Building a great team is the number one way to build team morale, and instill a sense of community at the workplace. Team building can be anything from a quick half day "get together" to a week-long company retreat. Each of these ways will bring your employees closer together and help you get to the bottom line much faster. Team building will also help each team player with self-improvement, giving you a more well-rounded staff, long-term.
Studies have shown that employees who are involved with these exercises are more likely to stick with the company long-term. They are also more likely to create bonds and friendships with others at the workplace. These are all things that will help a company thrive, and the good news is, it does not have to be expensive.
In order to create free team building exercises for the workplace, you are going to need to get creative. Some great ideas for free team building exercises at the work place are:
Outdoor activities: When you bring your team outside, there are many things that you can do, without breaking the bank. Outdoor games and activities will also bond your team, better than in-house activities. Adventure games such as capture the flag and a scavenger hunt are free, yet bonding. Team work is needed in order to be the wining team, in both of these events. Keep in mind, you should always put people who are not close together on a team, rather than let the teams decide. This will allow the staff to meet and understand new people.
Office gathering: There are some great ways to get to know one another in the board room. From mock procedures to learning about each other. Asking question about the way the company is run, and what changes can be made, is also a great way to find out what the team thinks, as well as create a closer bond. These activities can last from a few hours to a day.
Picnic: Although this may not be "free" it is very in expensive and can pay off big. When you plan a monthly or bi monthly activity, off work hours, you will notice a big difference in staff moral. This picnic or day at the park can be a "pot luck" meaning everyone brings something, making it cost-effective. There is no time off work or space to book when you use this method. Families of team members are also invited, making it more of a social gathering.
There are quite a few ways to make team building a free event. And since there are so many benefits to team building, there really is no excuse not to get involved. Free team building activities for the work place can be found on government sites as well as University information sheets. Working with a team who is eager to please and ready to get involved is the very best way to insure you are running a happy and copacetic work place environment.
To get more out of your team building check out my Team Building Activities website. It has tons of great content to ensure you're successful building great teams.
You can even find articles on awesome Team Building Exercises.
Just click either of the above links to take your team building to the next level.