Take Office Team Building to The Next Level
Office team building is not a splurge, but an investment in employees and their work. Many employees may roll their eyes at office team building, but if done more often and with the intent for employees to get to know each other, team building is an effective way to increase company growth.
Here is the main mistake that employers make when creating team building exercises:
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Forcing Corporate Activities
Making activities feel like another day at the office will lose the interest of the employees and potentially stunt creativity and growth that has the potential to take place with team building exercises. Letting the team building deviate from work related material will help employees bond with each other over shared information and knowledge. Focusing on what is purely practical and on specific takeaways from the experience makes the bonding feel less organic than if it happens naturally through sharing experiences.
A way to get away from a corporate feeling to the team building activities, is to bring in games that will allow employees to share knowledge with each other that they have gained outside of work. There are several services available, such as Game Shows Alive, that have re-created sets of popular game shows and re-named them to better fit corporate settings. A few examples are Team “Feud” instead of “Family Feud,” “The Challenge” instead of “Jeopardy,” and “Smartie Pants” instead of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”
Here are two reasons that using interactive games like those listed above, will help with office productivity:
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Productivity in the Office
A break from the repetition of working in an office can help boost spirits in the short term, but in the long-term, interactive games will help employees get to know each other and therefore work together smoothly and efficiently. Projects will go faster and as accomplishments begin adding up, the morale of those in the office will rise.
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Low Turnover Rates
Spending time and some money on effective team building exercises often cause employees to feel that the employer cares about them as individuals, value their ideas and their work. A positive mindset about the employer and the office helps to create a productive and cohesive team. If there is a sense of community in an employee’s workplace, built through engaging employees on a more personal level, turnover rates will likely lower, while passion for work will rise. Creating community will help employers save money because if there are low turnover rates, then employers will not be forced to spend money to hire and train new employees.
Boosting morale and making sure that employees feel heard is essential to creating a balanced and productive work environment. If employees feel that they are making a difference at their company, they will be more likely to stay. Interactive games are the perfect way to give employees the fun bonding experience that they need to feel a sense of community at work and to see their peers as friends instead of as colleagues.