Team Building: Why It’s Important and Some Ideas from our Team!
This time of year is often a time of setting goals and plans for the year to come. For organizations, this is often very focused on business goals related to projects and finances as well as planning for events such as conferences or important meetings. While all of these things are important for setting the organization up for success, we often forget to also plan and make time to connect with our fellow team members. Yes, I’m talking about #teambuilding.
Team building can often get a bad rap and be met with some eye rolls and expectations of overly structured and sometimes silly or awkward activities. Trust falls anyone?
Team building can often get a bad rap and be met with some eye rolls and expectations of overly structured and sometimes silly or awkward activities. Trust falls anyone? But team building doesn’t have to be any of those things. The best team building opportunities are those that simply get you away from the daily grind and focus on spending time together, working towards a common goal, and sharing experiences organically. Team building isn’t a ‘nice to have,’ it’s a true investment in your team and your organization and can have significant, positive effects on communication, cohesion, trust, morale, engagement, productivity, and more!
With that said, I thought I would briefly share a bit about our team’s approach to team building as well as some examples of activities we have had the opportunity to do together. At C1C, our team building happens primarily through what we call Quarterly Celebrations. These are times where we come together to spend quality time, have fun, and celebrate our wins. Each quarter, a new team member has time set aside to plan our next celebration. This ensures that everyone has a chance to choose activities and spreads the responsibility out among the team. Even during these unprecedented times of the pandemic, we have still made time for team building and have done so virtually as needed. Below is a list of some of the team building activities we have had fun with here at C1C as well as a few pictures! We hope these give you some ideas for your own team!
Escape Room. Our team completed an escape room which tested our ability to solve problems, puzzles, and riddles as a team under the pressure of the clock!
Apple Orchard. At a local apple orchard, we were able to pick apples, taste locally sourced snacks and beverages, and enjoy each other’s company.
Cooking Class. Working with a local chef in town, we were able to set up a virtual cooking class. The chef set our menu and delivered all ingredients and instructions to our homes and walked us through everything via Zoom!
Mini Golf. Our team got to show off our putting skills at a local mini golf course. Spoiler alert: nobody was skilled enough to win the free game on the last hole, but we still had a great time!
Gingerbread House Building. Gingerbread house kits were delivered from a local, small business to each team member’s house for a virtual building & decorating competition. It was fun to see each team member’s work style come through and to problem solve together to get our houses standing.
Art Center. We got to show off our artistic side making wall art and door hangers for our homes, while enjoying some refreshing beverages of course!
Produce Farm. Our team was able to experience a local produce farm complete with petting zoos, pumpkin picking, and good food. We may or may not have left with an entire wagon of pumpkins.
Cornhole Tournament. We split into randomly drawn teams and got to show off our skill at a popular backyard game while enjoying the weather and some friendly competition.
Volunteer Event. Our team selected a local organization offering volunteer opportunities and spent our time together giving back to the community!
Cookie Decorating. Cookie decorating kits were delivered to each team members’ home for a virtual cookie decorating competition. Our team decorated cookies, shared some laughs, and voted on the best decorated cookie.
We hope that you set aside the time to connect with your team, celebrate your wins, and simply have some fun together in 2022! If you have any questions or need support regarding team building at your organization, feel free to reach out!