Employees tend to communicate well, have high morale and be well-engaged with the company if they enjoy coming to work. Bonding with managers and coworkers is a highly important step in this process. Employees tend to communicate well and listen to internal communications if they feel they know their supervisors and colleagues and have had good experiences with them. Plus, the stronger morale and engagement are, the greater the more you can make a team of your employees — and teamwork is crucial to good performance.
But knowing and liking your coworkers doesn’t just happen; smart managers will create bonding opportunities, where communication will happen naturally. Summer is a great time to hold bonding activities, because there’s more daylight time after work and a wider range of possible activities.
Bonding Activities
Here’s 4 best bonding activities to build teamwork among your employees.
1. Have a picnic
It’s getting to be the end of summer! Don’t let the opportunity to hold a picnic on the weekend pass you by. Open your home or a nearby park to an old-fashioned barbeque. Throw in corn on the cob, strawberries, and you’ll have a very memorable party in which folks sit on the grass, available rustic tables, and chat. Picnics are great because they appeal both to single people and families, young and old.
Don’t forget games, like sack races. These can be lots of fun as everyone joins in.
2. Hold a karaoke night
The best bonding activities are those where a) people get to know each other better than they did before, often by seeing a facet of personality they don’t see at work and b) people laugh and joke together. Karaoke night fits both those bills. Does your IT staff secretly channel Freddie Mercury? Does accounting know all the words to Hamilton? Any Kimbra fans in the under-30 set? You’ll know once karaoke night has revealed musical tastes you never would have guessed.
Make sure that everybody gets a shot (ahem, Hamilton reference) and that the comments are kept good-humored and light. Karaoke is about good-humored participation, not being the greatest singing star. Remember Carpool Karaoke, too, and get people singing together. Premium bonding.
3. Get tickets to a baseball game
Baseball is a classic summer game. Green grass, long afternoons (or nights), innings, hot dogs, mustard, and very fun to watch. It’s also a great builder of camaraderie throughout the summer, tracking the team’s record (and possibly even into the fall). If you are in an area with a minor league team, tickets can be inexpensive and easy to get. If you are near the major leagues, see if the company will chip in to help with costs.
This idea doesn’t just work with baseball, by the way. Any sports event that has you rooting for the home team can build camaraderie, any time of year. Sports are a natural place to praise, and build, teamwork, which is just what you want to do.
4. Get together to play sports
If your staff is sports-conscious, don’t just go to sporting events as a spectator. Host a game or even a league. It’s a good idea to do a quick survey about which sports people would like to play. Volleyball? Miniature golf? Softball? Soccer? Frisbee? The possibilities are endless. Be sure to tailor your choices to capabilities. If you have younger people, for example, they might bond easily around high impact sports. If you tend to have a middle-aged or older staff, chose activities such as golf or Frisbee that don’t require peak physical condition.
Be sure to keep competition friendly. If there are other companies in the area who have a league, ask them to play. It can increase your knowledge of businesses in the area.
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