How Team Building Improves Employee Engagement
Employee satisfaction and retention is closely tied to employee engagement. “Employee engagement” refers to an employee’s emotional investment in an organization. The organization includes other team members, the brand or company itself, the working environment and the employee’s role.Team building is a great way to lay the foundation for employee engagement. Team building is also an idea that most employees understand the value of, compared to more esoteric concepts like brand identity.
Gallup’s 2017 report, “State of the American Workplace” estimates that only 30 percent of full-time employees in the United States are truly engaged at work. Most employees are neither disengaged nor engaged, neither disloyal nor loyal. While these employees may not be bad workers, they aren’t motivated toward excellence and aren’t concerned with the company’s long-term goals. They lack strong bonds with colleagues and are willing to bounce from one employer to another. (Read the full report at https://news...rkplace.aspx)
It’s the small but mighty 30 percent of employees who are actively engaged that contribute the most to a company’s profits and culture. In fact, the same report found that engaged employees were able to improve productivity by as much as 200 percent compared to disengaged employees in similar roles or similar companies. The goal, then, is to increase the number of engaged employees in order to increase profits, decrease turnover and improve morale. (Easier said than done!)
Engaged employees are often a company’s best advocates. They’re the ones who bring sales, help recruiting efforts, improve brand awareness and loyalty by talking about the company in person and online, and have genuinely positive things to say to everyone they meet. It’s the kind of good PR that money can’t buy!
HOW TEAM BUILDING AFFECTS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
The more employees understand about how their colleagues communicate, cultural differences within the team, how to motivate one another and how to connect with one another, the more effective they will be as team. (Not to mention, the workplace just becomes a friendlier place.)
These fundamental improvements in team relationships are a huge part of employee engagement. It isn’t easy for anybody to spend 40+ hours away from home every week, but having a team that you like and trust goes a long way toward building motivation and fighting burnout!
Investing in team building activities is a morale-booster. It demonstrates that management is invested in the entire team – not just the star performers. And, many team building events include an element of stress-busting. Whether it’s a 5k, massage, paint and sip event or kayaking trip, there are lots of great activities to help employees hit the reset button and take a break from work stress.
GET STARTED WITH TEAM BUILDING
Every team has different group dynamics and personalities, which you’ll have to factor into your selection of team building activities. We’ve written quite a bit about good team building ideas and how to choose one that’s right for your group. Check some of them out here: https://www....team-building
The fun, relaxed nature of paint and sip is great for employee engagement. It’s also an incredible stress reliever! Most Pinot’s Palette studios have corporate event options for most group sizes, with catering, bartending and other services often included.