Team Building: Features And Benefits

Team Building consists of the search for activities that can form high-performance teams, so as to improve interpersonal relationships within a group. For this reason, it is a widely used tool in the organizational development of companies, as well as in military units or sports teams.

The origins of this concept date back to the 1920s and 1930s, when the psychologist William McDougall published his book “The group mind”, in which he began to talk about the importance of team feeling in work environments.

What are high performance teams?

On some occasions, work teams within a company do not function with the expected level of efficiency, separating the desired results from those obtained. It is often due to the lack of rapport among its members, or because their roles are not well defined or they do not know their objectives.

The consequence of this situation is low productivity in the work environment and a series of organizational problems, which can even lead to conflicts between co-workers. Faced with these problems, the idea of ​​forming high-performance teams through the use of Team Building arises. Its optimal application can achieve a high level of results and great satisfaction and motivation within the work team.

How is Team Building applied?

Building a high-performance team using Team Building techniques is not an easy task, but its results are very positive. The first step will be to have a defined and intelligent recruitment and selection policy. Thanks to her, we will be able to get the most competent individuals for each position within the work environment. In addition, it is important that, in addition to being the best, they are able to form a team.

On the other hand, it will be essential that at the head of this working group there is a leader. They must have an excellent capacity for work, with a vision of the future and inspire respect for their human qualities. In addition, it will be essential that the leader has empathy with the rest of the team members.

Among the tasks of the leader are:

• Clearly mark the team’s goals.
• Define a system for measuring the level of achievement of the objectives.
• Establish an effective communication and organization system among team members.
• Define decision-making and problem-solving procedures within the team.
• Develop personnel management systems, such as recruitment, training and motivation.

Team building development through participatory events

The most common method of putting Team Building into practice and promoting rapport among co-workers is participation in various events. In this way, we can nurture the ties that unite them and enable them to open new avenues of communication.

You often define your coworkers as people you know but don’t consider friends. For this reason, participating in events or activities that go beyond the work environment can help to create bonds  that improve the integration of all employees and their comfort within the team.

A good example of this type of practice is taking a trip together. This way, co-workers will have time to talk and get to know each other better, allowing everyone to feel closer to each other.

Another option may be to organize an event with activities that pose challenges to overcome. Some type of gymkana that includes activities in which each team member can use their problem-solving skills for the benefit of the group in a playful context. This can strengthen the bonds between colleagues and make each one more aware of their own role within the team, as well as being aware of the value of others and the importance of working together.