In a highly competitive work environment where employees feel they are competing against each other for salary hikes, promotions, or better career opportunities, employee bonding can become a rare phenomena. This kind of hyper competitiveness, if allowed to remain uncontrolled, can lead to high levels of work related stress and/or dissatisfaction with work which is likely to adversely affect the output of the individual and team. Some amount of employee bonding becomes essential so that everyone relate to each other’s work and importance to the team and organization. To keep things in control, the right atmosphere has to be created so that employees feel they are not competing against each other but rather are collaborating to achieve a common organizational goal or objective. Some factors that enables employee bonding at work are as follows:
1. Specific Goals and Objectives – if each employee know what is expected out of him and against what measures s/he will be evaluated, it is easier for them to focus on those activities and understand that their career progression is based on achieving them rather than on how some other team member is performing.
2. Clear Communication and feedback – a transparent system where flow of communication is clear and frequent helps in giving reassurance to employees and reducing any negative effect of the office grapevine.
3. Open door policy – generates a sense of openness and trust between the employee and their managers and helps in reducing bureaucracy and bringing more focus on actual work.
4. Rewards & recognition policy – like stars of the quarter, special performance incentives and bonus for individual and/or team helps in improving employee motivation and commitment to the organization.
5. Know your colleagues – when a manager or colleagues remember their team mates birthdays, family members' names, and hobbies it brings a lot of positive energy and makes them feel wanted in the team.
6. Training programs & Seminars – on leadership skills, team building, communication, time and task management aids in understanding and improving inter and intra team dynamics.
7. Indoor and Outdoor cultural & sports activities – brings an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie in an informal setting.
Planning outdoor activities for employee bonding
All outdoor activities which are aimed at improving bonding between the employees needs to properly planned and executed. Some can be done directly by the organization, while others might require help from external event managers, consultants, or trainers. Outdoor activities that promotes inter team coordination and helps each person understand, accept and contribute to each other’s strengths are epitomized in various outdoor team sports like cricket, football, volleyball to name a few. Talent competitions which are planned internally include fashion shows where people from various teams/department coordinate on designing, creating and conducting these shows. Celebration of certain festivals like ethnic wear during Dussehra and individual/group dance competitions during Diwali which require choreography, dress-designing and involvement of various individuals helps in breaking down the barriers of competition and replace that with cooperation. Employees who do not trust each other do not work well with each other; hence such events are required to help them develop faith in their coworkers' motives, abilities and methods.
Special outdoor events, which might require outdoor stay or camping, aimed at building the reliance and collaboration of each team member to succeed can be essential for employees to get the broader perspective of working in an organization, where the individual understands and contributes to the organization rather than his/her self interests. Events that allow the respective spouses to join in, like annual family days, can also be quite effective as it creates a better bond and understanding between various colleagues.
Effects of outdoor activities on employee morale and work culture
Outdoor activities can significantly improve an employee’s morale and the overall work culture. Sports and cultural activities can remove barriers and bring out a sense of healthy completion and enjoyment of participation. Fun events like treasure hunts and outdoor adventures like trekking, rock climbing, rafting etc. where one is not only dependent on their own skills and abilities but have to be equally reliant on that of their partner or team. This not only increases the employees confidence in his/her own abilities but also makes them appreciate that of the others, which can be a win-win situation for an organization especially during challenging times when there is a critical task to be completed, or there is a tight time constraint.
Internally we use our sports and cultural society (Kalavedika) to conduct all major outdoor activities. This includes various team sports like cricket and football which are planned over 3-4 months with the finals being scheduled on our annual family day. Similarly the cultural activities are planned to coincide with all major festivals which includes ethnic wear fashion shows, song, music, dance competitions etc. with the grand finale of the top performers reserved for the family day. The teams which are successful are given trophies and certificates and are given the opportunity to represent the organization in inter-company competitions which happen during the rest of the year. Typically there is a lot of inter and intra team bonding after such events as each employee sees the other in a different light. It also helps in reducing the distance between an employee and his/her manager as the task and team work seem more important than individual achievements alone.
