{"id":11087,"date":"2024-01-05T13:56:35","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T13:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/b88ep6bjdmh.preview.infomaniak.website\/news\/how-to-incentive-employee-engagement-through-team-building\/"},"modified":"2024-04-23T12:59:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T12:59:39","slug":"how-to-incentive-employee-engagement-through-team-building","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/tero2.test.lumisys.eu\/en\/news\/how-to-incentive-employee-engagement-through-team-building\/","title":{"rendered":"How to incentive Employee Engagement through Team Building"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What is Employee Engagement?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are several definitions a few clicks away, and although not all of them use the same words, most agree that employee engagement involves\u00a0a natural commitment and loyalty from employees towards their team, the organisation and its goals<\/strong>. There\u2019s an\u00a0emotional component<\/strong>\u00a0in employee engagement, which makes it more comprehensive than employee happiness and satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Although there\u2019s not necessarily a linear correlation between engagement and productivity, it seems obvious that a company with\u00a0engaged employees<\/strong>\u00a0will be at a\u00a0better starting point to achieve its goals<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So keeping this in mind, it\u2019s important to identify the key drivers and find the ways to\u00a0incentive employee engagement<\/strong>. Some factors to consider are the employee wellness and recognition, the brand alignment to their values, and taking care of the workplace culture and environment. And\u00a0team building plays a crucial role<\/strong> in this!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Remote working and Employee Engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the past, most companies thought about team building just as a fun activity, and an occasion to get together out of the office and spend a good time with colleagues. But after the years of pandemic and lockdowns, and with many companies implementing nowadays a hybrid working setup, there\u2019s a common goal for all teams: the\u00a0need to reconnect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Many companies and managers made great efforts to keep the motivation and team spirit high while everyone was working from home, but the\u00a0lack of contact became a challenge<\/strong>\u00a0in the long term. There even are many colleagues who don\u2019t know each other personally, and new teams that were formed recently who never experienced a face-to-face dynamic. So team building can help in the process of seeing each other again and regaining lost contact.<\/p>\n

There are different points of view about\u00a0how remote working affects employee engagement<\/strong>.\u00a0 In some cases, employees might value the flexibility and freedom of working at home, saving the time they used to spend commuting, and\u00a0having a positive effect on their engagement<\/strong>\u00a0with the company. But at the same time, losing the face-to-face and daily dynamics that comes with sharing a common working space makes it really difficult to avoid the\u00a0risk of a progressive disconnection<\/strong>. And this can impact negatively on employee engagement.<\/p>\n

A recent study about work organisation trends in Belgium post-Covid showed that interactions with our immediate team, or close networks, increased with remote work, while our interactions outside of that team, the broader, cross departemental and cross team networks have diminished.<\/p>\n

Either if it\u2019s working remotely, going back to the office, or in a mixed format, it seems important to identify the employee needs and the values they appreciate, and act accordingly. Basically, it\u2019s about\u00a0considering the human factor, and taking care of people<\/strong>. This will make everyone happier in the workplace, positively affecting employee engagement. And here\u2019s where the benefits of Team Building come into place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How can Team Building help boost Employee Engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are several initiatives that can help incentive employee engagement. Sharing a\u00a0common goal<\/strong>, showing\u00a0recognition for achievements<\/strong>, and giving responsibility and flexibility to carry them out, are just some of the actions that can contribute to\u00a0the overall objective of boosting employee engagement<\/strong>, and Team Building can be a great ally to achieve them.<\/p>\n

There are a few long-term strategies that successful companies have implemented to keep employees engaged through Team Building.<\/p>\n

Some of them opt for a higher frequency of smaller team building activities, which can have a more\u00a0lasting effect on team motivation<\/strong>, keeping the spirits up and stable, instead of aiming at one big event that can produce a big peak, which can be difficult to maintain afterwards.<\/p>\n

Other companies make a plan towards a big event, involving all the company members in tasks that will build a common goal. This can give a\u00a0sense of reward<\/strong>\u00a0to everyone, and the commitment can increase when people feel that things are earned rather than just given. This is what TERO is organising for the Group\u2019s annual Team Building event in May. Before it takes place, there\u2019s a common target of adding together a total of 1744 km (this is the Belgium+Luxembourg loop, which represents the countries where the Group operates) tracking and computing the distance covered by all employees when travelling to work by bike, public transport, or just walking! The idea is to encourage soft mobility in a playful way and transform it in a common goal, reducing everyone\u2019s impact on the environment. If this objective is successful, it provides pride and a feeling of having earned the upcoming teambuilding. It becomes a reward and a commitment booster at the same time.<\/p>\n

In this case, the engagement is not only boosted by sharing a common goal, but also by\u00a0showing an alignment between the company values and the employees values<\/strong>. There\u2019s a trend shown in a PwC workforce preference study that suggests that the company profile and the actual purpose of its activities gained importance in terms of preferences among employees, and that employers that were identified as being active in a critical sector become more preferred.<\/p>\n

There are several\u00a0Positive Impact Team Building activities<\/strong>, such as the River clean-up and the Beach clean-up, which can help in\u00a0reflecting a company image in which employees can feel identified, strengthening their engagement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The best Team Building activity types to incentive Employee Engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The type of team building activities that companies go for to reinforce employee commitment are those in which the teams have to\u00a0work together towards a common goal<\/strong>, and the results wouldn\u2019t be the same without everyone\u2019s input. The usual responsibilities and work roles can be changed, emphasising the fact that each team member is important to the group, and crucial to make it work.<\/p>\n

Another popular team building activities to strengthen team bonds are the ones where the\u00a0usual hierarchy is dissolved and everybody is put on the same level<\/strong>, showing that no matter their position in day to day work, everyone can take the leadership role when it comes to helping the team overcome a challenge. A clear example for this are activities in which all the team members are dressed up in the same uniform or costume.<\/p>\n

Finally, more siloed companies tend to opt for activities which help rebuild or boost intra-team or inter-team relationships by sharing fun challenges, so teammates can get to know each other better, or new collaborations can be born if teams get mixed during the activity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Final tips to boost Employee Engagement through Team Building<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In conclusion, we can talk about\u00a0engagement<\/strong>\u00a0when there are not only happy and motivated employees, but when they also are\u00a0committed and identified<\/strong>\u00a0with the company\u2019s mission, values and goals.<\/p>\n

And\u00a0team building can be a great ally<\/strong>\u00a0to show recognition towards employees, and help achieve this identification. As a summary, let\u2019s list some\u00a0key factors<\/strong>\u00a0that we suggest taking into account to help\u00a0boost employee engagement through team building<\/strong>:<\/p>\n