Throughout the past few years, businesses are moving away from highly-competitive environments towards more collaborative work environments. One part of this change is driven by various team building activities.

Team building activities are seriously beneficial for businesses, especially when they have a clear purpose.

In this article, our Talent Acquisition Lead at Mindera UK, Tabitha Alexander, will be sharing her experiences in team building, including the benefits of how we do it here at Mindera.

Mindera UK Team Building Trip in Newquay 2019

What is team building?

Team building can be defined in many ways: it can be organised fun, activities that focus on collaborative working or socialising. Ultimately, we have learnt there is one key message and this is that team building effectively contributes to integrating your company’s core values and strengthening team communication.

By introducing team building into everyday activities or dedicating time to take your team away, it will dramatically improve business relations. There is a sense of unity created, which in turn enhances creative thinking and improves decision making. These are all attributes that should be nurtured in a business.

Mindera UK Team Building Trip in Newquay 2019

How does team building work?

We are naturally sociable beings and we need to interact with others in person. By doing so we develop a feeling of trust, loyalty and friendship. These characteristics that divulge from team building activities ensure the workplace remains an enjoyable environment.

Working closely with your peers creates a sense of partnership that ultimately makes people feel more committed to each other and their work.

Mindera UK Team Building Trip in Newquay 2019

What are some different ideas for team building?

At Mindera, we organise many events throughout the year, some are specific company organised weekend away trips, others are charity walks, mini-golf etc. We organise our activities collaboratively and open it out to anyone that wants to be involved in planning or booking the activity.

For example, in 2018 we went to Poland to visit the Christmas markets and our colleague from Wroclaw volunteered to organise this. There is a real sense of unity that is integral to Mindera’s culture.

We will always leave it to the people to suggest ideas and organise. Our working environment operates in a self-managed dynamic, meaning whilst you can manage your own time you are also responsible for your individual input.

We are all working towards a common goal and we work very closely with one another to achieve this. It is typical that our employees work by themselves or communicate online rather than face to face and team building activities bring everyone together. By involving everyone in the decision-making process when organising trips, this in itself promotes a positive and motivating message.

Mindera UK Open Day 2019

Why should companies invest in team building activities?

So what if your company does not offer team building activities? Individuals will not have the chance to connect with their colleagues, the culture may be negative or uninspired.

Whilst we can see the benefits of team building, there are many companies who do not. Perhaps this is something they have never explored? They might not have the resources to do this or the time? Other companies might invest in different ways, for example through compensating their staff. However, our advice would be to invest a small amount into team building and reward them in another way.

Team building is one of the fundamentals of improving employee retention and overall company performance.

How does team building work at Mindera?

At Mindera, team building is integral to our everyday working life. We work collaboratively to achieve a common goal. Whether it is going out for a coffee, organising a conference or working in our scrum teams to deliver the end product. We work together to achieve better results.

Team building is one of the most important investments you can make for your people. It builds trust, encourages collaboration, increases communication and mitigates conflict. The reason why it is effective is that it engages employees and forces people out of their comfort zones. Creating opportunities for people to interact in meaningful ways and connect with each other is ultimately beneficial for company culture. Organic team bonding is most effective and can happen through organised weekends away or through sharing an experience.

Interested in working at Mindera?

We have various vacancies available at Mindera UK. Check them out!