Despite the popularity of team building among larger companies many small businesses- particularly in traditional industries were reluctant to adopt team building, seeing it as an unnecessary expense based on what is typically a small or non-existent training and staff development budget. Teambuilding days for example not only involve the cost of a trainer or training centre or an activity for the team to do together but also the expense incurred of leaving the office for a day or afternoon- in an office of 5 people or less this can mean the close of business for an entire day which is undoubtedly costly.

However, there are real benefits to be gained from good team building activities which far outweigh the costs incurred in the process. Benefits companies who adopt team building often report include- improved morale among staff, higher staff retention rates/ lower staff turnover, improved efficiency measured in terms of meeting project deadlines, higher productivity per capita of staff resulting in higher profitability, lower absence through sickness.

It may be argued that all these benefits touch on key areas which are actually more business critical to the world of small business than large organisations where profitability is usually driven from the organisational mechanic as a whole rather than individual performance (although this still undoubtedly plays a part in the mechanic, it is less measurable).

For the cash conscious small business however there are alternatives to expensive team building which can deliver the same benefits to you business. If you want to run your own team building activity make sure you first understand the principles of what makes good professional team building so successful. Here are some basic guidelines.

-Do it outdoors- it doesn’t have to be on the other side of the world but its good to get out of town.

-Make it active but inclusive- you may be into your extreme sports but that doesn’t mean your team will share your enjoyment of all things dangerous. Make it something people will look forward to rather than dread.

-Look at and address the problems in your team- if there’s a divide, don’t ignore this, choose activities which will force your team to face up to their differences.

Food is essentially the most important part of life. Camping is a recreational activity but lacks excitement without proper food. While enjoying the camping site in wilderness or desert, sea-shore or a river bank, the meals eaten can be made innovative and enjoyed equally well. If you are camping nomadically, it doesn’t mean you have to eat primitively as well. Interesting food doesn’t require any special equipment to prepare. A slice of experiment with a pinch of creativity can result in unforgettable meals. Roasted food and baked dishes are an all time favourite with campers who like travelling light and enjoy with the edible resources available in the camp site. Quick recipes can be churned out easily with some preparation and planning. It is advisable to carry some basic ingredients while depending on local availability for the rest.

A good way to enjoy and relish the camp meal is to distribute the cooking task like peeling, chopping, cleaning, and lighting the fire, amongst the campers. The sense of involvement through distribution of labour will make the whole process cherish able. So next time you go camping consider camping meals as a team building activity!

Team Building Activities

· Icebreakers – Activities designed for the members of a team to get to know each other through fun and informative mini activities.

· Trust Exercises – Team members must rely on each other for support and direction. Common examples are blindfolded trust walks and trust falls.

· Creative Problem Solving – Team members are given a problem to solve in a specific amount of time. These problems generally do not relate to situations that would typically find in the work place. Building a raft, starting a fire, or completing an obstacle course are common examples of problem solving exercises.

· Adaptability – The team sets out to complete their task with one set of parameters and then in the middle of the task the organizer adds other factors to which the team must adapt themselves.

Goals of Teambuilding

· Improved communication between team members

· Increased level of comfort within the team

· Increased level of trust within the team

· Increased level of productivity within the team

· Overall increase in motivation

· Identifying and utilizing the strengths of each team member

· Improvement in collaboration skills

If a company elects to spend an entire day in a team building retreat, the time will not be wasted. Many employees report feeling rejuvenated after a day spent team building. Depending on the type of exercise, the day might be organized within the office or adjacent grounds, or it may take place at a specially designed retreat that caters to the needs of business-based team building.

At a retreat, a typical day might go as follows:

1) The members of the team report to the site and sign in.

2) They are briefed on safety and other considerations specific to the site.

3) They are guided through a series of icebreaking and trust exercises.

4) They are given the details of the task they have to accomplish as a team.

5) They complete their task.

6) They participate in a debriefing session following the completion of the activity to recognize their overall strengths and weaknesses as team. As one can imagine, it is this debriefing session that puts all the activities of the day in a useful context.

Overall, Team Building can be a very effective exercise for improving relations and productivity in the workplace.

