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Team Bonding to Build Team Engagement

By: Megan Schmidt, Marketing Intern

Team bonding activities are a fun and effective way for teams to learn, grow, and bond while enjoying one another's company. Incorporating play within the work environment is a refreshing outlet employers can take advantage of to build motivation and Engagement. Deriving favorable results from team challenges require team members to rely on and encourage one another.

Interactive games and events help develop group cohesiveness. By allowing participants to break down communication barriers and create avenues that encourage discussion, group productivity will increase. Team building games can set the foundation for continuous growth and camaraderie, as well as give a meaningful boost to company culture. Some options for team bonding activities are as follows:

Office Olympics
Office Olympics are a great approach to build team Engagement through a series of games that can vary in difficulty and interaction. Office Olympics are an event businesses can create for their employees to work on specific areas of development that will help make the team be more successful. Activities can be tailored to fit a specific theme or topic that needs improvement within the team. It is completely up to the organizer how long the event takes place or what games are played. By completing the team bonding games, employees will learn more about each other and their problem-solving skills, giving each member a better idea of how to work effectively with each other.

Team Cookout
Cookouts give employees the opportunity to take advantage of a beautiful day outside while bringing your team together to enjoy each other's company. During the cookout, games can be played or it can simply be used for socializing. A relaxing, outdoor activity will give teammates the chance to socialize and communicate in a casual environment where doing work is not their number one priority. Creating personal connections among team members will contribute to more effective and open communication.

Office Scavenger Hunt
Engage your employees through a companywide interaction with co-workers and management from different departments. Begin your scavenger hunt by determining items or information teams will need to find. Tasks can be business related or personal. For instance, teams may need to collect signatures from five co-workers wearing a blue shirt or correctly guess a manager's favorite flavor of ice cream. The amount of creativity the organizer can use is endless.

Team Volunteer Day
Organize a specific day for team members to volunteer their time to a charity. Activities could consist of participating in a city-wide competition for a particular cause, serving people at a soup kitchen, or simply picking up litter in a local park. Teams could also give back by going to local schools and sharing their knowledge and advice about the working world with students. Bringing your colleagues together for a good cause will notonly promote teamwork, but it can also increase Engagement through Corporate Social Responsibility.

Company Board Game Day
Take a break from the daily grind and have team members bring their favorite board games to work. Employees can play games and converse, creating a bond on a personal level in their professional environment. Playing games can also reduce employee stress.

Best Dish Challenge
Allow employees to display their creativity and decision-making skills through a cooking contest where employees would be bucketed into teams and tasked with creating a dish from a selection of provided food items. The challenge lies in employees having to use limited resources and time to make the best dish possible. It could also be a tasty lunch-time break from the hectic work day.

Interactive team bonding activities promote fun and learning into the workplace. Events should be held regularly to allow for constant growth and development. After an activity or event takes place, a discussion should occur to highlight the important lessons discovered and how they translate to the individual's productivity. Refer back to these lessons in future projects or tasks. Team building helps employees focus on important skills they use every day in their jobs and allows them to enhance their skills in a stress-free environment. Emphasizing the importance of teamwork in the company culture will help relate team building back to the workplace, as well as increase Employee Engagement.

HR Solutions, Inc. | 25 East Washington Street, Suite 600 | Chicago, IL 60602
312.236.7170 | www.hrsolutionsinc.com

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