Motivating the De-Motivated - A Guide to Corporate Team Building

In 2006, research conducted by UK based HR Management Company Right Management revealed that in comparison to six other industrialised nations, the British workforce was the least motivated, with less than a third of the sample stating that they felt fully engaged and fulfilled at work. This shocking statistic translates per annum throughout the UK, into billions of pounds of lost revenue. Now consider the huge economic downturn since the research was first published and it is safe to assume that this issue will not have improved significantly since. So what is the best way that you can ensure that your business doesn't suffer with a de motivated and dispirited work force?

The answer is quite simple, corporate team building.

The activities are specifically designed to increase team cohesion, communication and confidence, to nurture the feeling of working together to achieve a shared goal and to enable workers to realise that all members of the team have an important part to play in achieving that goal. All of these attributes are equally desirable in the workplace and the research behind these events shows that a team who takes part in a company team building activity, is able to then translate these attributes successfully into the workplace.

What kind of events can be organised?

The answer whatever you feel would be most enjoyable and effective for your team. Companies such as Chillisauce can organise a huge variety of activities, from a simple treasure hunt, or a murder mystery evening, through to the more traditional activities such as raft building and 100 team challenges (a form of problem solving) as well as more adrenaline pumping activities that include activities as diverse as tank and military vehicle driving, circus skills and survival and commando training.

There are a growing number of team building activities now based on popular television series, such as The Krypton Factor, The Crystal Maze, Dragons Den, The Apprentice, Strictly Come Dancing or Its A Knockout, ensuring that any workforce is able to find an activity that is suited to the budget of the company in question as well as the catering to the specific demands of the workforce in question.

Team building activities have many positive effects on a team. It can lead to building leadership skills within your team; it can improve communication between team members and thus make a team more effective. It can increase self confidence within a group, team members can learn how to negotiate more successfully, they will improve their judgement on matters and the talent within a team can be optimised all leading to an improvement in productivity and profitability.

With many specialist companies now dedicated to providing businesses with a expansive variety of team building events at a price that suits all budgets. Given the current economic situation and the de-motivated British workforce, the question you need to ask is not if your business can afford to arrange a corporate team building event, but can it afford not to?