Ask anyone in the human resource field “what makes a great team building exercise” and you are likely to hear an array of answers. Some will suggest an activity such as a social night out at the local ball park, while others will say it should be a relevant topic seminar facilitated by someone outside the organization. While both answers are correct, it may leave you wondering what to do for your organization.
To start, successful team building should accomplish exactly what the title claims. It should help to create a connected and cooperative atmosphere between organizational co-workers. However lofty that goal may sound when applied to a diversified group of individuals, there are exercises and techniques that can accomplish just that. That is not to say however, that all exercises labeled “team building” are right for your organization. So how do you decide what will work best in your company?
First, develop an outline of expected participants in the exercise. While small organizations may logically elect to include the entire organizational roster in a single event, mid-size or larger organizations may need to determine feasibility by scaling such activities to apply to singular departments, regions, or even whether or not to include part-time personnel.
Second, once you have determined the criteria for participants, do your homework to understand the current state of affairs. What is the present level of team cooperation? Are you dealing with a relatively homogenous group of co-workers that function with a minimal level of divergence or are there indications that perhaps deeper underlying issues of conflict are impacting on-going productivity? If the latter is true for your group, you will need to lay foundational groundwork preparation in order for any exercise to produce long-term results.
Third, articulate exactly what outcomes you and your leadership team expect from the experience. While team building can and should be a pleasant experience for everyone involved, if the benefits are short-lived, neither you nor your employees will see value beyond the immediate engagement. A successful team building experience should be one that is designed to address specific short, mid and long term goals.
Fourth, the object should be to raise both respect and understanding among your team members. Just as every good sport’s team is made up of players with a variety of talents, so every good organizational team has members with a variety of role expertise. So choose an activity that allows for individual participant’s comfort level while highlighting skills. As an example, activities that would require shy or introverted individuals to step into the spotlight or reveal personal information in front of a group could result in fostering resentment rather than camaraderie. Likewise, physical activities that exclude or draw attention to less athletically inclined employees may risk being interpreted as a discriminatory act. Instead, choose team building activities that allow for a range of engagement.
Whether you make your team building activities strictly social in nature or focus on work relevant engagement, keep in mind that team building activities must align with your corporate culture and engage all levels of your organization. If your organization has struggled in the past to gain enthusiastic participation, find ways to initiate smaller more frequent activities that can build success through momentum. Consider offering a variety of activities that include structured events as well as off-site social engagements. Finally, understand that from time to time all workplace teams must deal with conflict. Sometimes the best team building exercises come from working through real day to day challenges.
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