Negosentro.com | All the big corporate giants are slowly adopting team bonding activities. Why? This is because they boost engagement. And highly engaged employees are 87 percent less likely to leave their jobs! Considering how costly and time-consuming recruitment is, low employee turnover ratio is the goal of the HR function of every company.
If you wish to ensure the success of your projects, having a robust team is necessary. And for this, quick team building activities always come in handy. Here is why it is vital for your company to arrange such team bonding activities.
It is the first step towards getting to know one another
Just because your employees work over 40 hours a week, next to each other doesn’t mean they know one another. In fact, most people don’t converse much in workplace settings. One way to look at this is that the lack of mingling ensure productivity and focus on work. However, this is an old concept. It has been found that people work best when they feel comfortable in their surroundings. Considering man is a social animal who likes communicating, by getting to know one another, the productivity of employees actually increase.
Team bonding activities help break the ice by making people feel at ease with one another as well as feel connected. The better bond they share with their co-workers, the stronger support system they will have in their workplace. This will help them collaborate in projects as well as feel more satisfied with their job. Personal bonds foster long-lasting relationships which humans crave. And by arranging quick team building activities, you are providing your employees with a way to connect.
Helps in integrating departments
Gone are the days when departments within a company can operate without collaborating. Now, cross-functional teams are not just common but are considered a necessity for the success of specific projects. Even though people within a function do sometimes get the opportunity to mingle due to the proximity of their workspaces, the same cannot be said about communicating with other departments.
Therefore, when people from different functions are brought together to work on an idea, disagreements and clashes ensue. This can be effectively avoided by arranging team bonding activities with cross-functional teams or by having company-wide activities. When your marketing, finance, operation, supply-chain etc. employees come together, they are much more likely to get along when linked for future projects. Rather than coming up with engaging activities on your own, companies make use of services provided by companies like Group Dynamix and Outback Team Building & Training.
A tool for networking
Team bonding activities also help with an individual’s career progression, as well. One common trend of today’s time is that no millennial stays in one job for their entire life. Job hopping is the new norm.
Team building exercise allows employees to build networks and connections with one another. The co-workers of today can be potential references for future jobs. This networking also allows people to have a group of trusted individuals who they can approach when they need help in their professional life, even years after working together.
This is why team bonding exercises are welcomed with open arms by most employees. Rather than going at long and tiring industry networking events, such exercises help employees build a strong connection from within, without going the extra mile. And anything that saves them the hassle is bound to be appreciated by your workers. This, in turn, boosts morale.
It aids in identifying traits
Various types of employees exist in a company. Some are leaders, while others are followers. Some are planners, while others are dreamers. Each type of employee is imperative for the success of an organization. And it is essential to identify them all.
Why?
Well, this way, the company will be easily able to match an employee with the right job/project. Let’s imagine that a company requires a marketer for a new product campaign. There isn’t much material to fall back on. Here, a creative decisionmaker is much likely to reap quality results than someone who plans and uses facts and data to back their opinions.
Similarly, every team and every company needs leaders who can delegate tasks to others and ensure their completion, all at the same time. These activities can clearly pinpoint which of your employees have such qualities. Therefore, the next time a leadership position springs up, you know who has the potential to shoulder the responsibility.
Creating the right company culture
Contrary to popular belief, there is much more than the money that motivates an employee to keep working in an organization. You spend more than 40 hours a week working. Sometimes, you spend more time with your workmates than you do with your family!
With such long hours, most people wish to work at places that have the right culture. Instilling and fostering the right company culture can allow an organization to attract as well as retain the best talent in town. And this is where team bonding activities come in.
The HR department often uses quick team building activities to strengthen the bond amid employees. Moreover, team building is used as a way to conduct “employer branding”. The goal is to become the best and most fun employer in town. Such engagements and care for employees showcase a positive image of the company to all potential employees. It can be viewed as a marketing tool directed towards human capital.
Conclusion
Arranging team building activities is more than just about breaking the ice among your employees. It is a tool you can use to boost morale, improve job satisfaction, ensure the formation of robust networks and to project a strong brand image. With such benefits backing it up, it is no surprise why a lot of companies are investing in such exercises.
If you wish to reap long-term benefits associated with improving your company culture and image, make sure to conduct such activities in your organization. Your organization is as good as the people it has. By satisfying them, you will achieve your organizational goals quickly.
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ABOUT Erica Silva
Erica Silva is a blogger who loves to discover and explore the world around her. She writes on everything from marketing to technology, science and brain health. She enjoys sharing her discoveries and experiences with readers and believes her blogs can make the world a better place.
Find her on Twitter: @ericadsilva1
