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What Team Development And Team Building Activities Can You Use?
Author : Steve Jackson
To some just the mention of team development leads to a rush of illness of various kinds, as people choose not to attend another team building event. This happens to many and in many companies, especially if the activities planned are hard work, or have people feeling very stressed about the whole situation. Very few enjoy making fools of themselves, and some of the team building ideas like quizzes do make some people feel very inferior, and very stressed, so for team development, go for fun.
Team development is something that is often overlooked by companies, especially in these tough economic times, but they need not take up much company or personal time, and they do not have to be expensive activities either to be successful. Simple fun activities can pay off dividends, with better communication between departments, staff that know one another a little more than at present, and a happier atmosphere in the workplace, as employees feel more appreciated. There can be many benefits from spending just a few hours doing a fun team building activity, but make sure that department members are put on different teams.
By having a couple of fun team building activities a year, that perhaps only last for a couple of hours at a time, you can help improve the atmosphere in any company, and the productivity level too. Staff will feel more appreciated, which means that they will in all probability work better, and perhaps even harder for the benefit of all at that workplace.
So what kind of team building activities do work well for most businesses? Fun non-stressful activities are recommended. There can be enough stress in the work place without adding any more to it! Your workers probably deserve some fun, don't they. Now, obviously the type of event planned will depend a great deal on the size of the company, and the logistics involved in getting everyone together.
Taking a few hours off the work week can work very well, and act as a reward, provided the team bonding activity is fun!
Team building activities should involve as many people from the company as possible, and many businesses have found that scavenger hunts work really well. Each team contains a member form each department, so that it is a social time to get to know members from these other departments while having fun. The idea of a scavenger hunt can easily be adapted to your needs, but one that works well is to use cameras to take photographs of the whole team, excluding the photographer, at particular locations or in certain situations. For example, the whole team may have to find a bike store, and have their photos taken there.
Perhaps you could have them go to the bus depot, or the train station, or find a taxi. The options are endless. But by taking photographs of the complete team, it reduces the chance of cheating, and you may find some people willing to cheat! You can set any time limit you want for this hunt, but it needs to be a realistic time for them to get everything required.
A scavenger hunt can give people the chance to get to know their city a little better, as well as their work and team mates. The teams should not be too large, as that will defeat the chance for people to get to know one another, and may mean that some members just tag along and are not really involved with the activities, but you do have a lot of options for this, and plenty of ways to have a theme related hunt if you wish.
You could try a group archery class, or perhaps another activity that not many have tried before. This gives everyone the chance to have a new experience together, and if it can be an activity that needs team work then this is even better.
Obstacle races are good for this, and they can be indoors or out, depending on your location and the time of year. Now, to make it so that the team members have to interact and help one another, add a few twists to the obstacle course so that they have no choice but to cooperate and communicate. After all the idea behind this is team development, so it's only right that there should be some cooperating, and communication in the team building activity.
There are many more idea that can be used to promote teamwork, but one of the neatest I have seen is run by a company specializing in team development, and there are many of these companies around, all offering different programs for all sorts of different needs. Anyway, the activity that caught my attention is the drum program, where every company member is given a drum, and then as a team you are taught how to produce a masterpiece of sound using the drums. Isn't this a great idea? I wish I had thought of it, but imagine how powerful a program this is. Working in groups, there is plenty of practice time, and plenty of time to communicate too, with some very impressive results by the end of the session.
I think this works well for a few reasons. Firstly there is no pressure on anyone, because it is something that is new to most, and it requires very little to produce sound of a good quality - not like singing which would never work like this! It is a neat activity for everyone to try, and a talking point for years to come I am sure.
Imagine feeling a part of this, and this is the feeling that is wanted, all the employees feeling part of this wonderful experience, bonding and having fun. Fantastic!
This, obviously is not something that you can run yourself, but it may get your creativity started with thinking of fun activities that you could organize.
Fun team development can make a big impact in a company if it is done correctly. Sop get thinking, and brainstorming, and see what will work for your company to build a closer company, and a better atmosphere in the workplace. Team development can play a big part in building a successful team business, if you let it - make sure it is in yours!
Author's Resource Box
Team development is something that the author Steve Jackson feels should be a part of every company, but perhaps run a little differently than some organizations run it. He believes it should be fun, and that fun will lead to a better feeling in the workplace, resulting in a happier atmosphere, and improved productivity. So, what fun team building events does Steve suggest? Click the link to read more!
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Tags: team development, team building, team building activities, teamwork, workplace
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Submitted : 2009-12-13 Word Count : 1 Popularity: 871