Remember these top six qualities of outstanding team building before putting your program together:

It’s challenging. A great team building exercise will involve a challenging task to get participants focused on creativity and problem-solving. It’s competitive. Adding an element of competition will help get participants excited and will encourage rivalry and cooperation. It’s achievable. Make it tough, but not so tough that they can’t make it to the finish line. This will generate interest and boost the desire to bond with teammates. It’s team-oriented. Create an “us vs. them” mentality by mixing a bit of rivalry into the equation. It can help the team develop an instant sense of camaraderie, even if no one has ever met before. It’s inclusive. Make sure the exercise is something everyone can get involved in and feel included in the group. You don’t want anyone sitting on the sidelines. It’s fun. Your exercise should give employees the chance to loosen up and take a break from the usual stress of their day, at the same time they’re learning something new.

It’s always great to watch a group of coworkers enjoy themselves in a successful team building activity. While they’re having fun, you’re conspicuously teaching them lessons about themselves and their coworkers.

Effective team building exercises can be fun and productive, if you design them right. Think of it like when you get a workout by playing with your kids – they have fun, you have fun and you burn off that burger you had for lunch. It’s a win-win situation!

Possibly you could hold team building exercises in a hotel meeting room and have them conducted by a company that specializes in that sort of thing. But this seems more like just another work day — not the life-changing bonding experience that you are striving for.

A bowling alley is another option, and before you hastily dismiss this idea, remember that classy new bowling facilities are appearing everywhere these days. But if the local bowling alley is dark and dreary, your employees may balk at the idea, and that is certainly not conducive to the unifying experience that you are seeking.

Think about being a host of a cooking competition, including chef hats and the preparation of delicious food. If you have seen Iron Chef, this is very similar. Talented professional chefs will direct the competition while team members bond with each other in ways that cannot be anticipated. Each team prepares a meal consisting of several courses, employing the secret ingredient of the day to fight for the cook-off championship crown.

Every team member would rely on his/her own personal skills in such areas as innovation, organization, and attention to details, while simultaneously enjoying themselves and learning new cooking skills. Previous cooking experience is not required. Every member participates as much as they want to, but the objective is to foster cooperation in order to produce the best-tasting dish.

Ideally, the company that is running this team cooking competition will supply all foods, chefs, non-alcoholic beverages, cooking equipment, and best of all, will do all the clean-up at the end of the day. All you need to have are enough eager employees to make up two or more teams willing to have fun acquiring new cooking skills while team building with co-workers.

This kind of event normally last for approximately three hours. Following the excitement of the tasks of preparing food, the teams take a seat and have fun with their culinary masterpieces, such as appetizers, main dishes, and tasty desserts.

Designate one person to be the photographer for each team so that the action is recorded for posterity. This provides an opportunity for everyone to gather at a later date to reminisce about the experience, and the event will be remembered fondly for a long time. Enjoy!

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Some common kinds of team building exercises are usually intended to be carried out in office or school environment. Such exercises could take place in starting week of school or when a team is preparing of work together on same project or even during training. Many of such even comprise of easy judgment puzzles, word games, and few other activities, which need physical or small level mental assistance. As well to getting a team thinking of a group, such effective team building exercises further remain as ice breakers, allowing group learn appealing things about one other and lean-to some of their usual coyness.

When it comes to advanced team building exercises they are usually taken place outside the usual environment such as one day outing or retreat for few days. This is done by corporations often and also by some colleges and educational institutions as well. Some examples of outdoor team building exercises are orienteering, hunter hunts, ropes training, and superb camping experiences. Advanced team building exercises generally need an even superior level of faith and assistance among the people taking part and some other cases might go on for a week or more at a dedicated retreat. Regularly the members come back with deeper friendships to one another, which actually serve them well in the months and years for the future.

Common team building exercises to carry out with a class or place of work comprise trust falls, where in people are requested to remain with their back to the team and let themselves to drop backwards, depending on other members of the team to catch them before they drop down the ground. Hunter hunts games are further very popular, and could be limited to a small area or enlarge over a whole city, relying on the range of partaking desired. Another well-liked method for people to understand more about one other is “Walk across the Room,” a team building exercise where the spur reads statements such as “I have no siblings,” or “I belong to small town” out loud. If the statement is true for any person, he or she comes forward: if it is false, the people just stay in place. By viewing around, people could at least acquire fundamental facts about each other. There are many such team building events that can help a team grow in healthier and friendly manner.