It is no secret that employees often harbor extreme hatred toward yearly team building activities. Role-playing and military style training can only keep people so engaged. Overtime, management needs to develop more strategies to encourage employees to participate in team building activities. Here are five ideas that can help strengthen your team bond and get everyone excited about the opportunities.
- Take a field trip. Company parties can be fun but what if you add a little more excitement into the experience. Take your team on a weekend adventure to a local historical site or a fun vacation spot near your business. Keep the event casual and not too over-scheduled so everyone has a chance to spend time with co-workers they might not get to see every day.
- Get together to give back. Volunteering and community involvement can really bring out the best in people. Work with a local charity or organization and invite your staff to give back to the community. Talk to your team about causes that are important to them and make a special effort to work with those groups.
- Professional development. Continuing education is always beneficial for everyone involved. Hire a speaker who can motivate your team or teach them a new skill to enhance their existing experience. Have your team work together on projects that implement the new skills they have learned.
- Share your strengths. Use a personality or work style assessment tool to determine how each of your team members functions best. This can give everyone in the organization a sense of how to work together and how to stay motivated and engaged. The meeting where the tests are taken and results are discussed can shed light on personalities and communication styles.
- Show and tell. Your employees have rich lives outside of the office. Give them a chance to showcase their personal triumphs to their team mates. Allow them to share a specific event, topic, or item that they are particularly proud of. Give everyone the opportunity to present their experience with the entire group.
Are you looking for more great ideas for team building events? Contact Harvard Resources solutions, specializing in temporary office staffing, to learn more!