Successful teams create successful businesses, but they don’t magically appear overnight. Assembling the right team to move your startup business forward will take focus, time, and hard work. It’s something you need to invest in if you want to maximize your chances of success.
Why is your startup team important?
The first people you bring into your startup business will help define your future corporate culture, and their behavior and attitudes will shape your company’s values. Think of your startup team as the base of your pyramid, you need a solid foundation to work from and you need to make sure their values are the ones you want to transfer as your job pyramid grows.
Investors scrutinize your startup team
When you begin the fundraising process for your startup business, investors will want to see that you have the right team behind you to take you forward. Experience, attitude and professionalism will weigh heavily in your favor during scrutiny from investors, so make sure you hire the right people for the job and don’t be tempted to fill positions with friends or family members who might have the best intentions for your business.
The growth of your business depends on your team
Your business growth factor is directly proportional to the effectiveness of your start-up team and for your business to succeed you need to ensure that the people you hire have.How will team building activities help you build a strong team?Hiring qualified people with a positive and dynamic attitude is a great start to building your startup team, but what comes next is ensuring that each individual hire works well together as a cohesive unit. In startups especially, early-stage teams often span departments, experience levels, ages, and seniority levels within your company, which can make it harder for them to work as a team
Team building helps to improve communication with employees
Team building activities often focus on improving communication. Communication is vital in the workplace and especially in small tight-knit teams that may be spinning multiple plates at once. Miscommunication is responsible for many business mistakes and communication-focused team building tasks can help break down communication barriers which can then be transferred into the work environment.
Team building helps promote positive friendships in the workplace
Spending more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, working closely as a team is much more enjoyable if people also have positive friendships at work. Team building activities give your staff a chance to bond outside of the work environment, see each other and strengthen their team bonds.
Team building can help employees develop more self-confidence
Each member of your team will have their own strengths, which is why you hired them. However, some staff may also lack self-confidence, which could limit their use of these skills in the work environment. Team building activities can help build employees’ self-confidence by helping them realize the skills they have and making them feel more comfortable with other members of their team. Team building can improve productivity
As already mentioned, team building can help boost morale, but it also helps teams practice working together in high-pressure situations to achieve a goal, which transfers well to the workplace, helping them perform better in times of pressure.
What activities can you do for team building?
Team building activities don’t have to involve expensive country retreats, some of the most effective team building activities can be done on a budget and even in-house. Here are some examples of team building activities you could try.
blindfold game
The blindfold game can be easily played in the office using desks and chairs as obstacles. Simply divide your team into pairs, one person will wear the blindfold and the other will guide them through the obstacles. It’s a great communication exercise and can really bring out different communication styles within your team.
The drawing game
Write a few simple drawing ideas on scrap paper like “horse in a field”, “car in a driveway”, “monkey in a tree”, then place these scrap paper pieces in a hat or sketching bag. Again, divide your team into pairs and have each person take a drawing idea from the pile of scrap paper. Everyone must keep their drawing idea to themselves.
Then, in pairs, have one person sit with a pencil and paper in front of them and their partner with their drawing idea stands behind. The object of the game is to explain to your partner what he needs to draw without mentioning what the drawing will be and the individual elements in it. It can be quite tricky, but it’s also a lot of fun. After an allotted time, say 90 seconds, swap and then reveal what the drawing should have been.
Combine team building and team training
Team training days are another great opportunity for your employees to build their team relationships. Whether you need to learn more about cybersecurity or learn more about how to network successfully, a day of group team training can kill two birds with one stone.
Group board or card games
Sometimes it can be easy to overthink what a team building activity should be and just sitting down as a team to play a traditional board game or card game can be just as beneficial. to build team friendships and strengthen team bonds. Why not try classic card games on a Friday afternoon like rummy.
An escape room
Escape rooms are another great and fun way to encourage team building, promote communication, encourage teamwork, and help your employees work under pressure. They also make great Christmas party activities.