Member Article

What is the purpose of teambuilding?

Written by Stuart Bulsara and Amy Lorne (Company Directors at Keynote Teambuilding Ltd)

Teambuilding develops a team’s efficiency and effectiveness in achieving a common goal. This can be done through improving the interaction and understanding of team roles. If individuals do not feel appreciated, their focus shifts from doing the best they can to simply meeting the minimum requirements of their role.

Why might a company wish to implement a teambuilding event?

Companies implement teambuilding activities for a variety of reasons. Some wish to eliminate conflict among team members, whilst others use teambuilding to encourage creativity and improve decision making skills. Teambuilding also allows employers to asses to the strengths and weaknesses of individual employees.

Why is teambuilding a ’must’ for the office calendar?

Without frequent teambuilding, teams can become de-motivated and levels of efficiency and effectiveness can be reduced. Teambuilding helps to refresh a team’s morale and maintain a motivated set of individuals. It also has the potential to overcome issues that prevented the evolution of a team’s output.

Is there a type of teambuilding event that works best?

There are many types of teambuilding events ranging from ‘fall and catch me’ games, through to our musical band experience days. Finding one that meets your needs is essential. We work with clients before carrying out an event as this helps us produce the most effective programme for them by using only the most relevant theories and techniques.

How do teambuilding events fulfil company goals?

Whilst being fun, teambuilding should aim to fulfil key objectives and goals. There are multiple theories and techniques available to achieve teambuilding goals such as Belbin’s ‘Team Roles’ and Tuckman’s ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing’ Model. We believe that learning from these experts is essential for facilitating teambuilding events

What would be your top 5 tips for effective teamwork?

Develop a trusting environment, set clear goals, encourage open communication, Interact, and measure and evaluate the progress.

How can you improve the efficiency of a team?

Group members must recognise the importance of their individual role, but more critically, they must understand how their role contributes to the overall success of both their team and the company in order for the system to work.Once all individuals understand where they are going and how they will get there, they can work together faster and more efficiently.

Is there such a thing as a ’failed’ teambuilding event?

Yes. The perfect example of this would be you standard ‘white water rafting’ event. Whilst it may be fun for some, it could be terrifying for others, thus making them feel even more withdrawn from the team. This is why we use music - everyone can relate to it.

Why do you think musical teambuilding works well?

Music stimulates creative thinking, which ultimately encourages a more efficient approach to decision making. There is also a strong relation between a band and a team. If one element is out of sync the whole band/team can fail. Music involves interaction skills such as listening and communicating, and allows individuals to gain a sense of achievement, improving their self-esteem.

How can the effect of teambuilding be measured?

The most important aspect of a teambuilding event is to ensure a successful outcome. We advise our clients, to carry out a survey prior to the event as this allows us to analyse areas such as efficiency, communication, motivation and conflict. The answers given can be recorded and reviewed once the event has happened. Management can then make a comparison to identify the areas where the team has improved.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Stuart Bulsara .