Small businesses are often so busy juggling every day life, with everything from product supply, finances and client relationships to contend with, that team building often falls to the bottom of the pile. Yet team building activities have been proven to increase trust and relationships within a team, which in turn can support an increase in productiveness.
Finding ways to increase productivity is extremely important as low levels of productivity can have huge consequences within a workplace, with the potential to damage team morale, efficiency and profit margins. There is substantial research to suggest that being more engaged within the business, and within the team itself, increases productivity, and a want to be proactive. A Gallup Survey found that poorly managed working groups were on average a huge 50% less productive and a worrying 44% less profitable than well-managed groups. Within the UK, the study showed that only 17% of employees were actively engaged, 57% were not engaged and 26% were actively disengaged.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are so many ways to easily improve team engagement and communication, with the expectation that in turn, these will support stronger productivity. Character Cottages, luxury Cotswolds holiday cottage company, outline five activities to actively engage your work force and build a stronger team unit.
Sports
There’s something about a group of individuals coming together to play sport that entices a feeling of camaraderie and team spirit. Healthy competition is the perfect way to induce communication, and a good test of individual character.
Escape Rooms
Escape rooms are an immersive role-playing game in which players are “Locked” inside a room or set of rooms and are tasked with a real range of problems to solve in order to escape in the allotted time. These kinds of activities have proven particularly popular of recent, thanks to their ability to be both fun and engaging, whilst testing a team on their ability to work well together towards a common goal.
Staycation
Whilst paying for an all-expenses-paid trip to a sunnier climate may be out of budget for smaller businesses, there’s real power to be had from a UK staycation. There’s no better way to get to know an individual than by spending day and night in a different environment, away from the hustle and bustle of daily work life. Whether it’s choosing a range of Luxury Cotswolds Cottages for a relaxing team building break, or a camping extravaganza for a water sport challenge in the Lakes, taking some time out to get to know the people behind the business is sure to form stronger bonds.
Scavenger Hunt
One way to engage your employees is through a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt. This kind of activity is a fantastic way to measure how well your team can stick to set boundaries, along with how successfully they respond to reward-based tasks.
Social Club
After hours events have a proven track record of making your business stronger due to their morale boosting nature. Not so much a test of character or team work, after work drinks or an evening meal are fantastic yet simple ways to ensure your work force feel both valued and appreciated. This is particularly important to productivity, with a poll undertaken by American Psychological Association suggesting that a huge 93% of employees who say they feel valued at their job report that they are motivated to do their best work.
