In recent years, due to fast economic and technological changes, there has been an undeniably growing trend of paying more attention to the role that human resources play in the overall success and growth of a company. So much so, that we see many more organizations investing in creating a strong organizational culture and climate. A climate where employees are better motivated, personally engaged and are contributing actively to its success. One specific strategy that is often integrated with the overall human resources policy of a company is the Team-building Program.
Regardless of how attached you are to your own job or how much do you want to prove yourself good, we all need some breathers sometimes. And the company’s leadership team should understand how important this is for its teams’ cohesion.
If we have to compare a company or department with a familiar medium that is within our reach, it would be the forest. A completely healthy climate of a forest exists when each tree is healthy and strong on its own and integrates harmoniously into the ensemble created by the other trees around it. The lives of trees in a forest are intertwined and their wellbeing is dependent on the trees next to them. The same thing happens in a team. When one of its members experiences a number of imbalances or considers that it does not integrate into the whole, the company suffers.
So, an effective and fun way to balance the climate of a company is sometimes to organize a team building. Yes, that outing with the team where employees are involved in all sorts of dynamic activities, through which they will learn to strengthen bonds, discover new skills and capabilities and contribute to building an awesome organizational culture.
The benefits of Team-building activities
But, let’s find out more on what exactly are the key benefits of team-buildings and how they can help your company grow:
1. Communication
At work, the predominant type of communication is routinized, sometimes masking the deepest frustrations or dissonances. Team building activities reveal some shortcomings, especially when employees face different challenges in the office and the communication process is hindered by policies and procedures. Recapitulations and debriefings at the end of a team-building are great ways to identify what works and what doesn’t inside the group. Are the instructions often too vague? Is there not enough room for discussion? Are there conflicting messages being sent? What is being done well?
2. Teamwork
Even if your employees know they are part of a team, they do not all really feel like a team. In team building, you can discover that you are not just a team because you work together, but it will take each team member and their unique skills to work together to complete the given challenge correctly and on-time. This is a great way to get people’s work styles and strengths together and, more importantly, learn how to leverage this information and make the best of it in the work environment.
3. Building trust
Trust is a tricky thing; something typically earned rather than given implicitly, and often it can take a long time and a number of interactions, both big and small, to build it. This is why team building exercises are such a great way to build trust. They essentially condense this process into a few hours of intensive, trust-building processes. This can be hugely beneficial to newly formed teams, cross-functional groups who don’t regularly rely on each other during their normal workday, or remote teams that don’t share office space together. Trust fosters collaboration amongst employees and is a huge contributor to employee satisfaction.
4. New-found skills & talents
An incredibly interesting and often overlooked benefit of team building programs is their ability to reveal hidden skills or bring latent talents to the surface. By having groups participate in a variety of very different types of challenges, team members often display new talents to their peers like leadership skills, strategic prowess, and consensus building. You might find that your division’s finance manager is a talented artist. Or that one of your software developer’s is also a skilled musician. While some hidden skills are ones that could benefit the company, others grant us greater insights into the lives of our co-workers, strengthening bonds.
5. Practice Behaviors
Team building programs provide a unique benefit in that they can be a sort of sandbox or testing ground for new behaviors, or for developing norms within a newly formed team. As an example, a company might find itself falling behind its competitors due to a culture of risk aversion, which might stifle creativity. During a certain program that company can experiment with the ability to take more risks and develop a better tolerance to failure in the pursuit of new ideas.
6. Creativity
At work, especially when you’re in a department that relies on creativity, it’s not uncommon to feel like you’ve gotten stuck in a rut. Attaining some fresh perspective can be really helpful in getting the creative wheels turning again; and by taking on some engaging new challenges during a day of team building, you can often regain a fresh take on things. This is not to mention, of course, the benefits of getting outside of your usual environment to refresh the mind.
7. Fun and motivation
Of course, there are less heavy and meaningful reasons for team building activities. At the heart of every good event is a sense of fun and excitement. They’re a way to have a few laughs, blow off some steam, and get your mind off of the routine things that occupy your day-to-day process. For this reason, it’s also an excellent way to celebrate – whether it’s a product launch, or surviving a particularly grueling quarter.
In conclusion, there are many reasons and benefits for an organization or team to implement consistent team building programs. And our team at Hoinar Events understands how important this aspect of the organizational culture is to the wellbeing of a company. So, we strive to create great team-building experiences that involve unique out-door environments and activities that strengthen bonds and help teams reach their true potential. This is done in an organic, laid-back manner, that feels more like a Smart Adventure than a boring company program.
If you want to find out more about Hoinar Events and the type of team-building activities that we offer, check out our Services page. If you are interested in organizing an awesome Team-building event, you can contact us here.