Communication, Motivation, Problem Solving, Team Building

3 Great Team Building Ideas For Organizations!

A strong team spirit is elemental to success in any business that needs corporation among its individuals who work together towards achieving a common goal. The very simple aspects that one can easily despise at the personal level are the ones that define strong bonding among individuals in a given team. These vital aspects to team building include: proper communication among members, tolerance with each other, transparency and intimacy.

A strong team operates as though it is one mind which makes easier for them to implement instructions and improve on their productivity. These basic ideas to team building are better off practiced in companies and organizations where quality production is the chief goal. Below is a list of the three key areas where team building can help.

1. Improve on communication among and across members.

The very first point that you want to establish when setting up a team right from the beginning is how well they relay information across each other. This cuts right from the management board to the very basic unit, which is the individual employee in that organization. A good team building company will ensure this critical step is undertaken correctly. It is important that the organization defines proper channels through which individuals can voice their concerns on whatever disturbing matter that arises and affects them as members of the organization. There should also be checks and balances to manage individual relationship amongst insiders – which includes the board members as well. In this modern world there are just as many communication channels other than traditional mail-drop boxes. Consider even setting up a company profile page on social media that is private and exclusive to insiders where they post their concerns as well as gratitude to their fellows and the entire company. Additionally, E-Mail messages and tweets can make a good idea. Have it in mind that free and proper communication is one of the basic foundations of a strong and lasting team spirit!

2. Boost morale among individuals and entire team

The most successful teams ever put on record are ones that motivated each other and set particular times to assess their status on production. Since every hardworking person is worth recognition and rewarding at least once in a while, it is necessary that the entire organization spend some social time together away from production. The effect of this kind of socialization as company members is psychological and works to introduce cohesion among them all. The board may organize for regular parties or gatherings as an opportunity to assess their progress while naming the most hardworking members. Some significant rewarding to the nominees may follow even though it is not necessary. By doing so each member will develop a strong sense of belonging towards the entire corporation, which is healthy for a working team.

3. Introduce effective problem solving approaches.

Problems and challenges are a common occurrence in any place where people interact. However, it is in how we handle these two factors that we make or break it completely. Any proper working environment should adapt effective ways to spot and solve problems from individual level to the corporate height. Since even sensitive issues will always arise and probably voiced through appropriate communication means, it is the obligation of the management to provide timely and appropriate solutions. Some instances can be personal and require professional counseling which is why some organizations have their own professional counselors on-board.

With proper communication, strong morale and problem solving skills, it goes without saying there will be proper work environment favors quality in the production line of a company. Money remuneration will motivate production but only a strong sense of belonging that comes along with strong team will take it a step higher, where quality comes in as a payback. Even though everyone wishes to work where there is good payment, it feels even better to be in an environment that allows you all freedom and addresses your concerns appropriately. That is part of what we get in the process of setting up a cohesive team but there is a lot more than that in the long run. It makes more sense if companies and organizations observe these team building ideas and work towards a strong team spirit right from their very first day of production to see it run down the line for years to come.

Exercises, Team Building

Team Building Exercises: An Effective Tool For Employee Engagement And Motivation

One of the most important stakeholders in any organization are the employees. No organization can be successful without the people performing on the ground, even if it has the best of leadership. The employees need to be bonded together, and motivated to achieve the organizational goals. This is possible if the people working together have a sense of belonging, ownership as well as motivation to achieve as a team.

This is precisely the reason organizations are spending huge amount of money for employee engagements including offsite team building exercises and the like. If you are working in an organization that is involved in with team building, it is important to understand what it is and why its important.

What are team building exercises?

Team building exercises are a series of events which are planned to inspire a group of selected individuals to communicate, bond and have fun together. The exercises planned should be fun, motivating and indulging. There should be opportunity for all the members to participate equally. Team building exercises help to unite a group, develop strengths and determine weakness. Before planning exercises you must determine the challenges the team is facing. Then plan team building exercises focused on these issues. While planning it is important to consider the interests of the participants and choose exercises which they will enjoy.

How team building exercises help improve performance of employees

Improved communication – It is a well-known fact that if you meet somebody in person, the communication is much better compared to speaking virtually over phone or chat. Even if you meet once, it helps you understand and get people on the same page. With lot of organization operating on Global Delivery Model (GDM) employees are located at various locations working on the same project. In critical and high visibility projects even the smallest of communication gap and misunderstanding can create big problems. Team building exercises can help break the ice between the people working together, gives opportunity to the leadership team to share the insights as well as organizational goals to the team effectively and get everybody on the same page. This also gives employees an opportunity to share their concerns which they are hesitant to raise on email or with the person they have not met.

Create a fun working environment

There is no better way to improve productivity than your employees having fun while doing their work. If a team starts enjoying their work, the outcome of that work will be very different and qualitative. Team building exercise helps create a better inter-personal relationship between the team members. It is always better to have a small team building activity before some key milestones or high pressure work. It helps in easing the pressure or tension environment otherwise people tend to make more mistakes under pressure.

Motivate the team

In a renowned employee survey questionnaire, one of the questions is, “Do you have a close friend at workplace”. This shows that the employees who have their best friends or a lot of friends in the organization are less likely to leave the organization. The team building exercises focuses on creating friends and not colleagues. Employees are more motivated to work when they are around friends. These friends may even be their bosses. They will be ready to put extra efforts without even pushing for it.

Identify Leaders and Groom them

Team building exercises are one of the most effective tools for identification of leadership qualities. Typically a group of people are thrown into a situation or given a task and observed. There may or may not be an identified leader but during the course of activities one can find out which person is emerging as a leader in the group, taking charge, resolving conflicts and convincing others to complete the task. These people can be identified and groomed specifically for leadership roles.

