When you are starting your new business, growing it and becoming profitable can be all consuming. Team building activities aren’t often even on your mind. Many new business owners think these things are too expensive, too time-consuming or even that they’re completely unnecessary.
But your staff are a vital part of your business. Building the strength of the team around you can make the difference between failure and success.
Here’s why new companies should be using team building activities to their advantage:
1. Find your dream team
Hiring the people that are perfect for the job is a huge worry for new company owners. You can use team building activities to evaluate candidates in a group. This can be really worthwhile, especially if your company is team-oriented.
In a team building activity, you can monitor and assess the behavior of your potential hires whilst interacting in a team setting. It’s a great way to measure problem solving, leadership and communication skills. You can also judge qualities such as mental stamina, resilience and creativity can also be tested. All of this you really need when you’re attempting to grow a new business.
Watching them work in a group allows you to compare them directly and get a better sense of who will be the best fit for you. The hiring process can be long, expensive and tedious. Making sure that you find the right candidates the first time can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
2. To share your vision
Once you’ve assembled your dream team, it’s really important that they all share your vision for the future of your company. This is even more essential when you’re just getting off the ground. Team building days are a great opportunity to communicate the company vision to your new employees. You’ll find your team aligned with that vision as well as the core values you’d like upheld.
Learning through engaging and fun activities is always much more effective than sitting through a speech or presentation. They’re even more effective if there’s some sort of competition with a trophy reward!
3. Learn about your team’s strength
The most prominent benefit of a team building activity is that it brings to light the various personalities of your team. You can see how individual staff members react to stressful situations, how good they are at communicating and any other attributes they have.
It might be that one of your quieter employees is actually really creative, but hasn’t had the opportunity to show that in the office. Or maybe you’ll discover that someone has leadership qualities you could develop. Team building activities can help strengthen your team and therefore, your business.
4. Build respect and trust
Things can get really hectic in a new organization. Often everyone is so focused on the day-to-day tasks that there’s no time to connect with their fellow teammates.
A team building exercise gives you all the chance to relate to each other on a human level. Getting to know colleagues outside of the work place normally means you get to see a different side to their personalities.
Team building activities help break down barriers and allow trust and respect to deepen and grow between your staff members. With more respect and trust, research shows that employees are more likely to work effectively together.
Conclusion
Having a team building day needn’t break the bank. There are many free resources online that you could utilize to build your own session! Or if you’re able to be a little more flexible with money and time, a retreat can be an excellent way to build strong relationships between your team.
Alternatively there are lots of activities that work well for team building that are cost effective and only take half a day! You could try something new together? Limited only by your imagination – whatever your team feels like doing will work. You could try motocross or 4×4 driving if you’re a team of adrenaline junkies or go get some massage therapy if you prefer relaxing!
Be it for an hour, a day or a whole weekend, a team building session is always so beneficial to your new business. You’ll end up with a more connected and engaged team that work better together to achieve your goals.
Punit