Team Building

A Team Building Training workshop can be a good team outing in the weekend where people get to know everyone across departments, a fun learning experience where team members learn how one function is dependent on another to achieve organizational success. The actual test of these workshops is done when we see what happens when team members return to office. The purpose of this training gets fulfilled only when people drive home the concepts learnt in the workshop and start applying the same at workplace. There are situations where managers do not get enough time to plan team building activities and end up doing activities which are not linked to an outcome for team cohesion. Missing out on planning such training can become a hindrance in getting optimum results where workshops are just conducted for the sake of getting completed without real thoughts or goals in mind. Such workshops will not yield result and turn out to be a waste of effort and time.

Team Building skills training can be a powerful tool in developing strengths, addressing weaknesses and creating a work environment where people work as a team taking full ownership of their roles having organizational goal accomplishment as an ultimate objective. Planning team building exercises that cater to specific needs of the organization with a unique strategy that makes execution practical can be an ideal step to develop a perception of organizational success as a whole.

Organizations should clearly scrutinize the specific challenges faced by different teams and departments which will give clear insights to choose effective exercises to combat and eliminate such issues. Some common causes for differences and disconnect between individuals, teams and departments that hinder organizational growth and cohesiveness are mentioned below:

• Conflicts between certain people and formation of groups that creates divisions within the team: People tend to form groups based on factors like age or common thoughts which may lead to conflicts between such groups. If this problem is not addressed right at the start, managers will find it difficult to align the team’s performance towards organizational success.
• Team members do not know one another: Many organizations have their team members spread across work locations and facilities where team members or members of cross departments have not even seen one another. There is absence of rapport building between them and they tend to speak to each other only during specific tasks where human touch is missing. People act like machines who perform specific to managerial commands.
• People shift focus to individual targets from team or organizational targets and lose flexibility and coordination.
• Poor communication causes slow progress and shock.
• People are not aware or do not realize the benefits of working as a team.
• Resistance to change which blocks effective performance and quality.
• Loss of confidence and enthusiasm within individuals and groups.

The team building activities can be recorded and clearly related to the employees day to day activities. The benefits of working together in terms of time savings and profitability can be addressed. The amount of loss in time, effort and money can also be conveyed to department heads, supervisors and individual employees.

Team building is a continuous process which strengthens when the team spirit enters the blood of every employee. It can happen when team cohesiveness becomes a part of organizational culture.