Benefits of Team Building Activities

Benefits of Investing in Team Building Activities

Portugal has Ronaldo, Brazil has Neymar, Argentina has Messi, and Germany has a team.  Even if you think football is best left to other people, that internet meme beautifully highlights why team play is almost always more effective than relying on the brilliance of individual star performers and, even if you’re lucky to have a team full of outstanding individuals, you still need to meld them into a team to get the best results from them.

Team Building is an investment rather than an expense

Over recent years, employers have become increasingly aware of the importance of taking a holistic approach to management.  Staff benefits such as subsidized gym membership and in-house spa facilities (steam showers, whirlpool baths, and the like) used to be seen as pure luxuries, now they are seen as a way to help employees to take care of their own health and, hence, to have fewer sick days and also fewer days where their productivity is negatively impacted through feeling unwell.  Similarly companies have also developed a growing appreciation of the need to work proactively on team-building, rather than just assuming that it will happen naturally without the need for any management intervention.

Team Building Benefits – too important to be left to chance

Left to their own devices, most people will come into work and do whatever they perceive to be their job.  During working hours, they will interact with their colleagues as required, but in some jobs there may be minimal requirement for this and even less need for the interaction to take the form of direct, human contact.  Even when people do interact as part of their work (face-to-face or otherwise), it’s a very open question as to whether this sort of professional engagement is an effective basis for meaningful team-building.  Similarly, social interaction, be it by the proverbial water cooler or anywhere else, is different from structured team-building activities.  While social activities have many benefits, they can also create challenges for managers since they can inadvertently lead to the formation of unofficial “sub-teams”, to the detriment of the team as a whole.  Hence employers who wish to get maximum results out of their employees, both in terms of their individual talents and in terms of their contribution to the team, need to integrate team-building activities into their management approach.

On-site activities are good, off-site activities are better

While on-site team-building activities can yield good results and are certainly a whole lot better than nothing, the best results are typically obtained from off-site team building events.  First of all, the idea of holding a team-building event out of the office immediately sends a signal that everyday work is to be left behind (literally) and also helps to generate a sense of freshness and excitement. Basically it helps to reinforce the fact that employees are going to an event, rather than just heading to a meeting.  As anyone with any experience of customer service and/or employee motivation well knows, you must at least meet expectations and ideally you want to exceed them.  In other words, now that you’ve created a sense of occasion with an offsite event, you need to bring your employees into an inspiring environment, which is really going to take them out of their ordinary work zone and stimulate their best performance and highest levels of engagement to generate meaningful results, which will last over the long term.  In fact, you may even choose to look well outside your local area for the perfect location, which is basically a place which can get the results you need and offers great value for money.

The city of Limerick and the amazing mid-west of Ireland could be just the place for you.  Limerick itself is one of Ireland’s most popular and populous cities, it is a compelling mixture of ancient history and modern vibrancy.  As such, it has plenty to offer all visitors, regardless of their tastes. What’s more, it’s set in some of the most breathtaking scenery you will ever see. Take your pick from formal parks and gardens, such as the easily-accessible People’s Park in Limerick city itself, or head out to the countryside and visit places such as Curragh Chase Forest Park or Lough Gur, alternatively enjoy some time by the waterside on the banks of the River Shannon (or even in the River Shannon) or visit the utterly and completely spectacular Cliffs of Moher.  Your time in Limerick will help you build both a team and memories to treasure.

For some inspiration, why not check out Get West’s Team Building options: www.getwest.ie/team-building-activities/

Source: We are delighted that Sam Socorro, The Happy Writer, https://happysitewriter.wordpress.com/ offered to be a guest writer on our blog this month. She has over 10 years’ experience in writing health related topics and specializes in the health benefits of saunas and hydrotherapy which I’m sure plenty of employees  reading this would love to have available to them in their places of work 😉