The value of team building on employee engagement and retention
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Businesses have always been challenged to engage and retain their best employees. However, in the evolving job market, retention and culture building are more difficult than ever. Employee expectations are changing, gaps are broadening in the skills required to perform and deliver value to businesses, and more people are working remotely and are less connected to their work (and the people they work with). All these factors contribute to the increased commitment by leaders to be purposeful in how they form, build, grow, and nurture their teams.
Team building, once considered a mere corporate exercise, has emerged as a powerful strategy to foster engagement and bolster employee loyalty.
The Data on Team Building, Engagement, and Retention
Here’s a little research to support the positive impact team building has on retention and engagement.
- A study featured in the Harvard Business Review revealed that companies fostering effective teamwork and instilling a strong sense of purpose experienced higher levels of employee engagement. The collaborative nature of effective teams enhances employees’ sense of belonging and commitment, laying the foundation for sustained engagement.
- Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends Report emphasizes the role of team experiences in creating a positive work environment conducive to employee retention. Teams that actively cultivate a sense of community and purpose are more likely to retain top talent, reducing turnover rates.
- The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has identified a positive correlation between team building activities and reduced turnover. Team building initiatives contribute to higher job satisfaction and, consequently, increased loyalty to the organization.
- TINYpulse’s research underscores the critical link between team building initiatives and a positive workplace culture. Workplaces that invest in team building often witness the development of strong workplace friendships, contributing to higher job satisfaction and, subsequently, improved employee retention.
Fostering Success Through Team Building
As organizations navigate the complexities of the modern workplace, the research speaks loud and clear: investing in team building is an investment in the engagement and retention of employees. By recognizing the role of effective teamwork in creating a positive work environment, organizations can foster a culture of collaboration, satisfaction, and loyalty that is essential for sustained success.
What Comprises Effective, Meaningful Team Building?
While going out after work, sharing meals, or breaking for a game of ping pong are all pleasant experiences that forge bonds among colleagues, real team BUILDING is more than these casual social experiences.
Great team building that is a vital part of culture-building and retention should:
- encourage open communication
- reward success
- strengthen (or create) bonds
- enhance collaboration
- boost morale
- cultivate positivity
- empower everyone
- incorporate a meaningful debrief of the experience that spurs conversation and reflection
- AND, most importantly, HAVE STAYING POWER WITH RESULTS THAT GO BACK TO THE OFFICE WITH YOUR TEAM!
In the end, seeing how others work and recognizing their strengths helps everyone go back to the office with a better idea of how the wheel cogs fit together. In the book “The JoyPowered Team,
my friend JoDee points out how having a strengths-based organization makes teams stronger: “Members of strengths-based teams are aware of each other’s talent filters, and they understand how each person is inclined to think, act, and feel. This awareness helps the team navigate the issues that all teams encounter.” When we’re intentional about understanding how our team works together, we can better accomplish our goals and projects.
Need Some Ideas?
If you are a leader who recognizes the value of effective team building experiences and is looking to identify the best experiences for your crew, you have lots of options. You can coordinate an event with your team yourself, or you can enlist the help of professionals who understand corporate dynamics and integrate effective team building into the activities they facilitate.
Here are a few team building experiences we have found extremely worthwhile:
- Pickleball corporate team building. Use the pickleball court as a way to bring your team together and playfully explore how you communicate, collaborate, and strategize. Debrief about how individuals and teams show up during play vs. work, and how they can bring back some of what they learn on the courts to how they work together.
- Online gaming. Round up your remote teams to play online games that unpack their pressure points, strengths, communication styles, and more. Then dig into how the play and interactions reveal and yield results worth knowing more about to build stronger teams.
- Mind-body training. Cultivate individual and corporate well-being by learning mind-body techniques that help improve the ways each person is present “in the room.”
- Strengths inventories. Utilize assessments such as CliftonStrengths to understand yourselves individually and collectively better, then build on those strengths in any activity you do, as you identify how each person taps their strengths in work (and play) activities.
The data is compelling, but the value of team building for your organization is only as strong as the fit and commitment of leadership. Leaders must believe in what they invest in and seek out teambuilding initiatives that are tailored to their unique cultures and challenges. The results of well-designed, intentional, and appropriate team building can (and should be) immediate and sustained. Your employees should leave feeling better about themselves, their colleagues, and how they communicate with one another.
