HR Considerations

Strengthen Teams and Boost Productivity with Team-Building Activities

Team-building activities are a simple, fun and effective way to bring your employees together and give them a strong sense of direction for the future. This is especially true for teams and departments that frequently interact and collaborate during the workday.

If your activities align with your business objectives and future plans, you can create positive experiences that can benefit your work environment well beyond the exercises. Ideas include a ropes course, a challenging hike in which employees must navigate themselves to an end location, or a company Olympics challenge.

A Successful Game Plan

Successful team-building activities require clearly defined objectives and expectations for all parties involved. Consider the following planning guidelines:

• Develop a team to plan the events, including identifying which team(s) would benefit from such activities, getting buy-in from management, and choosing appropriate activities. Be sure this team understands how team-building activities should relate to your company’s objectives.
• Only conduct team-building activities with departments that act as a team or operate as a unit. They should share a common purpose, vision, mission, and performance development system that promotes growth. If employees are solely valued and rewarded based on their individual contributions, then the activity is not beneficial.
• Make sure employees understand the benefit and goals of team-building activities and how they can apply the concepts to their daily work.
• Evaluate activities and adapt as needed. This includes talking to employees and managers to gather opinions on the usefulness of activities or ideas for changes.

Team Building Cautions

Team building is not for every organization or even every individual department. Avoid the following when trying to bond your employees:

• If your organization rewards individuals for their goal achievements and efforts rather than encouraging team efforts, then team building may foster cynicism about the organization and its perception of what is most valued.
• If you hold a meaningful team-building retreat but then do not follow up with activities within the confines of the workplace or explain how the activity relates to daily work, this may harm employee morale and downgrade the importance of the activity. You should show employees how the team-building activity will help them get better at their jobs or strengthen co-worker relationships, and remind them of that message frequently in the workplace. If events are not placed in proper context, employees may see them as a waste of time.

Talk With a Human Resources Expert to Learn More

If you have a well-defined purpose and plan, team-building activities can help improve the morale and productivity of your employees. For additional information, talk with the HR specialists at VTC Insurance Group. You can reach us at 248.828.3377 or visit vtcins.com.

This blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.