Team building activities are more than just silly games and challenges. For companies around the world it’s a way to bring staff members closer together. As for the owners and managers, it’s a window into the dynamics associated with their employees. Team work can be measured through a different perspective and most importantly, motivation can be renewed. This is also where the real purpose of team building comes in, because motivated employees are much more productive. Unfortunately motivation requires more than just a few games in which employees participate. Just as these activities provide management with detailed profiles on which employees are team players, they have to be aimed towards a bigger goal.
1. Motivate Employees Before The Activities
Even though many of the employees will be looking forward to participating in team building activities, there are going to be those who will be very negative. Needless to say, the experience won’t mean much to them and usually it only takes one negative employee to influence several others. In order to get the most out of team building employers should consider hiring a motivational speaker or keynote speaker, like John Pullum, sometime before the activity. Depending on the negativity of the employees, this can be done days or months in advance. The purpose is to make sure everyone is excited about building some good spirits and that the participates are team players.
2. Maintaining Motivation
There is also the matter of maintaining motivation. It’s great to get employees connected and active once a year, but this is usually followed by the same old routine, which ultimately leads to negativity again. Take fast food advertisements for example. Their billboards are everywhere, they appear on prime time television and they don’t shy away from the radio waves. Their tactic is to constantly remind consumers that they exist, otherwise they will lose business. The same principle applies to the motivation of your employees. Hiring a motivational speaker on a quarterly basis is one of the best ideas in terms of keeping morale high and it shouldn’t just be for a day. Give your employees at least a week to soak in some inspiration, because it will no doubt increase productivity substantially.
To give you an idea of how this week can play out, start with something like “Motivational Monday” where the motivational speaker comes in and helps employees set their goals for the week. Then they are partnered up and the goals are shared. Tuesday can be used as a “Team Building” day for which discussions can be held regarding the development of the company and their goals, while Wednesday can be set aside for actually achieving those set goals. When all things considered, having such inspiring weeks combined with team building games can be extremely effective.
3. Show Appreciation
Last but not least, employers should take it upon themselves to show their appreciation. This can be done in several ways, for example a big banquet at the end of the year or a big picnic outing. Toning it down to simply handing out free doughnuts once a week or providing the employ of the month with a gift card can also do the trick. As long as there is clear way of showing employees how valuable they are to the company it can sustain the necessary motivation until the next team building event. The companies who don’t take these extra measures simply don’t realize how negatively they are influencing their employees.
“Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it.” – Brian Tracy
The Bottom Line
When it comes down to it, you can organize all the team building activities in the world, but they will only bring you halfway. Firstly, you need every employee ready and within the right mind set to enjoy and co-operate. Secondly, motivation needs to happen on a consistent basis. The routine needs to change and it’s much harder to make a negative employ happy rather than just sustaining their desire to be productive in the first place. Then everything should be ended off with some heart-felt appreciation and letting employees know they are valued at all times.
Without these above mentioned steps and strategies team building events aren’t going to be much help. Get a motivational or keynote speaker with the right experience to steer employees in the right direction, from which employers can capitalize on all fronts, because this is when you will notice the true impact of team building.
Team Building Activities Secrets Revealed