Companies need strong and creative people working for them to have successful businesses. But that’s just one part of the equation. It is also equally important that these people are capable of working together cohesively towards a common target or goal. What is the key to making this happen? Powerful team-building activities!
Strong teams don’t just happen by having the right people. It is a slow process with the right set of activities built to bring the groups together and encourage them to work with a collaborative mindset.
If a company successfully designs effective team-building activities with the right purpose and objectives for their employees, they can reap many benefits. Furthermore, as more and more companies adopt the hybrid way of working, bringing your employees together through effective team-building activities is more important than ever.
What are the benefits of team-building activities?
· Enhances motivation and productivity: Team-building can increase your employees’ motivation and productivity levels by leaps and bounds. When a group of people finishes an activity successfully, it increases their confidence and trust in each other. They also feel valued and that the organization actually cares for them.
Moreover, six people working on a problem and understanding the issue through all angles will obviously bring out more ideas and opinions than an individual working on it. Thus, effective teams also boost the productivity of your employees. If you put resources into creating teams that work efficiently, they can solve problems more quickly than those teams where everyone works individually.
· Increases employee engagement: According to a study by Harvard Business Review, socializing and networking between team members can improve their communication patterns by as much as 50%. And it is no secret that open and transparent communication is the basis of all high-performing teams. When team members socialize and communicate with each other, they get a chance to understand their team members, know how they can fit within the team and work in their respective roles.
· Fosters innovation and creativity: When people from diverse backgrounds and expertise come closer to work together, it encourages creativity and innovation within the team. An open culture where team members feel free to express their ideas and opinions increases their morale and inclination towards work.
Different types of team-building activities
There is a vast range of ready-to-use team building activities for at risk youth to increase their efficiency and encourage an open culture to work and relax:
· Learning together: One of the most effective team building activities is giving your employees a platform to learn something new together. This also gives an opportunity to bond with each other. Some of the ways you can implement this are:
o Training events
o TED Talks
o Sports classes
· Icebreaking sessions: There are several games out there – scribble, two truths and a lie, that you can make your teams play to loosen up with each other, have fun and get to bond with each other. This will foster communication within the team and enhance employee engagement.
· Outdoor activities: Taking a break from work now and then and encouraging your employees to go out for fun activities like paintball, wall climbing, or soccer is a great way to get them closer to each other.
