Mark French, CEO of Team Activity Solutions, reveals how to engage your employees when delivering team building activities.
Event planners face a big dilemma when it comes to planning a team building activity that has broad appeal. How can a team building activity engage every single employee regardless of personality, seniority and location?
They key lies in delivering the right content in the right format.
Picking the right activity
Activities that involve an element of problem-solving are a great way of boosting communication skills within a group, as there needs to be significant discussion and decision-making in order to arrive at the answer.
You also need to choose a theme that is popular, such as lost treasure or murder mystery. The very fact that these scenarios are well-known and timeless means they are instantly recognisable and easy to understand, giving them broad appeal.
Team and format
Keeping teams small is really important so that all participants can be heard and have the opportunity to offer equal input.
In terms the most suitable format, team building activities work best in person as we are highly social and thrive on face to face connections.
If this is not possible, hybrid solutions allow people to take part either in person or online, using the format that works best for them. A platform that automatically synchronises devices means that everyone sees the latest updates immediately and helps to maintain pace.
Business needs and tone
Team building activities work best when they address a particular need within the business. This could be following internal changes such as a merger or a number of new starters. Alternatively, when trying to improve internal communication and collaboration between what may be a geographically dispersed workforce.
From the outset, it’s essential to set the tone with participants. Encourage an open mindset towards the activity and to enter into the spirit of open collaboration.
Primary objective
Finally, let’s not forget, that the common goal here is to have fun. Team building activities unite everyone behind the same challenge, offering the chance to bond through non-work-related discussions and activities.
If planned and executed well, team-building exercises go beyond being a fun few hours in the office, to being building blocks for bringing businesses and people together, resulting in better communication and a positive working environment.
Team building is an essential tool for any business to encourage effective communication, successful collaboration and – ultimately – boost business recovery.
