subject: Team Building Training And Activities - Why Your Business Needs Them [print this page] Team building exercises have undergone a negative shift in image in the past but are now surfacing as an essential part of any serious business. A strong team who know they can rely on each other will outperform others in all areas. With trust in the team and fellow colleagues, employees at all levels will perform at their best.
Why Team Building Is Important
The benefits for the different stakeholders must be present for any team building effort to be successful. All parties need to be committed to the process and take it seriously. Try to think of the 'team' as having the following stakeholders:
The customer
The business
The team leader
The individual team member
The team as a whole
By realizing and considering each stakeholder you can then begin to see that team building training play a large role in the organization. The actual team building activities can be based on any activity in which team members rely upon each other in a trust situation or bring them together in a spirit of cooperation and mutual understanding. Obviously you can't take your customers out team building but if your staff have undergone team building activities, and your senior staff are well versed in team building training, then the customers will benefit as well.
Team building training is important for any business management to understand and to get the best from their team situation. Activities may be planned at a weekend away, a week at a resort, or even something simple every Friday night. Good team leaders will know and recognise a potential team building opportunity and take advantage of it.
How Team Building Works
Team building can work on all levels for all business sizes. Project managers may need to work together to get a large organization involved or it may be a business owner with two or three employees. By bringing these people together and putting them into a situation or relaxed fun where they might rely on each other for support gives them a new perspective on colleagues and the company.
Once a rapport has been established, and activities enjoyed, the flow on effect back at work continues. Workers who may be in different departments may never meet in the day to day running of a large business. The opportunity to meet and get to know one another in a less formal environment puts a positive spin on the team and they are more likely to consider that person or department when decision making or recommending purchases to customers.
The customer benefits from the familiarity between departments and can see staff ready to go out of their way to assist them to find what they need. The team then works together for a successful sale, even if in another department.
Actual team building activities can involve large efforts that might cost a lot of money, or less costly but effective activities. Once in the situation team members are made to rely on each other. This might be a simple exercise of trusting that people you have never met before will catch you when you fall, or it may be a full scale weekend in teams of paintball. The most important part is the trust building and the reliance on each other as a team to succeed.
Examples of Team Building Activities
Team building activities might include:
Team sports days
Design an outfit catwalk day
Novelty race days (egg and spoon, sack race etc)
Prepare a menu, cooking challenge
Camping/survival challenges
Sailing
Amazing race style challenge
Anyone involved in corporate training with team building exercises should try to think outside the box and make activities that will also be a lot of fun and allow for individuals to get to know others along the way. Nothing should be discounted unless it has an overt danger or risk attached to it.
Training In Team Building Skills Increase Production and Staff Morale
Being trained to take advantage of team building opportunities means your team leaders or project managers can constantly work on building the company team efforts. This brings the company together as a whole and staff will feel validated and important to the company.
Knowing the workplace cares about individuals will boost morale and the level of positive activity at work. Satisfied workers will do their best for the company and for their teams. This leads to more productive output and more sales. Customers return to companies that give great customer service and make recommendations for family and friends to go there as well.
All staff members will benefit from team building exercises, and all senior management will benefit from team building training to identify and execute team building activities.
by: Tim Millett
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