Team Building Is A Must For Every Business
UK companies spend an average of £305 per employee every year on team-building exercises, the Mirror reports — boosting the industry value to over £200 million. Team building activities are becoming increasingly popular for businesses because they work. Managers who organize team building days for their employees report a myriad of benefits, including stronger employee engagement, better workplace communication, and improved productivity, which ultimately boosts your bottom line.
Boost employee engagement
Strong employee engagement is the foundation of a successful business. However, as many as 73% of UK employees don’t feel engaged in their jobs. Disengaged employees have essentially “checked out” at work and put in minimal effort, which negatively impacts your bottom line. Team building can effectively increase employee engagement by boosting morale and helping your employees feel connected to both the team and their work. It also demonstrates you care about their well being, which strengthens their dedication and company loyalty. Moreover, it can also benefit your business financially, as highly engaged employees earn double the annual net profit than companies with disengaged employees, research from Kenexa Research Institute reveals.
Improve communication
Team building is one of the best ways to open up effective communication amongst your employees, as well as between employees and management. Poor communication is a common problem in the workplace which costs businesses a whopping £64.2 million every year in lost productivity, according to a Holmes report. Additionally, companies with effective communication experience a 47% higher return to shareholders over a five-year period, the report also found. Team building exercises can facilitate better communication, build trust, and improve workplace relationships, which in turn boosts productivity and quality of work.
Examples of successful team-building exercises
The most successful team building sessions should never actually feel like work. Creative days out — like weekend survival courses and baking lessons — are becoming increasingly popular alternatives to traditional team-building sessions like trust exercises. When employees are left to work towards a goal together without being given any overly obvious practical takeaways, bonding happens much more effectively and naturally.
For example, Billing Finance, a car finance company in Northampton, England, raised money for charity as part of their team-building exercise. The team of 50 employees took a trip to Iceland to join the Iceland Midnight Sun Run. It was a successful team-building event that strengthened bonds, as well as provided employees with well-being and personal development benefits. Alternatively, O2E Brands took their team out to an Eric Church country music concert. Even though there were no overt lessons on leadership or communication, the team were able to spend some quality time together in a relaxed setting, which strengthened bonds between them.
Investing in regular team building exercises can result in significant benefits for all companies. It’s essential to help your employees enjoy coming to work everyday and feel like valued members of the team. Team building is therefore a must for any productive and successful business.
Dinesh Kumar VM
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