The annual family day is a major event of our organization where the families of each staff member are invited for a full-day event that includes various fun and games related activities. It culminates with a stage show, scheduled in the evenings, that is aimed at showcasing the talent within the organization. However the major purpose of this event is to ensure that the family members of all employees get to know each other and appreciate their job requirements and challenges that each of them faces at work and how they can support them in meeting and overcoming them.
Hurdles in planning outdoor activities
There are few common hurdles, which if not properly managed, can impact the planning of such activities; these can be categorized as follows:
1. Time – being under constant pressure to meet customer or project deadlines, sometimes planned events get cancelled or postponed.
2. Finance – often the annual budgets for all extra-curricular and training activities are fixed at the beginning of the year. However based on the situation, of high attrition or increase in hiring's, frequency and scope of such programs often need a relook. This could be a challenge if there is no buffer in the budgets to accommodate such special needs.
3. Managers - often Managers feel it is an apparent waste of time and productivity for their team to attend a certain planned outdoor activity. Unless they are clear about the objectives, impact, desired outcome and benefits of such activities, they are bound to become a hurdle in the execution of such programs.
4. Team Dynamics – based on various factors like the current financial performance of the organization, team/individuals’ current performance, motivation, and employee engagement levels within a team, outdoor activities could either be fun and learning events or might end up as disasters.
5. Content – the objective of having outdoor activities should be clear right at the outset – is the program designed to alleviate stress, increase inter-team cooperation, develop leadership or team building skills etc. The outdoor activity then needs to be planned in such a way so that it is relevant to improve or develop those areas. If the program is not designed properly, it is likely to be seen as a waste of time and effort.
6. Weather – all outdoor activities are at the mercy of the weather gods. Outdoor programs that are planned especially in the middle of summer or the monsoon seasons can be ‘washouts’ or limited in their effectiveness.
Excerpts of this article has been published in Times Ascent - http://timesascent.in/article/7/20100811201008111636108781d923937/Taking-your-staff-outdoors.html
and http://timesascent.in/article/1/2010081120100811174955496be4f372c/Bonding-among-GenX-employees.html
1. Specific Goals and Objectives – if each employee know what is expected out of him and against what measures s/he will be evaluated, it is easier for them to focus on those activities and understand that their career progression is based on achieving them rather than on how some other team member is performing.
2. Clear Communication and feedback – a transparent system where flow of communication is clear and frequent helps in giving reassurance to employees and reducing any negative effect of the office grapevine.
3. Open door policy – generates a sense of openness and trust between the employee and their managers and helps in reducing bureaucracy and bringing more focus on actual work.
4. Rewards & recognition policy – like stars of the quarter, special performance incentives and bonus for individual and/or team helps in improving employee motivation and commitment to the organization.
5. Know your colleagues – when a manager or colleagues remember their team mates birthdays, family members' names, and hobbies it brings a lot of positive energy and makes them feel wanted in the team.
6. Training programs & Seminars – on leadership skills, team building, communication, time and task management aids in understanding and improving inter and intra team dynamics.
7. Indoor and Outdoor cultural & sports activities – brings an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie in an informal setting.
Planning outdoor activities for employee bonding
All outdoor activities which are aimed at improving bonding between the employees needs to properly planned and executed. Some can be done directly by the organization, while others might require help from external event managers, consultants, or trainers. Outdoor activities that promotes inter team coordination and helps each person understand, accept and contribute to each other’s strengths are epitomized in various outdoor team sports like cricket, football, volleyball to name a few. Talent competitions which are planned internally include fashion shows where people from various teams/department coordinate on designing, creating and conducting these shows. Celebration of certain festivals like ethnic wear during Dussehra and individual/group dance competitions during Diwali which require choreography, dress-designing and involvement of various individuals helps in breaking down the barriers of competition and replace that with cooperation. Employees who do not trust each other do not work well with each other; hence such events are required to help them develop faith in their coworkers' motives, abilities and methods.
