Team building and education are the two most important things you have to improve on when running a business. A cohesive team that values critical thinking is going to be productive and efficient. There are ways to combine these two things into fun and interactive games that people will enjoy. Here are some examples.
Name games for newbies
If your business is growing, you will see a bunch of new faces appear every so often. They shouldn’t be excluded from fun team building activities. Since these people don’t know each other, it’s important to help them introduce themselves. You shouldn’t force it on anyone, however. Letting them introduce themselves at their own tempo could take a while, so why not break the ice with some interactive activities.
The best way to help people overcome anxiety from introducing themselves to everyone is to not have the introduce themselves at all. Have someone else introduce them instead. Have people pair up in groups of two that don’t know each other very well. Let them talk it out and get acquainted. After they know enough, have them introduce each other from the knowledge they’ve just gained. It’s a lot easier to talk about someone else than it is to come up with what you think about yourself.
It’s important to build trust.
One of the most important things for a modern business team is a feeling of mutual trust. Without trust, it’s going to be hard for people in your workplace to cooperate on a daily basis. Secrets and distrust aren’t hallmarks of a productive environment. Trust is something that has to be earned. There are various activities that can improve your team’s cohesiveness.
As silly as it may sound, obstacle courses are one of those activities. For this, you’re going to need an open space and some obstacles. Split your team into groups of three and blindfold one of the participants. Another person will turn away from the obstacle course and hold the blindfolded person, their aim is to guide them, but they can’t see the course itself. The third person faces the course, but they have to non-verbally communicate the path to the person guiding. Knowing how to give instructions will be a valuable tool for your team.
Let them learn about each other
Getting people to open up to people they barely know isn’t the easiest task. Luckily, interesting games and activities somehow motivate people to be more communicative. This doesn’t mean they should share their most intimate secrets, however. Maybe some light trivia about themselves that can lighten up the mood.
Write a bunch of numbers on a ball and have your staff throw it to each other. Have a list that has a question that corresponds to every number. Once someone catches the ball, the number closest to their hand lets them know what question to answer. This is a very laid-back way to find out some interesting things about everyone in the office. You could make it even simpler, though. Ask people to write three interesting things about themselves on pieces of paper. Stick those in a bag and pass the bag around. It’s more direct and nobody is going to feel uncomfortable because they get to share what they want to share.
Long distance team building
Not every employee is able to work from the office. Sometimes you’re going to have remote workers that will rarely meet other employees face to face. They should feel included in the workspace whether they’re there or not. Luckily, technology is always three steps ahead of us all. There’s no reason they can’t skype call the office and be included in team building exercises.
Another great benefit of technology is the ability to transfer knowledge over the internet. Once upon a time, you had to meet in person to help someone improve on their work. Nowadays, what separates the knowledgeable from the less knowledgeable is the click of a button. Teaching is as much a skill as any skill you can learn, which is why you might want to find some vet training resources in order to get the best results.
Teamwork builds relationships
There’s no better way to get people to know each other than through collaborative work. Teamwork is the cornerstone of any team, it’s right there in the name. Having your staff work together on some kind of project is going to help them improve their communication and let them know what each person’s strength and weakness is.
A great example of this is a game called “build it”. It’s a pretty flexible kind of exercise. You start off by dividing them into groups. Each group gets a certain amount of some materials lying around the office. This can be cardboard, pens, Styrofoam, or literally anything else you can think of. Then they compete to see who can build the tallest or most sound structure. The goal of the exercise is to promote critical and creative thinking along with having some friendly competition.
In conclusion, team building doesn’t have to seem like a forced initiative. It can be a way to build healthy workplace relationships and pave the way for more efficient learning. Other than being a great tool for team building, these games are also fun and they add a positive atmosphere to the workplace.
