Like most organizations, you may be looking for a team player to join your company. However, teamwork is a skill, and like any skill, some have more inclination towards it while others need some practice, but that doesn’t mean the latter group cannot qualify to join your company. Why? Well, other skills matter too. This is why some of the successful businesses regularly conduct team-building exercises and events to promote teamwork within employees. You can do it too; here’s how.
- Teamwork activities
More often than not, companies resort to teamwork activities like games and projects for their team-building efforts. These are simple to conduct because who doesn’t like to play a little? Some of the recommended activities include a scavenger hunt, board games, office trivia, etc. The list is endless if you look for fun activities that your employees won’t hate or try to avoid.
- Delegation
Delegation is the best way to promote teamwork in your office because, unlike team building activities, which happen occasionally, office work is a daily thing. This will help individuals practice their teamwork skills, thereby improving them. Moreover, delegation helps managers oversee their respective teams to understand who needs more encouragement to be a team player, allowing companies to be proactive about promoting teamwork.
- Strategic goal setting
A common goal always drives individuals to work together effectively. We have seen this in different situations throughout our lives, and that is why many companies have goal-setting conversations with employees and managers. While performance reviews help assess different skills in an employee, including teamwork skills, goal-setting conversations put both managers and the teammates on the same page about teamwork efforts.
- Regular check-ins
There are times for formal cross-department meetings, and there are times for informal ones. Leaning more towards the latter can take the pressure some employees may feel about the meetings, increasing their chances of networking and bonding better with co-workers. Such regular informal check-ins allow individuals within different departments to know one another and improve their personal network, promoting their ability to work as a team.
- Volunteer work
Volunteering work is something more companies are indulging in these days. The reasons for this shift are two-fold: 1. Businesses can meet their CSR requirements and create a good image of their enterprise, and 2. Most volunteer work requires teams to accomplish tasks. The latter helps promote teamwork because teammates understand each other’s working style, enabling them to be better teammates in the future.
- Friendly competition
Continuing from point 1, making employees indulge in activities can help improve their teamwork skills. Therefore, friendly competitions are the way to go if you want to build teams in a fun and lighthearted manner. Such competitions allow employees to know one another outside a work setting and have a more personal connection with one another, building workplace empathy and collaborative force.
- Open work environment
The workplace design dictates whether employees collaborate better or not. This is where open floor plans and natural points of interaction in an office come to the fore. Give your employees a space to be social and talk about work throughout the day, as this will help them form connections and eventually improve their teamwork skills.
Conclusion
Teamwork is necessary for any company to move forward and meet its organizational goals. When employees learn to work together effectively, they are able to better tackle the problems they face and complete their tasks, improving a company’s efficiency. This is why it is vital to promote teamwork through activities, open workplace, delegation, goal setting conversations, and more.