Special outdoor events, which might require outdoor stay or camping, aimed at building the reliance and collaboration of each team member to succeed can be essential for employees to get the broader perspective of working in an organization, where the individual understands and contributes to the organization rather than his/her self interests. Events that allow the respective spouses to join in, like annual family days, can also be quite effective as it creates a better bond and understanding between various colleagues.
Effects of outdoor activities on employee morale and work culture
Outdoor activities can significantly improve an employee’s morale and the overall work culture. Sports and cultural activities can remove barriers and bring out a sense of healthy completion and enjoyment of participation. Fun events like treasure hunts and outdoor adventures like trekking, rock climbing, rafting etc. where one is not only dependent on their own skills and abilities but have to be equally reliant on that of their partner or team. This not only increases the employees confidence in his/her own abilities but also makes them appreciate that of the others, which can be a win-win situation for an organization especially during challenging times when there is a critical task to be completed, or there is a tight time constraint.
Internally we use our sports and cultural society (Kalavedika) to conduct all major outdoor activities. This includes various team sports like cricket and football which are planned over 3-4 months with the finals being scheduled on our annual family day. Similarly the cultural activities are planned to coincide with all major festivals which includes ethnic wear fashion shows, song, music, dance competitions etc. with the grand finale of the top performers reserved for the family day. The teams which are successful are given trophies and certificates and are given the opportunity to represent the organization in inter-company competitions which happen during the rest of the year. Typically there is a lot of inter and intra team bonding after such events as each employee sees the other in a different light. It also helps in reducing the distance between an employee and his/her manager as the task and team work seem more important than individual achievements alone.
The annual family day is a major event of our organization where the families of each staff member are invited for a full-day event that includes various fun and games related activities. It culminates with a stage show, scheduled in the evenings, that is aimed at showcasing the talent within the organization. However the major purpose of this event is to ensure that the family members of all employees get to know each other and appreciate their job requirements and challenges that each of them faces at work and how they can support them in meeting and overcoming them.
Hurdles in planning outdoor activities
There are few common hurdles, which if not properly managed, can impact the planning of such activities; these can be categorized as follows:
1. Time – being under constant pressure to meet customer or project deadlines, sometimes planned events get cancelled or postponed.
2. Finance – often the annual budgets for all extra-curricular and training activities are fixed at the beginning of the year. However based on the situation, of high attrition or increase in hiring's, frequency and scope of such programs often need a relook. This could be a challenge if there is no buffer in the budgets to accommodate such special needs.
3. Managers - often Managers feel it is an apparent waste of time and productivity for their team to attend a certain planned outdoor activity. Unless they are clear about the objectives, impact, desired outcome and benefits of such activities, they are bound to become a hurdle in the execution of such programs.
4. Team Dynamics – based on various factors like the current financial performance of the organization, team/individuals’ current performance, motivation, and employee engagement levels within a team, outdoor activities could either be fun and learning events or might end up as disasters.
5. Content – the objective of having outdoor activities should be clear right at the outset – is the program designed to alleviate stress, increase inter-team cooperation, develop leadership or team building skills etc. The outdoor activity then needs to be planned in such a way so that it is relevant to improve or develop those areas. If the program is not designed properly, it is likely to be seen as a waste of time and effort.
6. Weather – all outdoor activities are at the mercy of the weather gods. Outdoor programs that are planned especially in the middle of summer or the monsoon seasons can be ‘washouts’ or limited in their effectiveness.
Excerpts of this article has been published in Times Ascent - http://timesascent.in/article/7/20100811201008111636108781d923937/Taking-your-staff-outdoors.html
and http://timesascent.in/article/1/2010081120100811174955496be4f372c/Bonding-among-GenX-employees.html
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