TEAM BUILDING
Effective communication and employee interaction are vital within an organization since the flow of information enhances the performance of an organization. Regardless of whether an executive is giving instructions for workers to follow or an employee is communicating with their colleagues to solve a problem or raise an issue of concern, effective communication causes organizations to thrive. Research shows that many organizations suffer from miscommunication primarily because of senior employees using harsh and authoritative language that tends to intimidate employees. Workers, therefore, feel belittled and thus fail to pass important information that might affect the organization negatively in the future. It is therefore essential for our organization to participate in team-building activities to ensure that employees from all ranks bond and get comfortable around each other hence improving work relationships that create a conducive environment for work.
This organization comprises of employees of different genders and ages; therefore, it is necessary to include activities that accommodate the needs and requirements of every person. The team-building exercise will consist of mixed activities that consider every employee and also aimed to counter some factors that affect the communication flow of the organization. For example, employees in the internship levels have a difficult time when it comes to maintaining visual contact between themselves and other senior employees. It is also unfortunate that not all employees can identify each other by name perhaps because they have never interacted or they work in different departments hence minimal contact.
These team-building exercises will benefit the entire organization since it aims to develop and improve the relationships between all employees in every hierarchical level in the organization. The first activity for the exercise is Pass the Clap game that involves standing in a circle where one person claps and faces the person next to them where they in turn clap simultaneously. The cycle continues around the circle after which people fix themselves in any part of the circle and reverses the game. This game enhances visual communication as employees will face each other, thus making eye contact hence encouraging employees that it is possible to have a visual connection with each other. Communication in the organization will, therefore improve since that fear of facing a senior or manager will be minimal hence encouraging information flow in the organization.
“Whose shoes?” is another game that involves having everyone sitting in a circle and requesting them to take their shoes off and place them in the middle of the circle. Every person then picks a pair, and the owner of the shoe introduces themselves to the other employees. This exercise will ensure that all employees know something about every worker across the organization, therefore, presenting a platform for workers to get comfortable around each other. This opportunity will help create an active working environment, thus making the team work better that will boost the performance of the organization.
Several global organizations use team building as a strategy to build a conducive working environment that motivates employees to work together towards achieving a common goal. Technology companies have even developed applications for organizations to use for bonding and enhancing relationships between employees. Apple Company, for example, has an app called icebreakers meant to provide activities such as games for energizing meeting and workshops, meaning that any organization must participate in activities outside the typical curriculum of the organization.
Team building activities help to build relationship among workers of an organization, thus impacting the performance of an organization positively. Involving our organization in a team-building exercise will help to improve visual communication and will prompt employees to know each other. A team-building exercise will indeed help to improve the flow of information in the organization, which is a remedy for our organization to become successful.