This is actually a re-post of a blog from Pat Olsen at the Harvard Business Review. Hopefully, your organisation is starting to see a return to business as normal (after perhaps a shaky 2009). However, if not, it’s worth keeping in mind the power of team building as a meaningful way to bond and motivate your workforce even (and especially) in the face of a real shake up in the workplace. Here’s an excerpt:

Is Team Building a Luxury?

When companies are monitoring expenses so carefully and jobs are being cut faster than you can say “rising unemployment figures,” can managers really justify team-building exercises?

According to some experts, it’s in times like these that team-building activities are most needed. It is important, they say, to recognize what the changed economic climate means to workers who are called on to do more with fewer resources. Teams often become too internally focused even when the economy is good, suggests organizational development consultant Gayle Lantz, president of WorkMatters in Birmingham, Alabama. In turbulent periods, employees may be fearful about the future of the company and may worry that they may be the next to be laid off. Managers need to be honest, acknowledge the stress employees are feeling and validate their concerns. For many companies, team building becomes a means of regrouping staff after layoffs. When a team is learning to operate in a new, no-frills environment, group activities designed to foster collaborative problem solving can be especially productive.

You can find the complete text here:

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/hmu/2009/03/teambuilding-exercises-for-tou.html

On a completely unrelated note: here’s a great website for creating a belated list of New Year’s resolutions (or for maintaining a list that’s already struggling with resolve : )

http://www.43things.com/resolutions/tips

Now is a popular time for organisations to be looking for indoor team building activities; if your business is in that category, make sure and check out our fantastic team building events on our homepage – just follow the link above, or go to https://www.eventus.co.uk/indoor.asp