 

It is always preferable to conduct these team building exercises offsite like a park, beach or resort style location as this can give employees and participants the necessary break to recharge from the normal office environment. It can also act as a neutral ground to diffuse any office tensions or conflicts, it can help to break down barriers as people are out of their comfort zones and it can also help to spark creativity, communication and teamwork as participants feel like more in a social setting and when people are having fun, they are more willing to open up. If it is not possible to plan an offsite event, these activities can be planned in house but they must be fun.

 

It is important to have a clear objective of why the activity is being done and a follow up should always be planned to review whether the identified goals were achieved or not. Employees are the key for any organization and it is important to keep them happy. Team building exercises go a long way as a helping aid in employee satisfaction.

Collaboration, Productivity, Team Building

Team Building Activities Towards Improving Collaboration And Productivity

What Is Team Building? Team building is essentially a philosophy for job design where employees are looked upon more as members of interdependent teams rather than as individual workers. It refers to an array of activities designed to bring about an improvement in team performance and applied in sports teams, schools, businesses and other non-profit and religious organisations. It can also refer to the process where a team may be built up from scratch.

Why Team Building? The reasons why organisations make use of team building activities may be varying. Some of the most commonly provided reasons are as follows:- Improvement of communication- Morale boost and motivation for the employees- Getting to know effective strategies from others- Improved productivity- Knowing about individual strengths and weaknesses.

Team building activities are largely used in businesses, big and small alike, for aiding teamwork at the workplace. One popular Australian team building activities companies is teambuildingactivitiesguide.com As most managers and business owners are sure to have found out, a company’s success is largely associated with how effectively the organisation can promote teamwork within itself.

Team building activities are mainly of four different types: Activities to build trust, planning activities and adapting, decision making and problem solving capabilities and activities that improve communication of the employees. The main idea is to enhance the teamwork skills of an employee to help him improve upon his productivity through various fun-filled and challenging activities.

Here we take a look at some of the most commonly followed team building activities that improve the productivity and performance of employees within an organisation.

  • Two Truths and A Lie (15-20 minutes): Start by making the team members write two truths and a lie about themselves secretly on a piece of paper while not revealing anything that has been written down. Once this step is completed, have an open conversation akin to what is seen at a cocktail party and quiz each other on these three questions.

The main idea of the game is to convince others that what you think is a lie is actually the truth and guess the lies of others by questioning them. Never reveal the lies even if majority manage to figure it out. Once this conversation is over, gather around and repeat your three statements one by one and make others to vote on which they think is the lie. The game can be spiced up by adding a competitive edge to it where employees get points for catching the lies of others and trumping them with their own lies. This game is aimed at improving communication in the office while it allows you to know your coworkers better.

  • Life Highlights Game (25-30 minutes): One of the best icebreaker activities, this game is ideal for both small as well as large groups. Start by asking the participants, one at a time to close their eyes and think of the best moment in their life for a minute. Such moment can be individual experiences or one shared with friends, family, a professional success, life adventure or simply any form of personal revelation. In the next round, narrow down the search and make them think of the thirty seconds in their lives that they would love to live again.

While the first bit is aimed at making participants reflect back on their individual life experiences, the second bit allows everyone to know their coworkers at a more intimate level through the review process where the activity leader asks each individual to explain the reason behind them choosing those particular thirty seconds. This makes for the perfect platform where people make revelations about their loves and interests.

  • Classification Game (10-15 minutes): Another of the icebreaker activities, this is relatively much easier to partake in and less time consuming. Divide yourselves into four groups and explain to everyone the concept of finding stereotypes among themselves. The stereotype classifications should not be made on the basis of critical judgmental factors but purely on a subjective basis.

Ask the team members to introduce themselves within their respective groups and discuss their likes and dislikes. Further, tell them that it would be their responsibility to identify the subject based on which the classification should take place. Some subjective classifications may be pizza lovers and night owls. This activity allows participants to know their coworkers better while also enabling them to make a collective consideration of all team members.

  • Picture Pieces Game (25-30 minutes): Such a problem solving activity calls for the leader to choose a well known cartoon or picture that is filled with details. This picture must be cut into as many number of pieces as there are participants and everyone be handed one of these cut-out pieces. Next the participants should be asked to recreate this piece of the puzzle at five times the original size, not knowing in which way their work is likely to affect the overall picture.

All forms of stationery materials may be provided by the leader in order to ease the work of the participants. Once completed, they must assemble the pieces into an enlarged version of the original on a table. The activity fosters teamwork and also allows the employees to understand divisionalised departmental working which is the realization that every person is responsible in their own way towards the achievement of a group result.

  • The Great Egg Drop (2 hours): Messy, yet an engaging and classic activity for problem solving, this game has to be played by dividing the room into two groups. Each group is entrusted with the task of having to build an egg package capable of sustaining a drop from eight feet. The two teams should be provided with an assortment of tools and materials to choose from. Once the package is complete, teams must present an advert of half-a-minute stressing the importance of their package and how it is different from the others.

At the end of this presentation, the teams must drop the eggs using their respective packages to see if the arrangement really works. Apart from teaching team members to effectively communicate and work with one another, they are also brought together with the common aim of building a successful package and winning the game of egg drop.

A Risk at Team Building: One of the biggest risks involved in team building activities is of a person becoming cynical of the organisation. This is normally the case when an organisation holds such activities outside the ambit of its normal functional domain. It is also often suggested that team building leads to following of meaningful workplace ethics.

However, if the individuals feel that there is a lack of improvement arising out of the activities, they may consider all of it to be a waste of time. This offers a potential risk of loss of trust, demotivation among workers and decreased production out of the organisation.