The importance of team building

“Alone we can do a little; together we can do so much,” is a famous quote by Helen Keller. Indeed, teamwork is a very important cog in the clockwork of business which helps to accomplish so many objectives that would never have come true by working individually. The main goals of team building are exactly what the word says – to build a great team of employees that can effectively and productively work with each other. Therefore, team building can be seen as an important part of the employee learning and employee development. So, let’s look more closely at why team building is important, what it wants from you and what you can get out of it!

What is team building?
Team building is about learning to efficiently work together with your co-workers. The best way to achieve this goal is to make employees know each other as best as possible, usually through informal communication. Various training programs exist to help companies make a strong team. There are a number of different ways companies use team building training programs from simple business exercises to sport games.
There are team building games which involve role playing events from the past, as well as psychological team building games for understanding each other better. Many team building games exist to help you become closer to your team and get to know each other in a completely new atmosphere.

Team building is FUN
Team building exercises are usually very fun and can involve employees of all ages from young interns to experienced high status managers. Put into different teams, participants have to overcome obstacles, build rafts, explore unfamiliar terrains, develop different projects and more. For example, paintball has been used a lot in team building training. Other games such as football, volleyball, go-karting, and horse riding are also very popular. The main idea is not to tax employees physically, but to be focused on building a stronger team.
Special attention should be also given to the place of such trainings. It is always better to conduct team building trainings in the open air, away from the traditional office environment and walls of the office. Firstly, the change in the atmosphere will bring in a psychological relief to a team and, secondly, it will be easier to identify group leaders as well as possible conflicts.

Great results
The results of corporate holidays will be a chance to relieve psychological stress, as well as a chance to work on team building. Moreover, it gives you a chance to resolve any possible conflicts within the team. Even better outcomes can be expected if the people in leadership roles participate on an equal footing in the training which will definitely bring a significant increase in the credibility of the staff and a better understanding of his decisions in the future.
Some argue for the impossibility to provide trainings explaining it by reasons that during the weekdays you need to interrupt the work process and on weekends no staff wants to hang around at work. Come on! One thing is to come to work in the office and choke out of boredom, but another is to spend time outside of work with your colleagues, once in a while. Not only to benefit yourself but also to enjoy the company of your peers.

I hope you can see now that team building is a fun activity which will only bring benefits to your corporate culture and there is nothing to be scared of.
As you can see, it is not hard to understand this technique as well as to implement it in your team. If you want in your office not separate individuals who want only to work the assigned amount of hours and quickly escape back home, but a single organism - then it's time to start using team building. If you are still not convinced then watch the commercial of the bus company De Lijn which proves the importance of work in a team one more time.

By: Polina Merkulova