Many businesses are interested in introducing team building activities to their staff. The problem you may face, if you have never done team building, is that it can be an overwhelming and scary task. Your employees might resist team building activities or you may feel like you don’t have the proper resources. Here are some tips on how you can unite your workforce and introduce fun team building activities.
- Integrate team building activities during work hours: One of the biggest problems that many small businesses face when planning team building activities is scheduling. If activities are scheduled outside of work hours, your teams may be resistant to participate, especially on a weekend or after a long day at work. If you are committed to introducing team building activities to the general work day, then you make sure everyone is able to participate.
- Make the experience collaborative: rather than establishing a tough competitions that break teams up, think of the team building exercises that ensures everyone needs to work together. This will encourage team bonding and collaboration!
- Consider volunteering as a group: Team building activities take the form of group volunteering! Set time aside to volunteer as a team for a local charity or help out with an activity like a food drive. No reason you can’t improve as a team while improving your community as well.
- Get out of the office: Getting your employees outside of their comfort zone and helping them interact more freely can create productive and happy teams.
- Make sure the activity is accessible: Think about all your employees. Make sure that the activities you plan have social and health benefits, but don’t plan activities that might leave a certain team member out. Ensure that all employees can participate so that the team can truly work together.
- Set your intentions: Let your staff members know the intent of the activity. If your goal for a specific team building activity is to introduce new people in your business, let everyone know. If your goal is simply to increase employee morale by taking part in some fun outside the office, make that intent known.
- Get feedback: It’s important to know what works and what your employees enjoy doing. A few days after team bonding event or team building exercise, gather feedback. Ask your employee if they would be comfortable doing a similar activity again, this will help you understand what to plan for the next time.
Keep some of these top tips in mind for scheduling successful team building exercises.