How Do You Develop Great Team Building Ideas?

Someone has to think up the team building ideas, and then the ideas have to be tried out, and perhaps tweaked a little to make them work better. How do you develop great team building ideas? By looking carefully at the team and at the work place, is the answer.

Most companies outsource the setting up and running of team building away days to companies who specialise in them. That is fine, and probably the best approach, but it should not be done blindly.
The needs of the company, the skills of the employees, and the desired results of the event should all be taken into consideration. This can only happen properly if the company is able to liaise to some degree with the away day event experts.

It isn't essential that the team building ideas are complex, expensive to run, or impressive. They simply have to work. They should be fun and engaging for the employees. They should force the employees to extend themselves, to reach further and search deeper. Above all, however, team building ideas must be relevant to the long-term goals of the company.

There are two basic kinds of team away day activities: those that engage mainly mental activity; and those that mainly engage mainly physical activity. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Usually, team away day activities are a mixture of both kinds with some physical effort required, and some mental effort also required.
Developing great team building ideas becomes easier when you decide which type of activity is best suited to your team. Usually, a physical activity that requires strong mental solutions before any physical exertion can start is a good overall compromise. This forces the team to think things through before jumping in to do it. Often this is extremely relevant in a general sense to work place practices.

In additional to team building away days, consider having the occasional informal meal together with all team members, preferably away from the work place, as one of the less obvious team building ideas.
There need be no pressure on any employee to contribute in any way, other than being there, but nevertheless try to engender an atmosphere of social interaction. This helps to create closer bonding between team members. It helps to establish trust and respect, and of course, it's usually very enjoyable as well as being a little perk that employees can appreciate.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/team-building-articles/how-do-you-develop-great-team-building-ideas-4383374.html About the Author