CAN TEAM BUILDING EXERCISES REALLY IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY?

Taking a look at how and why a team building activity can boost productivity.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” - Babe Ruth

Clearly, teamwork is critical to achieving professional success.

And team building activities have many benefits when it comes to encouraging teamwork.

In this blog post, we will focus on one specific benefit - an improvement in productivity.

That is, we're going to focus on the question: Do team building exercise improve productivity? How?

Team building and productivity: the TLDR version

Here’s the one line answer: team building incentivizes collaboration and communication, thus urging people to coordinate their full efforts on common goals. Which improves the overall quality of their output, increasing productivity.

A good team building exercise will boost the focus and engagement of team members and encourage them to put their best foot forward. Boosting the quality of work of each team member and boosting overall team productivity.

Let’s now look at some of these in a little more detail.

Improving problem solving skills

A good team outing, like in an escape room, will push participants to develop a "problem solving" approach to their work, which enhances productivity.

To achieve productive results, a team must be able to engineer creative solutions. And good team events have ways to get team members' creativity in high gear.

Improving communication

Team building activities can also be called a crash course in the benefits of good communication. By taking on the challenges of the activity, they'll also develop new ways of maintaining effective communication with one another constantly.

Selecting a name for the team can be a fun part of a team outing. Here’s a guide on choosing a killer team name.

Bringing untapped potential to the fore

A team event that is fun for folks to participate in will nudge participants to fully utilize their talents.

Team building at an escape room, for example, encourages every member of the team to perform at their best...because of the allure of being able to beat the game and escape within 60 minutes.

Team members learn that every person on the team has something to contribute and that their active participation should be encouraged. That's the best way to use each other's strengths to achieve a shared ends.

Once every team member understands their full potential, they will become better motivated to unleash it on their work, improving productivity.

Want to explore those games that your team members will feel driven to beat? Here are our escape games.

Developing team roles

Every person on a team will have something unique to contribute to the team's success. In other words, they all have a role they are suited for.

Team building helps everyone understand what they bring to the table, better defining each person's role in the team's success.

If everyone is focusing on what they are good at, they can all achieve the best results in their niche, improving the entire team's work.

Skill development

Upskilling is a major mantra these days. And team building plays an important role in cajoling participants to upskill by creating an environment in which team members can think about they're in the right role.

This kind of self-reflection is not that easy in a busy work environment.

Looking for team event options? Here are the top 10 team building ideas in Seattle. 

Removing friction

As a team building exercise is a fun and engaging event, it encourages participants to develop better relationships with one another.

In the charged work environment, friction and disagreements come to the fore.

A team outing, on the other hand, places participants in a situation where they have an equal opportunity to contribute to the team's success, but in an environment where everyone's enjoying themselves.

Disagreements and tension are swapped with constructive discussions and negotiated outcomes...all of which boost productivity.

Supporting one another

A team building activity worth its salt will make participants realize the value of being able to depend on each other.

Team members should be encouraged to assist and support one another in their work, creating a productive work environment with positive reinforcement.

This kind of encouragement plays a major role in improving productivity.

The team members will also feel encouraged to open up to each other, which boosts empathy for individual team members, further reducing tensions in the team.

Some team activity options: Our picks of the top Seattle team events that are open right now.

Improving productivity by team building at Fox in a Box

As a premier escape room in Seattle, we do host team building events. In fact, some of Seattle’s top companies (like Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook {now Meta}) have booked their corporate team events with us.

So, what sets our team building events apart?

How can you expect your employees’ and teams’ productivity to improve through team building with us?

Here’s the deal: What sets us apart from most other team building activities in Seattle is that unlike their top-down approach, we place the participants - your employees - at the heart of the activity.

In our escape rooms, it is the players that control the outcome. The activity unfolds with each step they take, whether it’s finding a clue, solving a puzzle or collaborating with one another on a somewhat difficult task.

And that is key to participants gaining the full benefits of a team building exercise, including improved productivity.

Want to host a team building event with us? Get in touch and we’ll help you set it up!

Featured image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.