Team building is a valuable investment for any company — and it’s an important part of making a Traffic Manager’s job easy. Why? Because high morale and camaraderie between employees makes them more likely to set each other up for success.
Sure, eyes start to roll when “team building” is mentioned. But, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. Here are a few dos and don’ts for when you’re considering a team building exercise at your business.
DON’T: Force It
DO: Keep It Casual
While there’s an ulterior motive to encourage camaraderie behind team building exercises, it’s important to make activities feel genuine. Your employees can easily see through a forced, corporate agenda. A more casual activity, like happy hour or a potluck lunch, opens the door for more organic employee interactions, which better allows for real connections. Organized fun isn’t really fun for anyone.
DON’T: Be Generic
DO: Try Something New
The company picnic has been done to death. And, if it takes place during non-working hours, it can be hard for employees to fit into their schedules — especially those with children or second jobs. Instead, try asking your employees what activity they’d enjoy. Perhaps they’re interested in volleyball, escape rooms, group puzzle night, what-have-you. Then, take a field trip or make time during the workday to participate in the activity. After all, if you think it’s worth the investment in your company to strengthen employee bonds, you shouldn’t build resentment by putting the onus on them to squeeze it into their schedule.
DON’T: Enable Cliques
DO: Keep It Random
Cliques are common in the office. Co-workers with similar interests and personalities will naturally be drawn to each other. But, it’s important that everyone in the company knows how to work with everyone. When engaging in group events, make teams or partners random. Draw from a hat or use an online randomizer. Whatever you do, don’t leave it up to colleagues to figure out teams themselves — someone will inevitably feel left out or resentful.
Team building is just one component of running a tight ship when it comes to traffic management. It’s a huge boon to have employees like each other and learn how to work better with each other. But that alone won’t cut it. You still need to put in the administrative work by setting your Traffic Manager up for success with a robust and efficient traffic management system — like CurrentTrack®.