Companies now greatly focus on team building activities. It helps to increase the productivity of the teams. It also helps the team to bond with each other in activities other than work and it can ultimately improve collaboration. Team building activities also help with increased creativity and improvement in communications within team members. Such fun collaborations can also break the ice and ultimately help organizations improve their work culture and businesses.
Team building activities need not be restricted to organizations. Couples can also indulge in shared activities other than the usual stuff at home and enjoy or bring in more fun in their relationships. Shared activities are also ideal for events that include extended families such as reunions, anniversaries, or birthdays.
So, consider these tips on team building activities.
Choose something fun.
Team building activities should always be fun. If an activity bores people, it actually defeats the purpose behind it. The idea is not to keep it comfortable for everyone. But to help people come out of their comfort zones and actually have fun while participating in the scheduled activities.
You can look for avenues or ideas for team building in and around your location. For instance, search online using the keyword team building activities Miami. Such search queries will generate the results for Miami. You can use any location as per your requirement.
Some ideas for fun team building activities are games (human knot, egg drop, musical chairs etc), dancing, sports tournaments etc. For instance, you can hire a salsa choreographer for engaging your team in impromptu dancing or have them learn a simple routine consisting of a few easy steps only.
Couples can take up salsa dancing. Choreographed routines can also be fun for family reunions along with sports and games such as scavenger hunt.
The ultimate idea is to plan something collaborative. There shouldn’t be any serious competition involved in the process. The focus should be on the desired goal and not to breed unhealthy competition or jealousies in the teams.
Assess the teams’ requirements.
Before scheduling team building activities, it is helpful to assess what your team needs in terms of the activities. A little fun is fine. But the activity should also help with the whole objective you are attempting to achieve with it.
Perhaps your team requires a physical activity they can participate in as a group and have fun at it. Perhaps your team needs a good ice-breaker activity. Perhaps the remote teams need to mingle. Perhaps your team needs new inspiration. Whatever the case; it is important to keep the final objective in mind before you plan the activity.
For instance, dancing won’t help the remote teams mingle. But it can be a good ice breaker for teams working in the same office; especially if many new employees have recently joined the team. Physical activity like dancing can also help to relieve stress of your employees and bring in new energy in their working environment.
The same applies for couples and families. Choose an activity that will help you with your objective of scheduling it in the first place. Perhaps you don’t dancing but a good hiking session or a camping trip.
Ask for suggestions.
It is important to keep the wishes of the team in mind before scheduling just about any activity for them.
Perhaps your team is bored with the same old sports tournaments all the time. Perhaps they need an indoor activity every once in a while. You can ask your team to provide their feedback about just-concluded activities and accordingly plan for the next one. Another idea is to ask for their suggestions a few days before you wish to plan the team building exercise.
Similarly, couples must take into account wishes of both the partners. If most family members are elderly, you would want to schedule something indoors and less physical demanding. If the family mostly consists of active people, a spot of choreographed dancing can be an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.
With these tips in mind, you can plan something fun and synergetic. The activity should be positive, within your budget, and easy to schedule.