We spend a lot of our lifetime working, don’t we! And, we channel a lot of our energy into doing well at our jobs! So it makes sense that a happy and unified work environment will perform better than an unhappy and divided one, doesn’t it?
Many organisations know this but still get so focused on ‘doing what needs to be done’ to achieve results that working on their people becomes a low priority. Yes, we all work in an increasingly busy and cluttered world and have a lot of duties to perform in our respective roles. But when organisations choose to prioritise their people, you will be amazed at the results and the flow on effect on a company’s bottom line.
One way to achieve this is through regular team building. At its core, team building is about understanding, appreciating, developing and maximising the people in your team to lead to a productive, efficient, motivated and happy workplace culture. So how does team building really drive high performing teams that positively impact your bottom line?
Builds Trust
Appreciating the importance of trust goes a long way to creating a healthy and successful team. A lack of trust in any organisation can lead to self-doubt, low productivity, lack of team cohesion and low morale. It can spread quickly and be toxic for any team, department or the entire organisation.
Doing team activities that pose problems outside the workplace will show how the team reacts and uses trust in each other to find solutions. Through specialised tasks and exercises in a team building program (no we don’t mean crazy trust fall exercises), participants will learn to trust each other through understanding. They will learn more about each other’s strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and fears, leading to a deeper relationship and trust amongst team members.
Encourages Communication
Employees don’t have to become best friends in order to create a high performing team, but practicing good communication is essential. Team building can help break down barriers in communication and demonstrate how to better utilise both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication.
When co-workers are comfortable around each other, they naturally communicate better. The outcome of good team communication is crucial for a company to achieve and sustain profit.
Breaks Down Barriers
Even the most approachable leaders can be intimidating to employees. A well planned and executed team building program will not only lift the energy of your team but allow individuals to experience each other outside of the normal office atmosphere. This creates an environment where employees feel empowered to contribute ideas and thoughts freely, and leaders can effectively relate and communicate to all their staff. Removing hierarchy barriers can be an excellent way to make leaders more approachable, increase employee engagement, productivity and reduce toxicity, giving a boost to business performance.
Fun
We work a large portion of our lives, and how much better is it when we can have ‘fun’ and are encouraged to have ‘fun’ at work.
Fun can mean different things to different people, and that’s why team building is valuable. It is fun for all and can determine what a work environment of fun is for everyone.
There is substantial research on the value of fun in the workplace, however in simple summary, fun creates positive morale and an enjoyable atmosphere to operate in.
Fosters Inclusion
Every staff member is different. Some will be extroverted, others will be more introverted, some will thrive in group situations whilst others will prefer to work more autonomously.
No matter the personality and character traits your staff have, team building will foster inclusion.
Staff will feel included in your team environment and importantly understand how they and others can effectively contribute to the team.
Identifies Leaders
Key questions that a well-structured team building program will answer include: what style of leader are you, and, what leadership qualities currently exist in your team that you may or may not know about.
A team building program incorporating self-awareness activities with exercises to create a greater understanding and application of team dynamics will help you identify how to get the best from your team.
Enriches Positive Team Culture
We’ve all heard about the many and varied impacts of poor culture, such as low levels of morale, productivity and performance; and, high levels of staff turnover, sick leave and behavioural issues. For these reasons and more, many companies rank culture in their top two priorities along with finance. And, culture has never been so widely accepted and used as a barometer for corporate success than today.
Investing in team building can boost company culture through countless benefits – many of which are discussed above. Regular team building has been proven to build respect, increase productivity, and most notably highlight the importance of improving the team to the forefront – all essential elements of a thriving positive team culture.
With so much information and our increasingly busy schedules it can be hard to decipher through the clutter but the reality is, high performing teams do not happen overnight; they take hard work and time to develop and maintain. Practicing a people first culture and investing in regular team building is a powerful tool to seeing results that impact your bottom line and most importantly a happy and motivated workforce.
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