Team building is a term we hear a lot within the business world, but what does it actually mean and what are the benefits of investing in such a thing?
As we've just had a team building day at Pensar, and realising how enjoyable those events are for the team, we wanted to know other thoughts and perspectives about this topic. For that purpose, we had a chat with Dannie Lu Carr, Managing & Artistic Director at Flaming Poppy.
It’s no secret that we don’t learn how to communicate effectively at school; this means we get to our professional adult lives with a definite room for improvement in terms of building rapport, empathy and awareness. If we gain these features we are far better equipped to assess a situation quickly and make the best decisions for everyone concerned. Skills like presentation and negotiation are easier to learn, but being able to understand things from other people’s perspectives helps us to market better, solve problems more quickly and think in different ways from our own default pattern. And that’s something only human interaction experiences can deliver.
We are social individuals by nature: things get done quicker, with more pride and generate more happiness when teams learn to work together. This is also the key for good health and a reduction of stress and absenteeism. Team building activities are perfect to develop those good qualities among the company staff.
Team building can take any shape or form – from an outdoor day including paintballing, orienteering, wilderness survival, team competitions and challenges, to a theatre show, an evening of stand up or a specifically tailored day which is put together by an external consultant to address any areas in a clever and not-so-obvious way. Fun and laughter are essential components as well as challenge and working beyond your comfort zone.
There’s something important to bear in mind about team building though: it’s a long journey that needs to be developed regular and consistently. Maybe a twice yearly overhaul or quarterly activities are the best options to keep things really strong.
It is also convenient to share the experience in and outside the company, and that is exactly where social media comes in. Twitter, Instagram or Facebook can be used to show pictures of the event. Blogs are great going forward in order to link the daily things to the team building day and generate comments and further suggestions. This is good for everyone to participate and create an engaged community in-house.
To keep your business going you need a great team, and that’s what team buildings activities are made for.
But you will also need to create a team that can perform effectively in all circumstances and in good times and bad times. For example, will the team step up when disaster happens? Do you want to know more about it? Check out our Disaster Recovery Planning Guide and learn how step by step.
