Everyone in your team has to adapt to working under a new reality. As a business owner, team leader, or HR Manager, how are you helping team members in this process?
Not every team member can effortlessly adapt to the “new normal” with homeschooling kids, the neighbours’ dogs barking in the background, or the distractions of a sofa, popcorn and a widescreen TV right in front of us. A team member working remotely could also suffer from a bad case of isolation sapping creativity and productivity which face to face interactions could otherwise bolster (who likes brainstorming with the wall?).
These days, remote team channels such as Slack prompt people to pause from work and share virtual donuts and virtual coffee breaks; compelling users to have some interaction with their teams.
So how can team building activities strengthen team unity and cohesion and maintain productivity amongst your remote teams? We’ve identified four ways:
- Team building activities give people a sense of structure
The pandemic has decentralised workplaces. Work isn’t at a physical set location you go to daily, it is at home. Some team members breeze through this reality without any issue while others feel their routine and sense of order has been thrown in disarray.
Team building activities can give your teams a sense of structure and help team members adjust to their new work environment. It’s a great way to make your teams feel that their welfare is looked after, and that you care that they feel connected to the rest of the team even if they are working from home.
Palate Sensations Team Building is Singapore’s foremost provider of virtual, off-site and in-studio Cooking Team Building activities. Our programmes are carefully curated with specific development targets in mind, be it in team communication or leadership or enhancing problem-solving skills. Check out our programmes.
- Team building activities encourage honest and trusting team communication
Communication builds bridges towards productivity. Communicating using online platforms (email and chat groups), where the tone and non-verbal components of communication are not easily demonstrated, could cause messages to get lost in translation, and this could potentially disrupt team cohesion. Team building activities foster team unity by helping your teams understand and communicate smoothly and effectively with each other.
When teams work together on a common activity or to resolve a challenge, they learn to communicate better, trust each other, and understand and work towards a shared aspiration.
Do you want a fun activity that will make your teams bond while trying to solve some challenges? We dare you to try Scavenger Hunt! Watch the video below to get a feel of how it’s done!
- Team building activities help teams stay productive and develop leadership skills
All work and no play makes employees dull. Team building activities are investments towards wellness. Taking a step back from deadlines and other more urgent matters to sharpen one’s saw is a worthwhile endeavour that promises greater rewards in the long-term in terms of lower attrition rate, greater job satisfaction, increased loyalty and dedication to work, among others.
Finishing tasks together can be encouraging for your teams who are inclined to feel more appreciated in the workplace, which in turn will make them confident about themselves and give them a sense that they are making a difference. This boosted morale will, in turn, increase the employees’ productivity and inspire leaders amongst them.
- Team building helps preserve the company’s culture
If there is one important lesson this pandemic is teaching us, it is that a culture of innovation and resilience is much needed for teams and businesses to surmount the challenges this health crisis has placed upon us. We’re seeing some businesses forging on, while others have had to close due to revenue losses. Businesses that have pivoted and innovated quickly to new business models, and those that have rallied their teams successfully to support each other during this transition, are among those that are successfully weathering this storm.
Covid-19 is indeed putting team spirit to the test. If you are a business and you have managed to keep your team together through this time, make the investment for a team building activity that will solidify your team’s strength. After all, your best assets are your employees and you rely on them to take your business and your company to a more stable ground and to remain unshakable amidst this time of great uncertainty.
Palate Sensations Team Building helps companies strengthen teams through our carefully curated cooking team building programmes that can be offered in-studio, off-site at your preferred location, and virtually. Check out our programmes and write to us at info@palatesensations.com to learn more.
