Team building is a vital aspect that every firm must incorporate to thrive by leaps and bounds. Although many people still think that team building activities are only fun activities, it is much more than that. Such activities and events boost team members’ trust in each other and enhance their productivity.
Only when teams have harmony and understanding can they complete their tasks with cooperation and make your company the most trusted one for the projects. Several companies are now adapting team-building events and activities to foster company culture and make them into a family.
Why Are Team Building Events Important?
Teams are the backbone and firm hold of any enterprise, and they must work well for the company to rank higher in the competitive market. To boost the morale of teams, team-building events are crucial. When you organize team-building events for your teams, they can get acquainted with each other and cooperate better than before. It not only boosts healthy relationships between the teams but also blooms the environment of effectiveness.
Many companies have discarded hierarchical traditions and recognized the importance of team building. The more collaborative the teams are, the more they work well together to complete the tasks. This was vague in the past but is now crystal clear to the enterprises. When all members strive to improve themselves, they lead the teams toward success.
How To Plan Team Building Events?
Team building activities are entertaining, right? But when you try to plan them, they can be one heck of a task. You have to organize many things to achieve the goal and actual purpose of the event. So it takes a lot of planning to plan the event in such a way that it won’t be a burden on your teams.
Here’s a brief overview of how you can plan the team building events efficiently:
Determine Your Team Building Goals
The first and foremost idea should be clear, like water, i.e., the goal of your team building event. What is the exact purpose of your event, and how do you want the outcome to be? It is essential to plan the activities accordingly. For example, if you want your teams to get training on some professional skill, you can squeeze the training session among the other activities. But ensure they are not boring for everyone to feel like they shouldn’t have come.
You can plan the events smoothly without hitches only when your goal is clear enough. You can get help from the universal trick of 5 ‘W’ to effectively decide on your event objective. Determine Who? Why? What? Where? And When?. Answering all these questions will leave you with a definite goal for your team-building events.
It will also be helpful if you outline the expected outcomes of your efforts and event planning. This practice aids you in pointing out the shortcomings that should be focused on in future events.
Plan The Activities Thoroughly
Team-building events require fun yet practical activities that will lead you one step closer to your team-building goals. Select the activities carefully and avoid such segments that will make your employees uncomfortable. Also, make sure the activities are fun so that they can promise future participation to the maximum.
It is challenging for one person to figure out all the activities and plans by themselves. You can communicate with your teams and ask for recommendations. The members can help you plan a good event when the actions are according to their interests. Put your planning team to work, and outline all activities and their sequence.
Select The Right Time And Venue
After planning the activities, the venue comes into the scenario. Find a platform that will be easy to find and reach for the employees. Avoid venues that will reduce participants to half their original number due to uncomfortable travel. Besides the location, you must also ensure that the venue can cover all your activities to bring the most out of them.
Shortlist multiple venues and then finalize the best one to fulfil your objectives. Apart from the platform, The timing and duration also play a huge role in planning an amazing team-building event. Choose the time that is suitable for most of the participants and won’t burden them. And ensure that the event stays only for a short time. Employees appreciate a moderately timed event, so don’t let it drag.
Communicate With Participants And Finalize The Guest List
Participants are a vital consideration of team building events. Planning the whole affair is not gameplay; it requires effort and time. But you can make it easier by communicating with the participants and their perspectives about the activities and events. When you involve your employees and consider their interests, it enhances the chances of their participation as they have something to look forward to.
Once you have planned the activities, lay out the participants list to plan the event accordingly. Encourage as much participation as possible with several bonus events. You can also make a guest list to sprinkle a living soul into the events. The presence of guests improves your occasion’s effectiveness and boosts your company’s recognition.
Devise a Checklist Of Logistics And Resources
Team building events are undoubtedly important, but you must plan them within your budget. The best way to put together the budgets for the event is to stay in contact with your boss so that it won’t be a problem for you later on. Inquire the finance team about how much budget they can allow for the event and plan accordingly.
You should try to keep your budget realistic and wrap all the activities up within a moderate budget. It is also helpful to look for a previous event budget list to draw a brief idea of your budgeting plan. Allocating the resources efficiently is a vital skill you can master by planning the events on team building. Consider everything from transportation down to the charges and taxes for credit cards.
Engage In Follow Up And Evaluation
Once all activities wrap up, you can conduct an evaluation segment. Encourage honest opinions and reviews from the teams. This will help you discover the shortcomings that should be addressed in future events. It is human nature to make mistakes; there should be no shame. If the event you planned lacks something, you can always make up for it in the future.
The follow-up and evaluation segment will help you conclude your objectives and whether the event was helpful and worthy of your time and money. Evaluation will help you to get a clear answer to your worries. So, Solicit participant feedback and use that feedback to improvise and plan future events accordingly.
Conclusion
Team building events are an essential part of a company’s schedules. Building team cooperation helps the members be more productive and boosts the company’s outcome and reputation. You can plan team-building events for entertainment as well as productive purposes. Don’t make it a big deal, and go with the flow by following some of the earlier steps and hacks for promoting a yielding team.