Why should companies invest in team building?

Effective team-building can make a valuable every-day difference to the way your business functions. It can build trust, mitigate conflict, encourage communication and increase employee collaboration. It’s a fantastic way for businesses to build their company’s culture, improve reputation as a good place to work and boost morale. Let’s not forget, it is also a day out of the office doing something adventurous and enjoyable!

Top tips on planning a successful event!

Discover what you want to get out of the day?
First things first, what’s the objective? Is it purely for fun, a thank you or is it to develop your team’s communication skills or increase employee engagement? Whatever the reason, finding the right activity and environment are crucial factors in achieving your objective. You also want to make sure that the money your business is investing is going to be well spent.

Get clued up on what you need
You may be a championship fell runner and have all the kit you need to hike up Snowdonia. But, not everyone will and in order to participate people might have to spend time and money finding or even buying what they need before they go. Putting barriers in the way of people participating isn’t a great start, so try to find a venue that can provide both an activity and the kit that everyone in your group will need.

Try new things
The most unique experiences tend to be the most memorable ones. Providing employees with the opportunity to try something new (maybe something they’ve never even considered before) can prove difficult when you’re trying to decide what to do as people generally don’t like stepping outside of their comfort zone. However, case studies prove that putting teams in unique environments actually builds confidence, so don’t be scared to try something new as it may well pay off.

Makes employees feel appreciated
Regardless of whether it is an office outing or a treat for your top-performers, investing in a corporate outing means that you’re making a real investment in your staff. Nothing is more rewarding for an employee than feeling valued and being recognised for the work they are doing. Engagement with your team is key.

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Communication
Successful businesses tend to all have something in common; they rely on good communication between their staff to be able to function effectively. Team building can help break down any pre-existing barriers between employees and has a way of utilising verbal and non-verbal forms of communication.

Celebration and the spirit of fun
This is often overlooked but is potentially one of the more important aspects of team-building. Reinforcing the value of celebrating and having fun in the workplace can help build your company culture.

Leadership
Team building is a fantastic way of identifying leadership qualities in individuals who might not ordinarily have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities or contribute as leaders during their day-to-day role.

Innovation and creativity
Successful team building can often bring people closer and lead them to more successful and creative workplace ideas. Employees tend to be more imaginative when they are around people they are comfortable with.

Networking and socialising
You spend more time with work colleagues than any other group of people in your life. Finding out what makes your colleagues tick helps build rapport massively. A happy team is generally one that gels well together regardless of personalities.

Company day out done … what’s next?

We would advise gathering feedback but include some more open-ended interesting questions such as how did the activity make you feel? These will encourage your team to give you more detail of their experience rather than a simple yes / no answer.