Team building should be an important part of your management strategy. Why? It helps mitigate conflict among employees, it connects co-workers who may otherwise have little everyday interaction, and it can help create a more trusting environment in the workplace. When employees interact on tasks that are meant to be fun or are outside of the normal work flow, they’re able to let loose, laugh and connect in a different way than they’re able to while completing their daily work.
When incorporating team building into your company’s culture, include everyone in the process. One way to do this is break your staff up into groups that change up every year. Each group is responsible for planning and executing a quarterly team builder, which in itself can be a mini team builder. Pair employees who typically aren’t working together on a daily basis, or who aren’t besties already. It will allow different groups to interact and work together to create something.
Your team builders are meant to be fun, so this the time to let that agenda go. Set a definite budget for the teams to work with, then allow them to come up with ideas. Once one is agreed upon and approved, allow the teams to execute. Remember, these activities are meant to allow the team to spend time together in a non-traditional way, work together toward a common goal and allow them to bond.
A few ideas of team building activities, depending on the size of your company or department, could be:
Try an escape room
Mini golf
Host a murder mystery party in your office
Multicultural potluck, then have everyone explain their dish
Go to a sports event together
Go to a concert together
Do a group volunteer activity
Go hiking
Go to a theme park
Really, the possibilities are endless and only limited by your and your employees’ imaginations and budget. Choose something that suits your culture – or not – then have some fun with the group. You’ll be happy you did.