Team-building is crucial not only to your company culture but to your business as a whole. A team that is well bonded will be productive and successful, which reflects well on your culture and your bottom line.
Company Culture
SHRM defines organizational culture as a shared value and belief system that is company-wide. A company’s culture influences many factors – from leadership style to how employees communicate with each other. Communicate your values clearly within a company to strengthen your culture. A positive, team-focused culture is the most successful. Employees prefer working at a company with a positive culture, according to The Compliance and Ethics Blog.
Inc offers several suggestions for building a positive culture. Positive culture starts with paying attention and listening to your employees and team members. Use active listening skills and engage team members in conversations to make sure that everyone feels included and valued.
Be aware that toxicity may still be present even when you’ve created a positive company culture. Inc recommends monitoring your employees with anonymous surveys to catch any toxic behavior before it becomes a widespread problem. If there is toxicity in your company, you must address it quickly and resolve the issue.
Maintaining Company Culture Remotely
Working virtually makes company culture even more important. According to Forbes, culture is socially based. This can cause issues for companies that value face-to-face interactions since they’re now working remotely. Stay connected with your team and re-evaluate your culture if you’re transitioned to remote work. Working virtually means we have to rely on tools like Zoom or Slack to communicate – and virtual communication may lead to misunderstandings. Manage conflicts quickly to keep your team cohesive.
Communication skills are particularly important when you’re working remotely. Be sure to check in with your team members and be available for them during the workday. Enforce your values virtually to create a positive company culture. Praise your employees frequently and genuinely, and reframe and negative feedback so that it is empathetic and constructive.
Team-Building Tactics
Team building is important – when your team is bonded they feel appreciated and valued. The Compliance and Ethics Blog says that team building builds a strong unit of employees. Team building encourages your team to work collaboratively. It also allows employees to see each other differently than they do during their day-to-day work. Team building also encourages creative thinking within your team and boosts productivity. These improvements within the team make the team more productive, according to Forbes.
There are plenty of ways to work on team building. Your team could compete in trivia competitions, solve puzzles together, or engage in ice-breaker conversations. Tailor the team-building exercises to your company culture, and what skills you want to build within your team.
Ways to Build Your Team Virtually
Teams that work remotely have to do team building virtually. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to engage your team while you’re physically apart. Try playing games over Zoom or using ice-breaker topics before a meeting.
Improved Business Relationships
Teams that work together through team-building exercises gain new skills. Each member becomes a better listening and learns to work collaboratively. These skills can be put to use within the team, and also externally with other employees, management, and clients. Positive communication skills improve business relationships and a well-functioning business is good for your bottom line.
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