TEAMWORK is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results; actually there is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work for a common purpose. A company can have a good reputation, good brand name or a large number of cliental base, but when it lacks a strong team, that will be just but for a short time, it will not be sustainable. Team building builds trust, mitigates conflict, encourages communication and increases collaboration among co-workers. Effective team building means more engaged employees, which is good and healthy for company cultures.
Guest column: Emmanuel Zvada
The difference between success and failure of organisations lies in its team. It should be taken into consideration that teamwork is vital and it can have a bigger impact on workplace productivity. When a company has a strong team that works together to contribute their diverse skills and talents, success of the organisation will be guaranteed. It is a little wonder why successful organisations value teamwork so highly, but the secret to that is teamwork promotes strong working relationships. When employees work together and prosper as a team, they form bonds that can turn into trust and friendship. This will not end there, but human nature tells that when bond or friendship is created, an environment where employees like and trust each other will be created. This will then mean that they will communicate well with each other, support and motivate each other and work co-operatively for the success of the organisation.
Without a trusting environment, team performance will suffer. In a healthy team, members essentially trust one another in fact there is a shared trust among workers. Notwithstanding occasional conflict that may happen, employees get along well and enjoy each other’s company. They cooperate and get the work done and solve conflict in a way which will continue to maintain relationships at work since they are a team. Trust and respect are two essential elements for building relationships at workplaces and even at home environments. In an environment where there is shared trust and respect employees have to feel comfortable that they can speak their minds and have their opinions and ideas respected by other members of the team. If team members rebuke in an unwise manner, the effectiveness of the group is compromised and that can lead to office-wide disharmony.
Organisations should view team building as a continuous process. One of the main causes of team building failure is to think of it as just a fun activity undertaken once or twice a year. While the exercises are a vital component of team building, they must be viewed as just the starting point for the team building process. Team building in organizations is a common approach to improving performance that is if done properly. Fun is an important component to team building, but the intent is become productive, and engaging employees must be present. Employee engagement exercises allow teams to create solutions that are meaningful to them, with direct impact on the individuals, the team and the organisation. These are some common team building exercises that enhance communication and improve team performance:
Celebrating each other’s success
Successful team building in the workplace often translates into success for everyone. It is not difficult and does not require you to go out of your way or do anything extraordinary as a common man to be successful. In a team, we should learn to appreciate and acknowledge each other’s efforts as well by celebrating the success of a job well done. You should take pride in your team’s success by taking the time to celebrate it. Whenever one achieves a goal, recognise and do not forget to give a reward for that success. Recognise employee achievement and you will reap the rewards from their motivation and loyalty. In actual fact, success stories serve as an inspiration for others to excel. When team members share stories with each other, the team gets stronger because people get to know each other better as well as motivating each other.
Initiating group discussion sessions
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Group discussion sessions refer to the interactions between people who are talking together in a group setting. More can be accomplished with groups than can be achieved by individuals alone, but to be productive a group must remain focused and healthy. The purpose of team building activities is to motivate your people to work together, to develop their strengths, and to address any weaknesses.
Having a group discussion on a matter and to seek their suggestions and opinions is another way of enhancing a team. Initiating group sessions will enhance teamwork, boost employee confidence and once again, make them feel valued and wanted and at the same time exchanging ideas.
Conduct employee feedback activities
Employee surveys and feedback activities are a great way of encouraging the employees to speak freely. It makes the employees feel wanted and gives them an assurance of the fact that their opinions are valued. Organisations that take the time to invest in building effective teams will reap the benefits of improved morale, better performance and the successful completion of projects. Team building is very important if you wish to extract the best out of your workforce. Employees are urged to work smarter and not just harder, in an effort to deliver the desired results. A well-conducted employee feedback can help an employee thrive in their career and help employers get better quality work from team members.
Invest in outdoor activities
Nobody likes to be indoors all the time in organisation. Using the outdoors provides a unique, highly challenging and stimulating environment within which to develop working together as a team. There are plenty of team building activities that involve being closer to nature. Using the outdoors stretches comfort zones and poses a fresh challenge that you wouldn’t find at a work environment.
By creating a TEAM: “ Together everyone achieves more”, companies will reap more.
Emmanuel Zvada is a human capital consultant/international recruitment expert and author. He writes in his own capacity: For comments inbox to [email protected] or call +263771467441.
