3 Tips for Keeping Teams Happy and Productive

We all know team building is extremely important. It helps make teams more efficient and can improve the overall success for your company. Here are 3 awesome tips to help you make more productive and happy teams!

  1. Have Fun!: Do some FUN team building! Whether you are at a weekly meeting or planned team building adventure, the activities shouldn’t feel like work! When you teams are having fun, they’ll be more open to being creativity. The playfulness might even inspire new ideas! Plus, fun activities act a stress relievers.
  2. Get Everyone Involved: Make sure all your employees are involved in office events and team building activities. If your teams are remote or don’t work together all the time, getting everyone on board will be critical to team success. An easy way to do this is to ask icebreaker questions before meetings or conference calls. This gets everyone involved and won’t leave anyone on the sidelines.
  3. Introduce Flexibility: Flexibility can be key when it comes to building an efficient and strong team. Flexibility can often increase work ethic, employee morale and productivity. Simple ways to introduce flexibility to the workplace: Let teams work from home one day a week, give them flexible hours one day a week. When your employees feel like they have control over their work, they will feel empowered to take initiative and be more productive.

 

6 Movies To Get Your Teams Motivated

Sometimes the best way to motivate your team is through good old fashioned storytelling. Stories transform our thinking and inspire us to do great things. Great stories not only entertain, but they bring people together through shared experiences and help build strong connections.

Movies at their core are just stories with actors and moving images, that’s why we love them! Sure, they act as a form of escapism, but they also offer a way for us to see new places and experience things outside of our own reality. Want to build stronger teams and inspire them to do their best? Show them examples of teams that struggle, overcome and ultimately succeed. An easy way to do this is to simply show them some kickass movies!

Check out the 6 movies Museum Hack picked as awesome team building flicks:

1. The Mighty Ducks

Leave it to beautiful-haired Coach Gordon Bombay to give epic team building advice. This classic 90s movie covers everything from teamwork to building focus. The Ducks may have started at the bottom but they fly to the top. Why? Because of awesome leadership and primo teamwork, of course.

What other movies did Museum Hack pick? Read the full post here: https://museumhack.com/6-team-building-movies/

6 Reasons to Get Your Teams Out of the Office

Your teams need frequent changes to their environment. Especially if they are stuck in a office or cubicle all day. Don’t be afraid to mix things up. Encourage your teams to ditch their desks or give them the option from working from home or a coffee shop. The difference you’ll see in work ethic and team morale will be totally worth it.

Here are 6 reasons why getting your teams outside and out of the office is awesome for business – and employee happiness.

 

  1. New environments inspire creativity.

  2. Out-of-the-office activities encourage team building.

  3. Flexibility and choice of our work environments boosts productivity.

  4. New ideas and interesting places can help spark better ideas.

  5. Field trips, scavenger hunts, team adventures are just fun! They will encourage laughs and boost morale.

  6. Ditching the office can make teams happier and get them excited!

 

Your teams deserve awesome rewards for their hard work! Do fun activities outside the office as groups or give them some flexibility to find out what works for them.

 

5 Icebreaker Questions That Won’t Stress Out Your Teams

Icebreakers have a bad reputation for being stuffy and stressful. But when you have an early meeting or a conference call with a diverse group of employees, a simple icebreaker question can get the energy flowing. Rethink the traditional icebreaker. Develop questions that keep your teams relaxed but also inspire them to share things about themselves. A great icebreaker is not only relevant but requires people to share meaningful answers.

Here are 5 awesome icebreakers to help get your team chatting!

  • If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be? This question may sound superficial but it will give team members insight into what their coworkers enjoy outside of work.
  • If you had to try out for a reality TV show, which one would you choose and why? Pop culture questions are fun. They get people laughing and connecting. Plus, you can learn a lot about a person from the type of reality TV they like.
  • Who is the better businessman or business woman and why? Timberlake or Justin Bieber? Modify this question to fit your industry or the department you are working with. There may be critical thinking involved, but the veil of humour makes it fun.
  • What was the worst job you ever had? A basic but personal question. Background information like work history helps teams understand one another. If two people had the same job, it will help boost camaraderie!
  • What would your superpower be and why? Everyone loves a good superpower. A fun but insightful icebreaker, this question inspires teams to share what they value in a relaxed way.

The greatest thing about icebreaker questions is that they involve zero planning! Keep a list of icebreakers on hand. Use them to welcome new employees, boost morale mid-day, or start a stressful meeting.

4 Fun Team Building Activities In NYC

It’s time to change the way we think about team building.

For many employees, team building evokes images of trust falls or corporate retreats. We’re here to tell you that team building in New York City doesn’t have to be that way! We want to make it something your employees look forward to – and the options in NYC are endless!

Here are four companies that are changing the team building game in the Big Apple:

1. The Art Studio NY – The Art Studio NY will tap into your team’s creative side with a customized art class and workshop! Your team will end up creating something special to take home – and there may even be the chance for a glass of wine!
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Team Building From The Animal Kingdom

Our friends at Museum Hack recently posted an article we love and want to share with you at Team Build NYC!

Museum Hack took a look at the seven team building lessons we can learn from animals. Check out some of the best team building that happens in the wild below!

The Cattle Egret: Teamwork for the Win

The Cattle Egret is often seen perching on cattle or other grazing mammals. The egret eats parasites off of the cattle’s body and often warns about oncoming predators. Cattle shake up grass and dust, disturbing insects for the egret to eat.

Tip: Teamwork between different departments can foster success while communication between different departments builds stronger relationships.
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5 Awesome Cooking Classes For Team Building in NYC

Nothing brings people together like sharing an amazing meal, so it’s no wonder cooking classes are one of our most popular team building activities for companies in NYC.

There’s no shortage of great choices in the city, but below we’ve compiled a list of five of our favorite team building cooking classes. Do you have a favorite that’s not on the list? Let us know!

1. My Cooking Party

They are all about fun! Team building is going to be a party where everyone goes home happy.

2. Brooklyn Wineries

Bring on the wine! This is a classy spot for team building, where your team can learn about the finer points of enjoying a great glass of wine, all while toasting each other.

3. ICE

Learn to do it like the the pros. Institute of Culinary Educatio will impress even the most serious cooks in your group.

4. Brooklyn Kitchen

Brooklyn Kitchen is all about keeping it fresh and local – and completely delicious!

5. Pizza School

There’s nothing like amazing New York Style Pizza so why not learn the art of dough making, topping and cooking a perfect pie?

3 Ways To Upgrade Your Staff With Team Building

We’re all about team building here at TeamBuildNYC, so we love finding articles and testimonials that extol the virtues of company team building.

In a recent blog post, Museum Hack identified three corporate team building strategies that will instantly upgrade your staff. Museum Hack suggests that the three main elements critical to successful team building are icebreakers that promote fun and bonding, company trainages, and forming deep connections.
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