This past week, FFL threw a successful team-building Halloween party, which encouraged teamwork, enthusiasm, and of course, holiday spirit. Some may think throwing parties like this during office hours would decrease productivity, but it’s quite the opposite. Research shows that team-building positively impacts company success across the board. If your goal is to create a more cohesive workplace, consider some of these tips that we have started implementing here at FFL Tri-State.
Scheduling activities during work hours, such as our Halloween bash and Jenga tournament, is a fantastic way of encouraging team-building without taking too much time out of your employees’ personal time. Scheduling an activity for a couple of hours on a Friday is so much more enjoyable than having your employees come together on a weekend. It’s also worth checking the calendar for any potential absences. You wouldn’t want your team activity to take place on a day where half the office isn’t present.
If this is possible for your agency/company, consider using your team-building time to volunteer in your local community! FFL loves to give back to our community. Our most recent charity event took place at Toni’s Kitchen in Montclair, NJ. We received fantastic feedback from our team, and plan on returning for more charity events in the future. Generally speaking, employees tend to feel good about spending time doing an activity that can help others. You can consider soup kitchens, homeless shelters, or even coordinate company-wide clothing drives. It’s also worth noting that you should avoid planning activities that focus heavily on competition, and instead implement activities that encourage your group to solve a problem. Avoiding competition will ensure that your employees actually learn something from the experience, rather than being too focused on winning.
Last but certainly not least, your company or agency should have a lot of clarity about what the intent of the activity is. What is the purpose of the event? Are you trying to increase productivity, implement new hires? Although you don’t necessarily need to give them this information, it’s important to create some type of connection between the activities you plan and the results you hope to achieve. Transparency is always a good thing, so if your employees know why the activity is taking place, they may be more enthusiastic about participating. Lastly, it’s important to gather feedback after the fact. It’ll be helpful to use this feedback and refer to it when planning for your next event. All in all, FFL Tri-State has proved time and time again that team-building is just another extension of our workplace. Feel free to implement these tips as your agency/company continues to grow!
