We have all been in this scenario. Starting at a new company, meeting new colleagues and not knowing what their skills are or how they work. As a (new) team, it is essential to know your colleagues and know what skills they have. To get to know each other better, you can do several things. One of the most effective ways is doing Team Building activities. In this article we will go over the importance of Team Building and how it can help you build better teams.
What is Team Building, its benefits and effects
Team Building describes an action or process of causing employees to work together effectively as a team. It is possible by doing certain activities or events designed to increase the motivation and communication between employees and promote cooperation between them.
Let us look at the benefits and understand the evidence. Meta-analysis data from various studies (conducted between 1950 and 2009) provided data of the effects on different aspects of the team:
Most of the found research reported a comprehensive investigation into the importance of team building. Based on research results from a 2009 research by Small Group Research, Team Building does improve team outcomes. It becomes clear that team-development interventions are beneficial to build functional teams.
Team Building activities are important to increase employee motivation and nurture a successful and excellent company culture. Additionally, Team Building helps with:
- Group cohesiveness;
- Improved communication between employees;
- Increased productivity and collaboration between colleagues;
- Connecting remote teams.
Company culture
In a recent survey we launched on LinkedIn, 55% of the voters indicated that Company Culture is the main factor for employee retention. With the help of team building activities, you can create a more creative and productive workplace. Certainly, this can positively affect Company Culture and make people more excited about their jobs. Simultaneously, it will create a more enthusiastic and motivating workplace, leading to more cohesiveness between staff.
If you are interested in Cultural Fit and its advantages, read more about it here.
How to start with (remote) team building in your organization?
First and foremost, identify the purpose for your team building. Ask yourself and colleagues what do you want to achieve with these team building activities. It is essential to determine what your employees will get out of this experience.
After identifying the goal of your team building activities, think hard about what kind of activities your employees are willing and able to do. Moreover, make sure to take time zones and the availability of your colleagues into account. Are they, for example, parents or young professionals? The last thing you want to do is isolate a few employees who cannot participate in a company-wide event.
One last thing if you work at a global company. Drinking in the morning is not really a thing, anywhere in the world. So, please be mindful of that! 🙂
Ideas for Team Building activities
Whether your organization is global or local, we have a few team building ideas we want to share with you. Some we already tried ourselves! Even though we are still in a pandemic, there are plenty of activities you can try. Finally, we also added some offline activities for when we are allowed to go back to some king of normalcy.
Online ideas for team building
- Pub Quizzes;
- Speed “dating” with a quiz afterwards;
- Stand-up comedy;
- Who lives in this house (guessing the homeowner from a short video);
- Walk & talk – have meetings with colleagues while exercising.
On and offline ideas for team building
- Master Chef with teams;
- Wine, beer or whiskey tasting;
- Photo challenge (a series of challenges and silly tasks that require photographic evidence for completion);
- Scavenger hunt (find weird and funny items in your area);
- Work out of the day.
Offline ideas for team building
- Sports or cooking competitions against other/partner companies (e.g. dodgeball or football);
- “Kidnapping” your director (by doing challenges outside, you receive clues of where he/she is. A good way to find your boss).
To sum it up, don’t overlook the importance of team building. And when you’re doing some of these activities, don’t forget the most crucial aspect. Have fun and learn new things with your colleagues!
