What Should Employees Get out of a Corporate Team Building Event?

So you’re considering a corporate team building event for your employees. Perhaps it’s an activity which was recommended to you, or the boss randomly wants to do one, or you ARE the boss and want to do something nice for your staff. Of the various items you are likely grappling with, including when the event would be held, the type of event and your budget, the biggest looming question is, “what will my people get out of this?”

And a very valid question it is. You’re considering spending a lot of time and resource on this event; shouldn’t it be more than just a fun time for your staff? Whether you decide to take your group scavenger hunting, kayaking, cooking or have a team building trivia event, the fundamental take-home lessons should generally be the same. Those critical skills you want employed back in the office as a result of your event include:

  1. Improved Teamwork & Collaboration – Your group should learn how to interact better together, and achieve goals more efficiently and effectively.
  1. Effective Communication – Teams should leave the event equipped with tools needed to communicate clearly and effectively among each other, in a healthier and more productive way.
  1. Group Decision Making – Your people should discover new and improved ways of arriving at correct decisions as a team.
  1. Time Management – The skills practiced at the event should have a clock component somehow, to simulate actual workplace conditions and allow space for the group to learn how to function better under pressure.
  1. Insight About Colleagues – A properly run event should provide opportunities for people to learn more about their co-workers, allowing them to gain increased understanding and awareness of who team members “really” are, as well as learn how much they have in common that they never knew before.

Put these skills into action back at the office, and your event will have been worth its weight in gold as far as improving your team’s productivity, effectiveness and overall morale.

Can you think of any other crucial skills that no team building event should leave employees without?

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