Why Team Building Is The Most Important Investment You’ll Make
Mention team building to a building full of staff and you’ll probably hear more than just a few sighs and groans. Team building is one of those activities that most people feel is obligatory but a waste of time.
Fortunately, for you, they are wrong. In fact, team building is likely to be the most important investment you make. Of course, it helps if you plan an activity that everyone will enjoy. Organizing a team building scavenger hunt is a great way to appeal to all the different skill sets in your team and ensure your staff actually enjoys the experience.
This will lead to the following benefits:
Trust
When colleagues work together to solve a puzzle, they gain a better understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This leads to a decision to trust the opinion or knowledge of someone else in order to get the job done and achieve the prize.
Back in the workplace the renewed/increased trust between colleagues will help them to communicate better with each other. This makes it easier to resolve problems and issues in the team, as well as allow people to excel in specialist fields.
A little trust can go a long way in the workplace.
Productivity
The bottom line is directly affected by the productivity level of your team. It has been shown that a happy team will be more productive as they will take more pride in their work. In fact, the simple act of enjoying the workplace will help to boost your productivity which will improve your profit.
What’s amazing is that you can boost productivity by simply allowing your team some time to bind and have fun, it really will make them happier.
Innovation
The people that see the most issues with any productivity process are those that deal with it on a daily basis. It is also these people that are most likely to know the best way to resolve issues and improve the production process.
Team building allows these people to feel part of the team and more than just a small cog in a large machine. This will encourage them to make suggestions which can really improve the way things operate.
All you need to do is listen!
Reduced Stress
Team building also gives the team an outlet to reduce their stress levels and vent, if necessary.
Lower stress levels reduce time off and improve the long term health of your team. This means they are better able to focus at work, you’re not suffering from absent team members, and you are more likely to retain your team for longer.
This is one benefit that is often overlooked but very important. Reduced staff turnover rates save you training costs and help to create a creative atmosphere, where people feel free to share ideas and inspiration.
The secret isn’t in making a big deal about team building activities, it’s in making sure that they are fun, away from the office, and people don’t feel forced to participate; they’ll do it naturally.
We hope you enjoyed this promoted piece as much as we did!
