World Executives Digest | Five Ways to Make Team Building More Fun! | Few things will make a team shudder like a term team-building exercise! But these days team building should be fun and there are plenty of ways you can ensure it is. From clay pigeon shooting in Aberdeenshire to more interactive workshops team building really can be fun.
Yes, even if you do plan something fun and different still expect some groans at first after all many people have likely heard the same promise before. Arranging fun and creative team-building exercises or trips out will often take more work but they will be much more rewarding for everyone involved. These activities guarantee that the group will get to know each other better, thereby improving the workflow. For instance, adding up a Myers Briggs test could help those with problems expressing themselves and finding common interests.
So, the question remains how do you make team building more fun for everyone? Well follow the tips I’ve laid out below and you can guarantee more fun, rewarding and exciting team building for your workplace.
Get Outdoors
One of the all too common mistakes people make when it comes to their team building is that they do in the office. Team building should be a chance to do something different and see a whole new place not to be stuck in the same all too familiar environment. So, try to get outdoors and do your team building somewhere a little different. Never underestimate the importance of a fresh environment when it comes to team-building workshops.
Do Something Different
Many team-building exercises consist of doing some basic tasks in an all too familiar environment. While getting together in groups to answer questions or do short exercises can be a decent warm-up it won’t really lead to very successful team building.
Instead, you should try to make your team building something more exciting like I said in the intro why not try clay pigeon shooting, or arrange a scavenger hunt or something simply a little more interactive. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something related to your day to day work to help improve how your team works together either.
Stick to Work Hours
Another important tip for arranging your next team-building exercise is to ensure it’s done when most of your staff is in. Not many people will want to come in during their day off to attend a team-building workshop.
You should ensure it sticks to work hours if it’s going to be a long potentially all-day workshop then make sure it finishes on time and everyone still gets their regular breaks and lunch. Also if you are unable to ensure it’s held on a day when everyone is in and you do want people to come in on their days off to attend make sure they get the time back or offer to pay them the extra hours.
Ensure Everyone Is Included
By far one of the hardest parts about teamwork exercises is making sure everyone is included. Some people are just going to naturally be more vocal while others will just want to sit at the back. Making sure everyone feels involved is very difficult which is why opting for something more fun instead of the same old office-based workshops can be a great way to give everyone the chance to say and do something.
Collect In-Depth Feedback
Finally, after the session is over you should take the time to collect feedback from everyone. There are numerous ways you can do this but simply giving people a pre-prepared sheet to fill out is not going to really give you anything valuable.
People often won’t say what they really think as they won’t want to seem ungrateful or mean. So, instead, make time to talk with everyone ideally on a one to one basis to ask them about the workshop. Let them know that you value their feedback and that it makes a difference.
