7 Team-Building Activities That Spark Employee Engagement
Do you have an organization, or do you have a group of professionals who come in, do their individual tasks, and wait to get paid?
As your company begins to grow, it is not enough to find people to do specific tasks. Beyond that, you need to develop a cohesive unit ready and willing to do what is necessary to achieve a common goal.
And in order to do that, you need to keep your employees engaged. But what, exactly, is employee engagement?
Understanding employee engagement
Employees are said to be engaged when they go beyond the motions of going through their tasks. When employees are fully involved, they can reach their full potential and help their organizations succeed in achieving their goals.
Employee engagement does not come as an accident or as a stroke of luck. In order to achieve it, there are certain conditions that need to be met. These conditions include open communication, trust, and commitment between a company and its workers.
How can employees and companies benefit from it?
For an employee, engagement can mean a few things. For starters, when an employee is engaged, he is motivated to come to work because he knows he has the support of his co-workers and managers.
Second, engagement enables an employee to understand how he fits within the organization and how he can positively contribute to the achievement of its goals.
Third, engaged employees know that they are a part of something bigger. They understand that apart from playing a specific role, they have a team that is willing to help them grow, improve, or even acquire new skills and knowledge.
Finally, engaged employees thrive in their organizations because they know that they are valued and their needs are adequately met.
Organizations benefit from employee engagement in numerous ways.
First of all, engaged employees are loyal employees. And loyal employees go the extra mile, whether that means fulfilling their assigned tasks and beyond, or meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
Engaged employees don't just contribute their skills. They also find ways to address issues that hobble the organization and come up with new ideas to improve current systems or even ideas for new products or services.
Because engaged employees feel they are a part of something bigger, they help increase productivity in different ways. These include fewer absences and sick days, fewer accidents, and fewer conflicts.
Engaging employees through team-building activities
To a large degree, employee engagement is a two-way street. You cannot expect your employees to become passionate about their work in an instant. Engagement takes work, time, and effort. And one way to do that is to venture out of your regular work routines by participating in team-building activities.
Listed here are a few ideas that you might want to try for your next team-building event.
Eat out together
Promoting engagement and fostering teamwork do not need to be complicated. Often, the simplest things are the most effective ways to secure employee trust and confidence.
One simple activity that can bring your team together is eating out. Schedule the event at the end of the workweek, preferably after work. This will make everyone feel at ease and feel less pressure about thinking about what still needs to be done at the office.
Go on a scavenger hunt
Every member of your team has something to bring to the table. And one way to bring that to the forefront is to participate in a scavenger hunt where your employees can demonstrate their skills outside the context of work.
Here, each employee is given the opportunity to contribute to a common goal, be it solving a riddle or performing a particular task to beat a challenge.
Hold a charity event
Hit two birds with one stone by holding a charity event. On the one hand, you bring your team together outside of your regular work routine, allowing you to build trust and cooperation. And on the other hand, you're working for a good cause as part of your corporate social responsibility efforts.
Play
Games are an excellent way to bring a team together. See who gets the highest score in arcade classics. Use creativity and problem solving to determine the winner. And it doesn't always have to be competitive. There are plenty of games that require teamwork.
Group hike
Explore your city as a team. This gives you an opportunity to bond as a team while getting to know your community better. Plus, it is an excellent way to get some sunshine and move your muscles.
This is a perfect activity for seasons where things are going slow in the office.
Cook-off
Settle for a specific dish that teams will cook. And then divide your team into smaller groups. Each group will give their personal take on that dish, and then all the employees will vote for their favorite.
Fitness challenge
Sitting around all day can be hazardous to health. Encourage your employees to move around while sparking their competitive spirit by holding a fitness challenge.
Participants should download the same app on their device, which will be used to track progress. It can be as simple as trying to see who works the most number of miles or a bit more challenging, like finding who can perform the most number of burpees. After a set period, the employee who performs the best gets a prize.
Finding the right venue
Planning and preparing for team-building activities is no easy matter. With all the things that you need to account for, it is a good idea to find a team-building venue that has everything that your group will need.
Beyond team-building
Numerous studies indicate that team-building activities can and do bring groups together and increase employee engagement.
However, engagement goes beyond these activities. Apart from bringing team members together, there should be a keen focus on the employees, allowing them to reach their potential and sparking the spirit of passion within them.
Outside the context of team-building, these can mean a lot of things, including encouraging work breaks, flexible work hours, positive feedback, mentorship, further education, and gratitude and recognition for a job well done.
