10 Tips for Effective Team Building
1. Involve your employees in the selecting of the team building activities. If they are involved they are more likely to buy in to the activity. Ask them for ideas, involve them in the process.
2. Set up a Social Committee. Give the Social Committee a budget and agenda and have them be responsible for the events. If you are concerned about losing all control, have a committee member review the suggestions prior to the implementation.
3. Involve management in the activities. By involving management, it reinforces the importance of the activities and the dedication of the company to having fun. Plus – staff like to compete against management at times too!
4. Get some small prizes together. You don’t have to break the bank. Think of coffee cards, putting together a little gift bag of goodies. Just a perk for the winning team or winning player – even the losing player!
5. If you are really promoting fun in the workplace, look at completing these events during company
time. This again reinforces your commitment to team building and fun.
6. Wherever possible – put the blackberries away! You are not committed to the teambuilding events if you are conducting work half the time on your cell phone.
7. If you can’t take all the staff out of the office – look at taking half of the staff and then take the
rest another day. Rotate this group for the next event such that it isn’t the same staff members at each event. After all – this is team building. 🙂
8. Team building events can be actual structured events put on by an organization geared to
accomplishing specific team building activities, or they can be more informal like bowling.
Wherever there is staff interaction, you are building relationships.
9. Hold team building events regularly – set a pattern like quarterly or twice per year. Think about what else you can do in between these events to promote team. Again – ask the staff for ideas too.
10. Have fun! Embrace the event! Enjoy it – we all deserve to have fun in life, why not have it at work too!