Effective Team Building To Improve Employee Morale

Creating a Success Event To Enhance Worker Satisfaction 

With the current economic climate increasing the stress of American workers as it relates to job security, nothing builds employee morale more than a good team building exercise.  The problem is . . . what works best?

“We're constantly approached by companies looking for help with improving employee morale,” said Steve Walter, President & Chief Executive Officer of CoreCentive, a consulting firm which specializes in human capital, reward & recognition and brand engagement strategies.  “And our first response is always 'team building.'  This is the fastest way to get employees engaged and motivated and feeling good about their work and where they work.”

Walters suggests that in order for a team building activity to live up to its true potential, it must be integrated with real-time work goals.  Establish a systematic workplace integration and follow-up process – before you go on the team building adventure.  You need to make the good feelings and the outcomes from the team building activity last beyond the final team building exercise.

Impact of Team Building Events

Without this attention to integration, corporate team building or planning events are, at best, a short term boost to employee enthusiasm and positive morale.  If they are planned and executed well, people feel good about themselves and about each other.  Employees get to know each other better and have a common experience to talk about back at work.

“It's pretty simple,” added Walter.  “But it requires diligent planning and must fit the culture of the company.”

Team Building Success Factors

The success of a team building or of a strategic planning activity begins well before the start of the sessions. Use a team to plan the event since you want to model the behavior you seek from the team building sessions you schedule.  The likely long-term effectiveness of a team building event or corporate retreat is enhanced when you incorporate annual team building events into an overall company structure. This cultural framework of philosophies, values and practices is designed to build the concept of “team” on a regular basis. In this environment, team building sessions can yield supportive results.

If team building and other off-site events are to offer value, their inclusion in an overall corporate structure of philosophies, values and practices is critical.  People must already operate in a team-oriented environment that is characterized by such philosophies as shared purpose, shared vision, shared mission and a performance development system that enables people to grow both personally and professionally.  Or, your organization must be proactively pursuing team work as a business and employee strategy.

In such a system, team behaviors are rewarded and recognized.  Teams solve problems and improve processes.  There is a genuine concern for employees and the policies and work are employee and employee-family friendly. When a problem or failure occurs, the search is not for the guilty, but instead, managers ask, “What about the work system caused that person or team to fail?”

When such a structure exists on an ongoing basis within an organization, team building events can enhance and help the system grow stronger.  Again, build the team building events around a business purpose to which all attendees can contribute, and you have the opportunity for an energizing, exciting growth opportunity.

Popular European Model Coming To America

A team building exercise popular in Europe will test its wares next year in America, as CoreCentive has partnered with Hercules Trophy International to bring the latter's popular corporate team building event to New York City next summer.

Expected to attract more than 250 corporate teams and thousands of competitors looking for a balance between work, sports, health and family, the Hercules Trophy is the fastest-growing corporate networking team building competition in the world.  By the combination of competitive experiences, sports and entertainment on one day, Hercules Trophy builds a long-term team effect. The format actively promotes physical and mental fitness for business people.

“The aim of the Hercules Trophy is to build camaraderie, embrace networking and promote company loyalty with an inter-company sporting team day,” surmised Walter.  “We're thrilled to be introducing this successful concept to North America, are are confident it could really be a game-changer for companies who decide to utilize this.”

Conclusion

Successful companies regularly demonstrate their commitment to building team unity, trust and positive morale among their employees in their daily workplace.  Without this commitment and the presence of team building success factors, negative effects can result from formal team building or planning sessions.

Team building and planning events and activities have the potential to bring the people you employ a strong sense of direction, workable plans and solutions, a powerful feeling of belonging with and on the team and clear, strategic customer-focused values.

Poorly planned and executed, created outside of the context of the total organization, the team building and planning sessions bring disillusionment, low morale and negative motivation.  They fail to deliver the results expected.  Organizations flounder with little strategic direction.  Everyone works hard, but, usually on the wrong tasks and goals.  Employees take baby steps toward accomplishing key action items and nothing important is finished.

So focus on what really works with the culture of your company and be very diligent in your planning, according to Walter, who adds “the end result is a workforce which is inspired, engaged and motivated – and that bodes well for business sustainability and growth.”