According to an article Mind Tools the purpose of Team Building Activities is to:
“motivate your people to work together, to develop their strengths, and to address any weaknesses.”
They advise that any team building activity should encourage collaboration rather than competition. The article further advise that Team building is about providing the skills, training and resources that your people need, so that they can work in harmony. But, to be truly effective, it needs to be a continual process, embedded into your team and organization’s culture.
There is a benefit of having one-off team building event, however they need to have a clear purpose, such as improving a particular skill. They must also be designed to avoid conflict.
Successful and memorable team building events are ones that allow people to spend time together, sharing an experience or working towards a common objective. This allows bonding to happen naturally and effectively. Choosing activities that are unique and possibly out of people’s comfort zones can encourage team work and collaboration as well as team bonding.
The overall purpose of Team Building activities can often fall flat if it is done as a one time activity, with no objective or thought in mind of the end result. It is done and then forgotten. The purpose of running team building activities is for find ways to keep the challenge, excitement and learning going throughout the year. Creating opportunities for people to connect and interact in meaningful ways, developing stronger bonds within their workplace team.
The purpose of any team building activity should be to build a stronger team. It is not team building when you meet to talk about company policies or new products. The purpose of team building activities are to have your team in the one place, interacting together and a non work environment. This in turn builds on the trust and respect. The importance of team building activities will then be evident on the return to the office.