stronger and more efficient staff who feel appreciated for their contributions and hard work. Having employees feel connected to their workplace increases retention and improves productivity. A win for everyone.
What team building activities have you tried and did you find them to be successful?
If you need help around team building or strategic planning let BlueFire HR help. Contact us at hr@bluefirehr.com for more information.