It is fairly common, and even ideal, for co-workers to develop deep friendships. Sometimes, employers can encourage those relationships with team bonding activities. Even staff that have developed friendships can benefit from activities outside the workplace to help them work better together.
Team bonding activities such as team dinners, outings, parties, attending or participating in sports events, or other group activities are likely to bring the team closer, and help members work together more efficiently by learning more about each other.
Bonding Benefits
A night out with the team offers relaxed atmospheres where co-workers can get to know each other better, let off steam, and have fun outside the workplace. It can also create bonds that help retain employees. Fostering better work relationships can also help with employee retention.
"It creates friends at work—Gallup did a study almost 20 years ago that said having a best friend at work was a key retention strategy—in other words, employees (who) had friends at work stayed at the company longer," says Chuck Simikian, human resources consultant and trainer at GetHRHelpNow.com.
Employee retention has become crucial for businesses, as it has become difficult to find skilled workers, or even job seekers looking to learn a trade.
"Team bonding always helps groups work more efficiently … but it also creates a culture that employees will want to be part of … look forward to going … and increase retention," Simikian tells NOLN.
Bonding has benefits, though some bosses might be wary of encouraging such relationships to build.
"It can also backfire if the owner/boss is a jerk," Simikian reveals. "The team may bond and work against that person—or support each other to leave and find a better culture."
In the situation discussed, a boss should decide whether a team bonding activity will serve the shop, or possibly a management seminar to help become a more effective team leader.
Act on Activities
Team bonding activities can be as simple as ordering pizza into the shop or going out to dinner. There are, however, valuable experiences in more active events such as bowling or other group activities.
"I would pick something that is an active activity … not passive like a picnic or a dinner," advises Simikian. "Bowling is a good example. All attention is on the game, cheering each other, nudging people to participate without realizing it is a team building, and having fun."
Less active gatherings require more prompting to get value.
"Passive activity means sitting there and someone needs to do something to keep the team engaged—if there is tension, it will be a long dinner or other event," Simikian finds.
Bowling is a favorite of Simikian, it is accessible to most people.
"I would think something after hours—something easy that everyone can participate in—bowling is one such activity, almost everyone can bowl," he says.
Bowling is casual. It lets those participating cheer for each other regardless of the assigned teams and can be an activity where talented bowlers can share tips and others can learn. This practice can be translated to work situations where one technician might share a new skill or help another refine a technique to complete tasks.
Tips for the Right Balance
Not everyone is immediately excited about after-work activities. It takes time away from personal lives. Take caution when demanding someone to participate in an afterhours activity. It might be necessary to consider closing the shop for an afternoon rather than obligating employees to participate in an evening or weekend gathering.
"If you do it outside of work, and it is voluntary, you cannot enforce participation unless you pay them," says Simikian. "If you can do it during work hours and shut the business down for some time to do that … great. But my guess is most operations are seven days a week, so that is not feasible."
Finding the right time to hold team bonding activities can be difficult for a business that serves the public up to seven days a week. If there are distinct teams within the shop, it might be possible to host activities for each team rather than the whole company. It will be important, however, to ensure that no employee or team feels alienated. A company-wide activity across any work teams will help build bonds across groups, not just within them.
Whether a manager or business owner is looking to resolve tension between employees, encourage better working relationships, or reward good work, a team outing will benefit the shop.
"It allows people to enjoy an activity outside of work," says Simikian.
