Using Team Building to Strengthen Company Culture
What is Company Culture, and Why Does it Matter?
Company culture has become quite the buzz word lately… But what does it really mean? Company culture is what governs non-transactional workplace interactions. For instance, whether your office is collaborative or competitive, a slacks-only environment or sandal-friendly, pen-drop silent or playing the latest hits, is all determined by your company’s culture. It’s the combination of policies and unwritten rules that make a workplace “uptight,” “laidback,” or anything in between.
Company culture has become crucial to attracting top talent and keeping worker’s engaged. Gallup’s 2017 State of the Global Workplace report found that 67% of employees are “not engaged” at work. This recent drag in productivity has caused HR managers to reevaluate how they are motivating individuals, and create new policies aimed at increasing workplace flexibility, autonomy, and camaraderie.
Team Building Tips
We have a small (but talented!) group here at Liquid Creative, so having a close-knit team helps us keep our employees motivated, our open office space productive, and our work its most creative. Here are some team building activities that we use to keep our company culture strong that you can try out with your team!
1. Weekly Culture Hour
Our weekly culture hour is a chance for our team to take a creative break, share some laughs, and enjoy a planned activity together. Here are just a few of our activities that you can adapt for your office.
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- Milkshake Bar: We nominated the person with the best blender to bring it into the office, and then made delicious milkshakes with gourmet toppings. Cheers!
- Outside Time: Our office is just down the road from Sweetwater Wetlands Park, so we drove there for a nice midday walk.
- Play a Game: Our team’s favorite game to play together is Heads Up!
2. Bring Your Dog to Work Day
People love pets. If no one is allergic, allowing quiet, well-behaved dogs in the office can brighten everyone’s mood!
3. Celebrate Milestones
Acknowledging important professional and life milestones makes your employees feel appreciated. We always celebrate our teams’ yearly work anniversaries, birthdays, and weddings with an in-office gathering. We are lucky to have some wonderful and enthusiastic chefs on our team, so we rarely have to cater!
4. Hold a Friendly Competition
Our teammates give each other “snaps” for helping out, and at the end of the quarter the teammate with the most snaps is declared winner! Snaps can be given for serious accomplishments, such as writing an awesome new ad, or for something silly, like bringing in donuts.
5. Try Something New Together
Getting out of your comfort zone together can be an exciting, and bonding, experience! Our team went to the Gainesville Circus Center, where they took their talents to new heights. Check out this article on Gainesville team building activities from The Business Report of North Central Florida for more local ideas!
6. Have A Night On the Town
Out of office gatherings are the best way to get to know the people who are most important to your team, such as significant others or close friends, outside of work. You may think to yourself, “why does that matter?” It does if you want to create the type of culture where your employees know that you care about them as people. From a more bottomline-focused perspective, providing opportunities for your employees to cultivate friendships can reduce labor turnover.
Going to see a play, band, or attending another special event is always a fun time! We recently took our team and their significant others to see The Wolves at the Hippodrome Theatre.
7. Host Your Team
On the same note, hosting your team in your home is a great way to let them know that you care about them as people. We have an office holiday party held in our President’s home each December, where we play games, enjoy each other’s cooking, and exchange secret Santa gifts.
8. Dress Up
It’s so much fun to dress up as a group! This year our team has dressed up for our Christmas in July party, October 3rd (otherwise known as Mean Girls Day), and Halloween!
9. Volunteer Together
Volunteering is perfect for team bonding, because it gets everyone out of the office to do something meaningful together. Try to find a cause that matters to everyone in your office. Our team went “trick or treating” at the Humane Society of North Central Florida for Halloween.
Get Started with Team Building!
Now that your armed with these ideas, you’re ready to plan your team building events! Start using team building to increase workplace camaraderie, improve employee motivation, and enhance your company culture.
