A highly desired skill in candidates is the capacity to work well with coworkers. When you consider the numerous benefits of effective teamwork, it is not surprising. These advantages, according to a significant study from Acas, include better employee commitment and motivation, higher productivity, and even higher work quality.

However, it can be simple for managers to overlook team-building exercises in favor of training that focuses on specialized hard skills. Because of this, team building is frequently dismissed as a game, but when done well, it can significantly improve collaboration and inspire your employees.

What is team building?

The phrase “team building” has taken on a bit of a buzzword status, encompassing everything from staff nights out to strategic away days. But at its core, team building can be broadly characterized as any activity that delights, inspires, and challenges employees while also having the beneficial side-effect of enhancing collaboration skills.

Why team-building activities are a useful tool for leaders

Pioneer in organizational behavior J. Richard Hackman discovered that effective teamwork isn’t dependent on the characteristics, tendencies, and attitudes of individual team members. Instead, it depends on a few “enabling conditions”; elements like a welcoming atmosphere and a solid team structure designed to foster positive dynamics.

In other words, given the right circumstances, collaboration can flourish regardless of who is on your team. These conditions can be effectively achieved through team-building exercises. By bringing people together and out of their comfort zones on a team-building day, you can help plant the seeds for future better collaboration, even if the goal is simply to get away from the office and have fun. This, in turn, can be a major motivator for your staff.

Types of team-building activity

The phrase ‘team-building activity’ might conjure up an image of a group of middle-managers completing trust exercises in a hotel conference room, but there are many other options available. 

Common types of team-building activity include:

Away days

This is a fairly ambiguous phrase that generally means taking your team away from the office for a day to participate in a particular activity. Your team will be in a new environment whether the activity is creating a raft or enhancing a business’ strategic plan. This can help to dismantle communication barriers and open up new channels of communication.

Training sessions

It’s not necessary for team-building exercises to be ‘fun’ in order for them to be successful and boost motivation. Is there a skill that your team would like to develop together, like coding or a foreign tongue? This can be a very powerful way to unite your team, even if it has nothing to do with your business.

Problem-solving activities

When your team overcomes obstacles and solves challenging issues, they may feel a sense of accomplishment that carries over into their regular workdays. You might prefer a general problem-solving exercise, or you might want them to think about a genuine issue that affects your company or sector. In either case, pay close attention to their teamwork during the session and offer feedback.