Team Building Motivates

Want to bring your team together for some fun outside the office? Here are some ideas for ways to get your staff out of the office for fun events that will not only strengthen their sense of teamwork, but will also increase morale and motivation when the team returns on Monday morning. Sure, you have to spend some money and give up a Saturday, but you can be sure it will be worth it. This is highly recommended if you have bickering or discord on your team, or if you’re noticing a drop in employee satisfaction or morale. It doesn’t take much for you to show your employees that you appreciate them. Team building activities and employee appreciation go a long way to improving the mindset and motivation levels of your staff.

A Company Picnic

If you’re a larger company, a company picnic is a great idea. This may seem old-fashioned to some, but it’s a great way to spend a day with family and friends.  Setup kid-friendly games such as egg and spoon, 3-legged race, potato sack race etc., and maybe even an arts and crafts table for the kids. Provide great food, some music, and get some commemorative hats or t-shirts made to mark the event. One way to ensure participation is to hold your event at an amusement park or theme park where discount tickets are also available to make sure everyone has a wonderful time.

Throw an “Employee Appreciation Party”

A party during the holidays or anytime throughout the year, makes your employees feel special. Rent a venue (adults only) and invite your staff to a dress-up party where they can eat, drink, dance and socialize. Casino nights are popular as well. There are a ton of venues such as museums and galleries that you can rent out after hours for this kind of event. For smaller companies, a dinner out, or even pizza and beer a few times a year lets your employees know that you appreciate them and want to treat them to a fun evening.

Outdoor Activities

If your company has a lot of athletically inclined employees you might want to plan a team-building activity such as a bike ride, hike, or form a softball or bowling team. You can also treat your staff to a day of zip-lining, kayaking or other outdoor pursuits.  Active employees will appreciate the chance to participate in something outside of the norm, and you may be surprised at the response you receive from your team.

Charity Fund Raising

Getting your staff involved in charity work as a team representing your company is a great way to rally people around a cause and get them to work together outside of the regular workload. Get them excited about a fundraising goal, and let them organize and execute their plan (with approval) to raise funds. This could be a walk/run for charity, a canned food drive, a coat drive for kids in winter or a blood drive with the Red Cross. Get some hats and T-shirts made to commemorate the team effort and provide a team and individual prize for incentive to meet the mark. Celebrating helping others is a great way for people to work together as a team.

No matter what you choose to do, any or all of these ideas will give your team a morale boost and help them to take a break from the regular workaday routine. The size of your company doesn’t matter, even companies with tiny budgets can find a way to host team building events for the staff. Your employees will appreciate the effort and dollars spent and you will reap the rewards with increased employee morale and a happier team!