Planning a team building day can be a daunting task when trying to achieve a specific objective. What if the objective is to align your team with the company’s business objectives? How can you be sure that the team building activity will actually achieve this goal?
As an expert in this field, we have a few suggestions so you can plan your next team day with confidence that the lasting impacts of your event will be felt throughout your organisation for months to come.
Team alignment is when the team is working together efficiently and effectively to achieve common goals. Achieving alignment requires clear communication from leadership about the organisation’s vision. The key however to strong team alignment is to ensure that everyone on the team understands, buys into and is passionate about the business objectives.
When a team is passionate about their organisations goals, they are more likely to go the extra mile and work together towards a common goal.
Fostering Team Alignment Before your Teambuilding Event
There are a few simple things you can do to help improve team alignment before your team event:
Define the Business Objectives:
This may seem like an obvious first step, but it’s surprising how many businesses don’t take the time to define their business objectives and a clear path on how to get there. Once these have been defined, make sure they are communicated clearly to all members of your team. Get creative with your delivery, for example, you could post up an interactive business objective board in the office or hold a brainstorming session to get everyone’s input on how the objectives can be achieved.
Align Business Objectives with Individual Roles:
Once you have defined the Business Objectives and the team understand the aim of the game, it’s important to ensure that each team member knows how their individual role contributes to achieving the desired outcome. This will help to keep everyone aligned and focused on the same goal.
Encourage Employee Engagement:
Get your team involved in shaping and achieving the company goals. Set up regular goal-setting meetings where employees can contribute and provide feedback. Think outside the box and come up with creative ways to engage your team in measuring success like setting up a reward system for hitting targets. Business objectives are the blueprint for any company and achieving these requires engagement from all employees.
Celebrate Successes:
When your team achieves something great, celebrate it! Make sure everyone knows about it and shares in the success. It takes time to achieve goals, so let your employees know they’re appreciated. Even the smallest accomplishments should be celebrated to keep motivation high.
Don’t micromanage:
Let your employees take ownership of their work and trust them to get the job done. This will help foster an environment of accountability.
Achieving Team Alignment Through a Team Building Event
Improving team alignment through a team building event can be a great option for businesses. A well-planned team building event will encourage participants to work together to accomplish specific objectives, foster communication and cooperation, and create an atmosphere that is both relaxed and fun. Planning a team event that focuses on a specific objective can be a little trickier bit with careful planning by both the provider and the client, it is absolutely achievable.
Here are some ideas for getting your team on the same page during a team-building exercise:
Get SMART
Set SMART measurable goals with your event facilitator to ensure that both the facilitator and the client are on the same page. This will help to avoid any miscommunications and allow you to track the success of your event.
Build the Suspense:
Set the scene for your team building day by communicating your measurable goals to the team in advance. This will help them come into the event with a clear understanding of what is expected of them and how they can make the most impact.
Plan Ahead:
Design activities that are directly related to achieving team alignment. For example, if one of your key focus areas for aligning your team is to improve employee engagement, then consider team building activities that will get people working together and collaborating. A planning session with your facilitator will assist you in coming up with activities that concentrate on key areas of interest.
Focus on the Talents:
Choosing activities that focus on the team’s strengths can also help to improve team alignment. When everyone is working together and using their individual talents, the team is more likely to succeed. If you’re not sure what your team’s strong and weak points are, consider using a team profiling tool to assist you to discover them prior to the event.
Debrief & Learn:
Asking for a facilitated discussion after each activity can also be beneficial. This allows the team to debrief and talk about what went well and what could be improved. Facilitated discussions help teams to learn from their mistakes and continue to grow.
Evaluate:
Schedule a follow-up meeting with your facilitator to discuss the days’ events. They may be able to pinpoint areas that need improvement and help you to come up with a plan for moving forward. The event objectives should be revisited during this meeting to ensure that the team is still on track.
final thoughts
When planned carefully and thoughtfully team building activities help to foster communication, collaboration, and trust within a team- all of which are essential for achieving team alignment and ultimately your business objectives.
If team alignment is an issue in your business, investing in team building can be a fun and productive way to get your team back on track. When done correctly, the results are remarkable.
Finally, remember that team building is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. You should keep reinforcing the learning obtained from your team building event and ensure that everyone stays on track with the company’s goals so that your hard effort pays off. Investing in team building activities on a regular basis will pay off in the long run with a more productive, cohesive team, but only if it’s done right.
What are some other ways that you’ve achieved team alignment in your business? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
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