The question of whether team building activities improve work productivity is an often asked one. How exactly does an activity which brings together members of a team increase productivity at work ? There is constant debate and dilemma about whether team building is even effective or is it merely a waste of time.
To understand and answer the question of whether team building activities improve work productivity, let’s look at the way team building works and what it does.
1. A Happy Team is a Better Team
Any team building activity conducted will get the team members together for a fun, creative and jolly time. Playing games or team activities, get the team members out of the professional work space and engage with each other in a different environment. A little bit of laughter and smiles with team members can go a long way in making a team happy and a happy team is always a better team. They are in a much better mood with a refreshed and rejuvenated mind which leads to a better mind at work. Team building activities also increase team bonding which makes the team members work better with each other.
2. Improves Communication
Team building activities get the team members to communicate and talk to each other which increases the scope of communication at work as well. If a team communicates more, they will be able to work better together and hence, increase work productivity of the team. Any task, if done together, can be resolved better and quickly than if it’s done alone.
3. Creativity
Everyone needs to stimulate their minds to work effectively and come up with new ideas. Team building activities give the creative push that’s needed to work effectively and think out of the box. Team building activities are fun, relaxing and require creative problem solving which stimulates the minds of employees. They also get to know more about other team members which makes it better for the team to work together to come up with new ideas and think creatively.
There are many different team building experiences you and your team could do. Why not visit a stand up comedy show in London – it suits everyone.
4. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses
Team building activities also help identify strengths and weaknesses of team members. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of others will make the team members work better together because they will know who is good at what, hence making good use of everyone’s strengths and helping improve those with weaknesses. This will ultimately increase work productivity because team members will work together with each other’s strengths and be able to deliver more.
5. Builds Confidence
Having confident employees is very important if you expect your employees to perform well and deliver well. Confident employees are always able to back up their ideas with logic whereas an under confident employee will not be sure whether he/ she is right even when he/ she is. Team building activity is the perfect platform to build confidence in employees. Identify the underconfident employees and conduct activities like debates, dumb charades, talent shows etc.
6. Showcase Other Skills
Everyone has skills other than being a good employee. Team building activities give employees the chance to showcase other hidden talents that they possess. It could be anything from singing to dancing, playing an instrument etc. It will give the employees a chance to pursue and show off their hobby. Employees can get quite bored and frustrated with the daily, monotonous work life, so giving them an opportunity and a platform to showcase their skills is going to be very good for them.
Conclusion
Don’t expect to see the fruits of team building activities immediately. Regular team building exercises conducted over a period of time and made a part of the work culture of the organisation, will eventually show the results. It will show a more communicative, creative and better team work on behalf of the employees. You can expect to see an overall, happy vibe among the team members which will also reflect in their work.