The key to effective team building events is to make the day fun, allowing your employees to let go of any preconceived notions of the importance or effectiveness of workshops and seminars. Read about how crucial it is to make training and team building fun.

Often times, companies and government institutions feel obliged to engage in team building and motivation events on the misguided premise that it’s what you’re expected to do. Perhaps a result of failed team building events in the past, organisations overlook the fundamental importance of taking their employees out of the work environment to improve interpersonal and operational skill. After all, one of the main reasons companies should use corporate team building events is so that their employees can learn and build upon new skills through a series of tasks that are just perceived as a fun day out.

Team building events can be tailored to your company’s exact needs to ensure that staff attending can acquire new skill sets in a fun and informal setting.

Staff attending a team building event will be having a great day out away from the office, but they’re still working and building skills they can take back to the workplace to increase both productivity and job satisfaction.

Here are some of the skills that can be built upon during a corporate team building event:

Motivational Skills

Tasks which require people to motivate others and be motivated themselves can be transferred back into a workplace environment.  Working together as a team to achieve a goal is a rewarding experience that will unite people and give staff a sense of pride, both in themselves and the whole team.

Communication Skills

Taking people out of their usual comfort zone will help to improve communications skills.  Often junior staff will be reluctant to talk to senior staff and will tend to stick within a close circle of colleagues.  A team building event will help staff to break down perceived barriers and come out of their shells.

Team Management

A team building event can highlight management skills in people who have previously gone under the radar.   It isn’t necessarily the loudest and most confident members of staff who have the best managerial skills; a well-structured team building event gives everyone an opportunity to shine.

Working in a Team

It is all too easy for staff to become complacent and only look at their own workload instead of the bigger picture.  Having to work as a team in a fun event will help them to realise that back in the workplace, more can be achieved by focusing on the team rather than just oneself.

Pitching and Presentation Skills

Again, some junior and quieter members of staff may shy away from pitching and presenting, but in a relaxed and informal setting many will find their own voice and feel much more comfortable about speaking in public.  This will lead to them feeling more confident about adding their opinions and ideas to work meetings in the future.

Networking

Mixing different employees from different parts of the company will naturally have people using their networking skills.

Brainstorming and Creativity

Brainstorming is an excellent way of coming up with ideas and helping to find solutions to problems raised in team building events.  Brainstorming and creativity are skills which will be required for most members of an organisation to meet future goals and advance their careers.

Thanks for reading our article! Be sure to jot down this list of key ingredients to making a team building event truly fun. If you’re looking for specific ideas on fun indoor and outdoor team building events and event coordination, be sure to take a look at our website and see some of our fun, time-tested events. Look!