How Team Building Facilities Performance

One of the most important things for an organization to do is recognize that it needs to have teamwork as part of its organizational culture. This can be tricky, though, since many organizations feel that they are already doing enough team-building activities or that these activities need to be focused only on certain teams within the company.

Team building is not just something you “do once a year during the holidays”, it is a constant process that every member of the organization should participate in. This includes leadership positions such as executives and managers!

Not only does investing time into developing strong relationships among coworkers help promote workplace harmony, but it also strengthens trust, respect, and communication skills. When people work together well, productivity soars and morale rises.

Facilities performance professionals play a crucial role in ensuring that your department’s team spirit is top notch by helping employees find their place within the larger organization. They coach colleagues on how to best use the resources at their disposal and teach them how to collaborate with others.

This article will talk more about some ways that facilities performance staff can strengthen team cohesion at your facility. While this may seem like a luxury given that your department has limited funding and resources, there are several easy changes that you can make that will improve group dynamics and overall employee satisfaction.

Here are some tips for improving group solidarity at work.

Provide interesting topics for conversation

Being involved in various types of team building exercises is one way to boost employee productivity and engagement. Companies that offer these experiences typically promote them as opportunities to connect with others, learn about other people, discuss things you’ve never talked about before, and create new relationships or strengthen existing ones.

Many companies make an effort to have at least one type of event every week. This can be done through organized activities such as taking a trip out together or hosting a conference at the workplace. Or they may hold events that are more informal like having lunch or drinks after work.

Whatever kind of activity takes place, it should be designed to bring out the best in everyone. Some individuals might feel uncomfortable, but this isn’t a good time to hide under the table!

Your colleagues will probably appreciate being informed if you ask some questions and get into a discussion about what happened during the event. They will also likely admire your openness.

Let people be themselves

As mentioned earlier, one of the most important team building facilities performance strategies is to let people be themselves. This can be tricky when there are major differences in culture or personality between individuals.

By having different experiences, they’ll bring new things to the table that you wouldn’t know about otherwise. In our increasingly connected world, with everyone living such busy lives, this becomes even more crucial.

Facilities should offer as many opportunities as possible for socializing, meeting members of the community, attending events, etc. Whether it’s going out for drinks after work, playing sports together, or just hanging out at someone’s house, letting people explore possibilities helps them connect with others and feel comfortable being themselves.

This also means not requiring too much formal structure or process from attendees – what works for one person may not work for another. Rather than asking participants how their day was, ask if anyone has done anything lately. Or whether there’s something else they would like to do next week.

The first time someone says “no” might be tough, but hopefully you’ve built up enough trust by then that they will realize why it makes sense and give you permission later. It’s better to lose a few people who want to watch TV instead of doing an activity you wanted to participate in, than to cancel due to lack of availability every other month.

Eat and drink enough

Even if you do not have time to organize a formal team building activity, there are many ways you can motivate your employees by offering snacks and drinks during the workday. This is particularly important in times of crisis as people will begin to feel tired and less motivated.

Providing food and beverages for your staff can be done at one of two levels- either having an informal get together or doing it on a more systematic basis.

The first way would be buying some snack items and putting them somewhere visible so that everyone knows they are available. A good source of inspiration is looking into the restaurants and cafés that keep a constant supply of healthy foods for their customers.

The second way to do this is through organized lunch breaks where someone makes sure that everyone has something to eat and drink. This could be done every day, every other week or once a month depending on how much budget you have.

Making changes to how your workplace functions can take time, so don’t expect dramatic results within a few days. However, if you continually offer these opportunities to your colleagues, they will appreciate it and eventually things will shift.

Let people know you appreciate them

As mentioned earlier, team building is an integral part of any successful workplace. Not only do these events promote teamwork, but they also increase employee satisfaction.

As company leaders, we need to let our employees know just how much their work matters to us. A way to do this is by hosting or attending internal team-building exercises such as pot luck dinners, educational seminars, and motivational speeches.

Not only does this show appreciation for your staff, it boosts morale and encourages collaboration. If you’re looking to boost engagement, invest in some team building!

Internal team-building activities are not only cost effective, but they are free too! The key is making sure that the participants enjoy what you have planned and feel relaxed while engaging in them.

Teamwork is a crucial ingredient to success at work and should be encouraged continually. Creating an open environment where individuals can share experiences promotes trust and loyalty.

Make it clear what the schedule is

As mentioned earlier, one of the first things that can hurt team building fun is when you have to leave. This is particularly true if there are other events planned after the activity. Unfortunately, most group activities require a certain amount of time and people usually need to be picked up or left behind depending on how long they spend outside of the facility.

Some groups may choose to give their participants permission to remain longer than expected so that they can keep going with the rest of the party, but this can backfire as well. If someone stays later than anticipated, the others in the event may feel like they were left waiting for them and become discouraged.

This could potentially end badly for some parties where people get into an intense argument about why the leaving was necessary and who put pressure on whom. A better way to manage this situation is to include enough time before the next event so that nobody feels too rushed.

Go to interesting locations

As mentioned earlier, attending team building events is a great way to boost employee engagement. If you are looking to increase internal communication and teamwork, organize a trip to an outdoor location or one of these indoor facilities where people come together in a space with common goals.

Facilities such as conference rooms, restaurants, museums, and recreational centers can all be effective team-building destinations.

By hosting your event at a non-competitive venue, it will promote more casual conversations, collaborations, and friendships. Employees will enjoy exploring the destination with others, while learning about each other’s areas of expertise.

At the same time, they’ll feel connected to their department and the organization as a whole because it’s not too focused on just keeping them within their area. It makes them feel like part of something bigger, which can motivate them to go beyond what they already know and give of themselves to help the company succeed.

If you're running out of ideas for how to invigorate your employees, consider organizing a day at a local park, pool, or beach. Or invite some locals to hold a cookout or game during working hours.

Try new things

As mentioned earlier, team building is more than just having fun together. It’s exploring different disciplines and skills in order to better understand each other. This includes trying new foods, exercising, or doing something outside of your routine that you have been practicing for years.

For example, most people are familiar with running as a skill, but what about swimming? Or yoga? Or horse riding? All these can boost teamwork and communication by teaching participants how to work with others, and how to motivate them.

Facilities performance professionals develop relationships with local businesses and learn their products through repeated use. By offering various experiences at your facility, you open up opportunities for staff members to try new things and expand their repertoire.

These experiences also help mitigate workplace stress, giving employees some time away to re-focus before returning home. Plus, it raises employee morale – they feel appreciated and needed.

Try introducing one of these activities into your next event so guests can enjoy it while meeting and talking to one another.

Let people speak freely

As mentioned earlier, one of the most important team building facilities performance tools is letting go of control and creating an open environment. This can be done through having free conversations, asking questions, giving feedback, etc.

As humans, we like to feel in control. We like to think that we know what’s going on around us, and we want other people to agree with our ideas.

But sometimes, you have to let go and trust others to do their jobs. You cannot control everything, so make sure you are not too involved in every conversation, but stay engaged enough to show your interest and listen to get good information.

This way, you will learn something new while also keeping yourself connected to those around you.