The corporate world has often been seen as one of dog-eat-dog competition, where only the strong survive and everyone is out for him or herself. While many corporations still subscribe to that view, the last few decades have seen a trend toward corporations that value cooperation and collaboration over competition. Many corporations focus their attention on building trust and building teams among co-workers, between workers and management and between the corporation and the community.
Beuild Teamwork by Entering a Competition
Corporate team-building and trust-building activities go hand in hand, but they don’t all start with the cliched ‘catch me when I fall’ type of game. In fact, the most effective team-building corporate activities challenge employees to work together to solve a thorny problem. One of the most effective ways to build team spirit–and work habits that make the best use of teams–is to enter a team from your company into a competition. A bakery might enter a Food Network-style cake decorating challenge. An engineering firm could enroll a team in a robotics competition. Nearly every field has some sort of competition in which the best and the brightest can shine. If there’s nothing appropriate, create one by challenging another local company to a showdown, or get your company involved in a local event like a parade in which companies often compete to build the best floats and displays.
Corporate Activities to Build Staff-Management Trust
Far too often, there’s a basic mistrust between those who work on salary and those who get an hourly wage. Activities that put all employees on equal footing are important here, and they can’t be a once-in-a-while thing. A weekly brainstorming session for the entire department can help generate ideas from the bottom up, for instance, while making it clear that everyone is valued. By the same token, requiring management to roll up their sleeves and pitch in with the ‘grunt work’ a couple of times a month can help foster an appreciation on both sides of the desk.
Build Teamwork With Corporate Charitable Activities
The concept of “doing well by doing good” is not a new one, but social responsibility is a corporate concept that is gaining a lot of traction in the business world. One advantage of corporate social responsibility that gets very little play is its role in building pride in a company and teamwork among its employees. Consider involving your company in a local charitable event or activity. Put together a team to walk in a walk-a-thon, or assemble a group to participate in a city-wide cleanup. Some cities sponsor annual or seasonal drives to repair homes for senior citizens, another opportunity for your employees to put on some work clothes and get down to business outside the company walls. There are dozens of similar activities for your corporation in any city or town, from serving dinner at a homeless shelter once a month to spending the weekend building a playground at a local school.