Team building activities play a pivotal role in enhancing employee morale, fostering collaboration, and boosting productivity. So, when you organise team building activities, they require careful planning and thought.
The person organising the activity should think carefully about what the company and the employees are looking to gain.
Are the company interested in encouraging better communication? Do some employees want to learn to be better team leaders? Do you all just want to have some fun away from the stressful corporate environment?
In this guide, we’ll explore the best ways to plan and execute team building activities that will leave your team feeling motivated and unified.
Before delving into the practicalities of organising team building activities, let’s first understand why they are essential for any successful organisation. We will look at some of the motivators behind organising such events.
Team building activities help in building trust among team members. Trust is the foundation of any successful team, and without it, collaboration and productivity can be severely hindered.
Trust can be built through a range of team building activities, such as escape rooms, kayaking or quiz nights. Each of these activities will put team members into situations where they have to proactively work with their team to reach a goal, with the resulting benefit being an increase in trust.
To build trust through a team building activity requires clear communication though, and this leads us on to point number 2.
Effective communication is vital for teamwork, whether that’s in recreational activities, in the workplace or in a corporate team building activity.
For this reason, team building activities promote open and honest communication, breaking down barriers and fostering better understanding among team members.
For example, at How To Basically, our bespoke corporate team building activities are tailored to teach your team everyday skills that improve their lives.
But they also ensure the team then work together to achieve clear outcomes, such as learning gardening or painting techniques for home, which they then put into action on site to come up with creative outcomes that illustrate their newly developed skills.
And they do this in a team, working together and communicating to ensure a positive result.
Team building also requires creative problem solving that can stimulate innovative thinking. This creativity can be transferred to the workplace, resulting in fresh ideas and solutions.
This is vital when developing solution led outcomes to problems in the work place. In many work places, staff quickly notice problems that exist, but those who come up with practical solutions can be incredibly effective leaders and future leaders.
So it’s vital to let you team out of their every day environment once in a while to encourage their creativity.
Team building activities are fun and enjoyable, which can significantly boost employee morale. Happier employees tend to be more engaged and productive.
But much of the happiness can come from being able to get to know their colleagues on a deeper level in an environment without pressure.
And this is why regular team building activities are effective at building morale – you can get all your team in one place, working together and communicating, and having positive outcomes without the stress that the office can bring.
Now that we understand the importance of team building activities, let’s explore how to organise them effectively.
Begin by defining your objectives. Ask the following questions of yourself as the organiser:
Clear goals will guide your planning but they will also ensure positive outcomes for your team. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, and this is relevant even to corporate team building activities.
Select an activity that aligns with your goals and the interests of your team. Some popular choices include outdoor adventure activities, problem-solving games, or even volunteering for a local charity.
To learn more about some of the popular corporate team building activities available in Sussex (although the ideas themselves are applicable in almost all regions), go to our article on team building activity ideas.
Determine your budget for the event. Consider costs for transportation, materials, and any necessary equipment. Be mindful of your team’s preferences and the budget available.
It’s also important to consider whether you require any financial input from staff. And remember to have a budget aside for food and drink. There’s nothing worse than hangry employees!
If you don’t have any budget but still want to do a team building activity, think of events you can hold at your workplace such as a quiz or games night.
Or, alternatively, invite everyone for an organised drink down the pub.
Coordinate the logistics of the event, including the date, time, and location. Ensure that the venue is easily accessible to all team members and offers the necessary facilities.
When doing this, it’s best to communicate with the organisers themselves. For example, to get in contact with the corporate team building activities team at How To Basically, all you need to do is go to this page, fill in the form and we’ll organise a call to discuss all of the relevant details.
Divide your team into smaller groups. This fosters interaction among team members who may not usually work closely together and encourages a diverse range of skills and ideas.
At How To Basically, our internal organiser will discuss your requirements for our bespoke activities and come up with a plan regarding which team members work together, and on which activities.
When doing this though, ensure you consider the goals you’ve set. If the goal is to have fun, you may put different people together than when your goal is to build leadership skills amongst your team.
After the activity, hold a debriefing session. This is an opportunity for team members to discuss their experiences, share what they’ve learned, and reflect on how they can apply these insights in the workplace.
Many organisations neglect this step though. They assume that one day will be enough but teams inevitably fall back into their status quo.
In this regard, you need to circle back to your goals. If your goal was to have fun, the only follow up necessary may be to send out the photos from the activities or give out awards.
However, if the goal was to build leadership qualities then you will want to have a follow up around this goal. This may take the shape of individual meetings with the staff members where they reflect on what they learned.
Or it may take place in the form of a group meeting where staff feed back openly to one another about how they felt their team mates could improve.
To learn more about what to do when following up a team building day, look at our blog article here.
Alternatively, speak to How To Basically now and organise your own team’s bespoke corporate team building activity in Sussex, with us. Or just fill in the form below:
