Team Building is Company Building

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So, you may be wondering, what is team building, and why is it important? 

Team building is how company leaders encourage growth, bonding, and teamwork through exercises or activities. They can also help promote a shared company identity and help prevent burnout. They could be as simple as fun and thought-provoking questions to something more elaborate like a corporate retreat. 

The benefits of these practices or events can range from improved collaborations and engagement to developing skills like communication and conflict resolution. Yes, team-building is essential for many reasons, but ultimately your results will depend on what you or your employees are trying to gain from the experience.

Now, all this may lead you to wonder, what’s needed to be successful? Check out these 3 building blocks to starting off team-building on the right foot:

With these points in mind, let’s get into some actual exercises you can start trying today:

Beginner: Icebreakers

Icebreakers are named for “breaking the ice,” but let’s face it, you don’t actually have any ice around to break. So try to dig a little deeper into what this “ice” symbolizes for your team.

“Ice” can be the discomfort of being new on the team, returning to the office in general, or even the struggle of getting different teams or departments to know one another. Knowing the type of “ice,” you’re trying to break can help you choose the questions best fitting for the task.

Try this out: Sprinkle ice breakers into meetings.

Consider opening and, if you’re up for it, closing meetings on a high note. Starting a discussion with icebreakers can set the right mood for critical and creative thinking and even present a fun approach to putting the spotlight on employees for the opportunity to learn more about them.

Intermediate: Group activities

As mentioned earlier, the benefits of team-building activities are quite vast. With the right planning and goals set, they have the power to help boost creativity, build on your company’s culture, increase job satisfaction, and even jumpstart productivity. When targeting small or large groups, it’s important to consider what they should be gaining from these team-building ideas. 

Here are a few you can try out based on your team’s needs:

Awareness: Virtual tourism

The team-building idea: Employees visit a local museum or cultural spot and then share with their team their experience, pictures, and what they liked most.

When your company encourages cultural awareness, your employees will have the opportunity to build stronger bonds within their teams. For those international teams or an expansive remote workforce, sharing visits to museums, gardens, national parks, etc., can help you and your team appreciate where others live and give coworkers an idea about where they may want to vacation once things fully open up. This activity promotes a healthy work-life balance and allows the whole team to benefit.

Trust: 3-2-1 support

The team-building idea: Individual members of your team each share 3 tasks they plan to accomplish, 2 challenges or hurdles they may be facing, and 1 goal for the day or week.

Your team may already share their tasks and projects for the day, but maybe there’s an everyday struggle or some similar setbacks among them. Sharing is caring, or at least burden relieving, when another team member may be holding the solution or an office hack. Being in the know of both the ups and downs of your team’s workday can help other employees in the team give their support, encouragement, and advice.

Collaboration: Music therapy

The team-building idea: Create a shared Spotify playlist that your team can add to each week.

This simple yet effective virtual team-building activity brings everyone together through music. Maybe your team needs a Monday pick-me-up, or a “get through another meeting” banger. Whatever the case, have your teams share their motivational beats to help uplift the whole team. 

Advanced: Corporate retreats

Company-wide or even department retreats can be extremely useful in reinforcing bonds and celebrating connections.

It may even be argued that retreats are no longer a luxury but a necessity for companies with remote workers. For over a year, workforces have been socially distanced by county, state, and internationally. This separation without the proper attention can result in feelings of isolation, a lack of motivation, and an odd relatability to robots. Providing and encouraging safe social interaction can help remind your team they belong and refuel their need for support and community.

Team building is meant to improve relationships among your employees, encourage continuous growth and engagement, and if successful, can be a highlight of your employee’s experience while working with you. But there’s no need to take our word for it. Give some of these ideas a try!

Contributed by Mary Dominguez