Team Building: Features and Effectiveness
Reading Time: 5 minutes People are the most important resource of any business. However, it is necessary to create a favorable atmosphere in the team to use their work with the greatest efficiency.
The more cohesive the company’s employees are, the better they can handle the problems. It is good if colleagues have known each other for a long time and are used to spending not only work but also free time together. But for a young company team building comes to the rescue.
Table of Contents
What Is Team Building?
Team building is all types of activities that help unite the team and teach its members to work in a team to achieve a common goal. It is recommended for companies that need to:
- create and maintain friendly relations in the team
- establish interaction between departments, local, regional, and central offices
- let all employees know each other better in an informal setting
- form a modern corporate culture
- eliminate conflicts
- increase trust and ensure mutual assistance
Nowadays, team building is one of the most promising approaches in corporate management and HR software, which is aimed at the full development of the company. Moreover, it is one of the most effective tools for personnel management.
Tasks Solved by Team Building
Correctly organized staff activities will help achieve the following result:
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- To form a sense of unity in the team. The joint implementation of complex tasks by employees helps achieve this goal.
To create common goals instead of an atmosphere of competition. It is usually achieved as a result of teamwork or team games.
- To develop a spirit of trust and mutual understanding in the team through joint active pastime.
- To strengthen trust in management. As a rule, this goal is achieved when the leader participates in team-building along with ordinary team members.
The result of this approach is an overall increase in team efficiency.
History of Team Building
The first games that aimed to rally the team and boost a team spirit appeared in the UK in the 40s of the last century. They were used for the psychological and physical training of military personnel of special units of the Royal Naval Forces. Then this approach was used to train London police officers. In the 60s in the USA, the so-called “Ropes Course” was developed, which was used for the psychological and physical rehabilitation of the Vietnam War participants. Later, inspired by good results, business coaches tried to use team-building methods to create an effective team. In 60-70 years of the twentieth century, team building has become an important part of company management.
Types of Team Building
This notion is broad enough, and currently, there are several types of activities aimed at team rallying. These are various contests and tasks that are carried out by the whole team or its members. The list of possible scenarios is limitless. Though, the most popular variants are:
Intellectual
If your team has a lot of erudite and inquiring people, then quizzes and brain rings are the best formats to share new knowledge with each other. Curious facts that seem useless at first glance often become a topic for such contests. Discussing tricky issues has an incredible rallying effect. It is a perfect way to discover new talents of the employees.
Sports
This is a powerful option for effective team strengthening. Competitions provoke a great response from both direct participants and fans. You can hold active contests or organize a team race on bicycles. The benefits of outdoor games in the fresh air are huge. For a young team, you can try extreme sports that are perfect for creating strong bonds.
Creative
If your company regularly deals with non-standard tasks, it is worth taking a closer look at this option of team building. This activity awakens the potential of your employees and teaches them to generate creative ideas together. Typically, the goal of a creative team building is to work together on one project, for example, creating a logo of your company.
Psychological
Such team building is worthwhile if there are certain barriers or conflicts between employees. The organization of psychological training will help employees express themselves better, learn to understand and respect, and also find a common language. Often the goal of such events is to establish a positive atmosphere in the team.
Rules of Effective Team Building
Proper communication
High-quality communication is the key to success. Team interaction can be positive and negative. Lack of communication creates misunderstandings in the team and misinterpretation of tasks. The more collaboration and interaction your projects require, the deeper the communication should be. You should not neglect communication in informal circumstances as it can be the best measure to bring the team together.
Sense of responsibility
All tasks should be properly delegated. Each member of your team must have a specific role and perform it well. Explaining these roles will stimulate your team to achieve a common goal. You should check how clearly your employees understand it. The manager should see how roles and responsibilities intersect between individual team members and if they lead to the final goal.
Active participation
Everyone should be involved in the event. And it is necessary to find out what motivates your employees the most in the process. Keep track of how much team members are personally interested in achieving the goal. It is vital to find out what activities and topics are the most relevant to the team.
Motivation
A motivated team is more likely to perform all the tasks set before it as motivation moves a person from within, regardless of external stimuli. The most important thing for a leader is to deliver this motivation correctly. Decent pay, a comfortable workplace, clear goals, the opportunity to develop professionally and personally, promoting teamwork and caring attitude – all this creates motivation in the team and maintains enthusiasm.
Goal setting
It is very important to break down the final goals into smaller tasks and steps. The path to team success must be clearly defined and consistent. A common vision for all team members is very important. Make sure your company goals are understood and supported by each employee. Participants need to understand how their efforts are combined into larger goals.
Final Words
All types of team building activities should be organized correctly. The improperly designed program can cause not only harm to the cohesion of the team, but also psychological trauma to individuals. For example, older people may find it difficult to compete with their younger counterparts in active competitions that require great physical health. Therefore, it is recommended to engage psychologists and professionals who take into account all the wishes of the team and its features.
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