4 Ways Your Organization is Getting Team Building Wrong
Team building initiatives tantalize with their potential to improve cross-functional teamwork, break down silos, and generate new solutions for persistent challenges,
but is your organization getting team building right?
Unfortunately, many companies, groups, and organizations miss out on the full benefits of team building because they fall into some common traps.
To ensure you don’t repeat the mistakes of others, we’re sharing four ways that organizations fail to unlock the full power of their teams:
1. Planning “Activities” Instead of “Real” Team Building
Don’t think of team building as an “activity.” When executives fall into that trap, they often end up wasting time and money on corporate “play days” that don’t move the organization any closer to its goals. If you want to see real return on investment from team building, identify important organizational missions and objectives and coordinate events that have verifiable ROI.
2. Not Allocating Enough Time
If you only dedicate a half day here and a half day there to team building, you aren’t reaching all the members of your team. The analytical learners in your organization need thinking time to digest the messages you’re trying to get across. Introverts need time to open up and get comfortable with the situation. Without sufficient time to do so, these people will likely conclude that your brief team building exercise was a waste of their time.
Team building can help increase cross-functional cohesion and enhance personal effectiveness and professionalism in the workplace, but those goals take time to achieve. You should plan at least two days for team building. Half day exercises are only sufficient for outings and recreational activities.
3. Picking Venue and Dates Before Setting Goals
Finding the team building retreats or dates that perfectly fit your needs isn’t always easy. Unfortunately, there’s other work to be done before you lock in reservations. As stated earlier, executives need to start with identifying goals and defining success before final team building plans can be set in stone. Taking a step ahead too early could put you in a position where the timing or location of your event isn’t ideally fit to your purpose.
4. Delegating Responsibility to the Wrong People
Delegate the important task of team building planning to inexperienced team members and you can expect to end up with superficial “activities” that do little to advance the goals of your organization. Even committees of inexperienced people likely will fail to produce the results you’re looking for. Team building is best when it’s planned and guided by organizational leaders with the direct experience.
Has your organization made mistakes with team building in the past? If so, please consider sharing them with us on our LinkedIn Group, where we encourage retreat and event planners to discuss their experiences, and learn from others within our industry.
Retreat Central can make it easy for you to locate and research the best retreat centers around the United States. With that worry off your plate, you’ll have more time to focus on all the other details that go into planning a successful event.
If you have questions or would like more assistance, call Retreat Central at 877-364-2323, or click here to send us an email. Together we can make your team building events more fun and more productive!
