HR
expert Larry Bassi points out that investing in people (training) leads to
lower employee turnover, thus higher customer satisfaction which in turn is a
driver of profitability by upto 22%.
A
team is a coordinated group of individuals organized to work together to
achieve a common goal. Further, becoming a team is a process that takes time
and is constantly evolving and changing, explains HR writers Beebe and
Masterson. Team building has proved a major challenge in many organizations
with a study by American Management Association indicating that, Getting people
who have different agendas to work together is amongst the biggest obstacles
facing leaders today. A similar survey by Watson Wyatt work study argues that
companies whose employees understand the mission and goals enjoy greater return
than other firms.
Team
building activities has in ages been applied in employee development and
cohesion. It is a prerequisite that every manager builds on a team that shares
a common goal. According to Nestrom and Scannel in their book, “The Big Book of
Team Building Games”, high performing teams usually exhibit an overall team
purpose, mutual accountability, collective work products, shared leadership
roles, high cohesiveness, collaboration in deciding task assignments and
procedures, and collective assessment of their own success. It further explains
that a team’s performance can always be improved by development of leadership
skills and tools for running more effective team meetings.
In
any team building activity, it is important to encourage team members to
examine closely how they work together, have members come up with ideal ways of
working together, explore gaps and weaknesses and eventually establish action
plans for implementing more effective ways of cooperating and achieving a
common goal.
Team
builders are experts who understand best what a group needs after assessing and
evaluating a group’s traits. They together with team leaders help the group learn
about itself and come up with effective steps to aide their situation thus come
up with solutions to their problems. The ability to transform skills acquired
during an outdoor team building exercise to real work processes and success is
key, Managers and supervisors are on top of the chain and oversea teams,
provide direction, correction as well as manage performance towards
accomplishing set targets.
Team-building
exercises can be a powerful way to unite a group, develop strengths, and
address weaknesses, but only if the exercises are planned and carried out
strategically. In other words, there has to be a real purpose behind your
decision to do the exercise; for example, improving the team's problem-solving
or creativity skills and should never be because you felt like giving your
people a nice day out of the office.
By
HRM Guide Kenya Correspondent
Kenya's number one Human Resource Management online magazine with the latest news on how HRM is unfolding and reshaping in Kenya and East Africa. Get to know all about HR issues including recruitment, talent management, training, compensation, Kenya Labour laws, latest jobs, tenders and a lot more. We are the workforce guide. To advertise jobs, seminars or post articles free of charge, send to hrmguidekenya@gmail.com