A team building activity can help your group create new connections with each other, strengthen how they communicate, and boost company morale. Everyone will likely leave feeling good about themselves, their team, and the organization that they work for.
But no matter how successful your team building activity is, you and your colleagues will still have to go back to work the next day.
And once everyone settles back in, it sometimes seems like nothing ever happened at all. The team building can start to feel like a distant memory, disconnected from employees’ actual day-to-day jobs.
It just doesn’t have any kind of lasting impact.
So what can you do to keep the feelings of excitement and camaraderie alive? Our team of experts has put together a list of things you can do in the days, weeks, and months after your event is over.
One of the biggest mistakes event organizers can make is not following up the day after their event. By doing just a few small things, you can help transition employees back to work after all their fun and excitement in a way that keeps the spirit of team building alive.
Extend a token of appreciation to participants with goodie bags or little gifts after the event is complete. You can either hand these out the day of your team building activity, or once you’re all back at the office! This can be a great way to give people a physical reminder or memento of the team building activity, and give them a reason to think back to the day.
Whatever you choose, it doesn’t have to be expensive – it’s the thought that counts! Participants will appreciate the gesture, even if the bag is filled with company-branded swag, a bottle of water, or an energy bar for them to snack on.
It’s always a great idea to take photos and videos on the day of your team building event. That’s why all of Outback Team Building & Training’s activities and events come with free media packages, accessible after your event.
Sharing this multimedia can be a great way to remember the experience and build a better company culture. You can put up some of the best photos at your next company-wide meeting, share them on your organization’s social media feeds, or display them on any public screens you might have around the office.
One of the most important and effective post-event actions is to gather feedback from employees. You’ll want to encourage both participants and organizers to share their thoughts on the team building event. Some questions you might want to ask include:
For more ideas, check out this post-event feedback survey template created by SurveyMonkey. It’s designed to help you discover what was most successful about your event, how satisfied people were, and what you can do to improve for next time.
After about one week’s time, you’ll want to start tracking and sharing the results of your team building event with the other leaders at your company.
If you’re actively measuring employee engagement, you can take a pulse check on the current levels and compare the results to your previous month’s engagement scores. If you’re not measuring engagement, now would be a great time to start!
The feedback you collect can help you track the success of your team building efforts and employees’ overall job satisfaction.
To showcase the effectiveness of your group activity, you can also write up a document summarizing the event. The report can help company leaders understand the return on investment and highlight areas of improvement for future team building sessions.
For example, your report can include:
After about a month’s time, the feeling of “team building” will be gone…unless you look for more opportunities to keep the spirit alive at your workplace.
If you think back to your team building activity, the reason everyone felt so good is because you were all able to work together, accomplish something, and celebrate as a group. But you don’t need to wait to do another team building activity to feel that way again!
Look for opportunities around the office to celebrate your team’s success. These can be simple shout-outs of appreciation at your next company meeting, quarterly celebrations when you hit your financial targets, or team appreciation lunches that you have catered to the office. Small gestures like these can help change the culture of your workplace to make employees feel more engaged and valued.
Chances are that you made some new personal connections on the day of your team building activity. That’s because when you’re out of your usual workplace, you’re more likely to let your guard down and genuinely socialize with coworkers who you might not normally socialize with.
Don’t let these relationships die just because you’re back in the office! Remember the personal connections you made, and make efforts to keep them over the next couple of weeks. Encourage others to do the same, and you’ll find that your workplace will become a much friendlier and inclusive place!
Team building activities can help your group recharge, bond with their colleagues, and have some fun outside of the office. But one activity won’t help you achieve long-term results. It’s important to follow up your event with another team building event before too much time passes. This can keep the momentum going afterwards, and help employees stay excited in the months to come.
Before you try another team building activity, be sure to check out The Ultimate Guide to Team Building. And if you’re interested in working with professional team builders for your event, get in touch for your free consultation.
“It was a huge success! Everyone had a great time, and they couldn’t stop talking about it for days. Thank you, Outback Team Building & Training, for all of your help and making me look good. We cannot wait for our next event!" — Valspar