This week at Leapfrog we stepped away from our computers and put down the phones for one whole day to do some quality team building in the Forest of Dean. We had a great time learning new skills, sharing ideas and even cooking a delicious afternoon tea, so we thought we’d investigate the worth of a good team building day a little bit more…
So, why organise a team building event in the first place?
Team building can be a great way to improve a group’s efficiency and effectiveness in achieving common goals. By improving communications and better understanding everyone’s role in the team you can encourage creativity and improve decision making.
It can also be used as an opportunity to learn new skills, develop business strategy, resolve conflicts, welcome new team members and re-energise apathetic employees.
What type of team building works best?
Finding the right sort of activity for your business and employees is essential. You could do the classic ‘fall and catch me’ games, sports, crafts, puzzles, or if you want to take a leaf out of our books, cookery! Whatever you choose, just make sure everyone can get involved and have fun.
Leapfrog PR with Harts Barn Cookery School’s Yvette
But what about the serious stuff?
Team building can and should help move you towards achieving company goals. A good thing to do is a SWOT analysis, where everyone can pitch in and gain a better understanding of where the company is situated in the marketplace, and (perhaps more importantly) how employees feel about it.
It’s often a good opportunity for bosses to be honest with their staff too, let them know what challenges the company is facing, what their future plans are, how they’re going to get there, and why they value their staff.
Any PR opportunities?
Of course! Encourage your employees to tweet and share their day on social media: upload photos/ videos, tag the company account as well as the venue you’re at, like/ share/ retweet each other and use appropriate #hashtags. It will all help to personalise you’re business and let everyone know that you’re a good place to work, proactively motivating their employees and working to drive the company forward.
Our top 5 tips for team building days…
Develop a trusting environment, set clear goals, encourage open communication, evaluate how the day has added value to the company and have fun!
If you’re really lucky, you might even walk away with a mountain of cake like we did!
