• To enable employees to get to know each other
• To allow people from different departments and branches to know and work with each other
• To improve morale, collaboration, and communication in the workplace
• To give employees a break and a chance to have fun

But even if you have only the best intentions for planning team building events, there may be instances wherein you’ll find that your employees are not interested in these activities. Even if you follow the best corporate event planning tips for team building, all your efforts may still go to waste if you don’t find a way to get them interested or to participate wholeheartedly.

Boosting Employee Interest and Engagement in Team Building Activities

In order to put together successful team building events, you need to do something to pique all of your employees’ interest and motivate them to engage in these activities. Here are some tips for doing so:

1. Identify your employees’ needs

Scheduling a team building event simply because your company hasn’t had one in months will certainly be a waste of money, time, and effort. This is because if you schedule a team building event on a whim, you will be choosing activities that will not do anything good for your employees and your business.

If you want your employees to be interested in a team building event and learn something from it, find out what they need first. Do they need to learn to collaborate better or improve interoffice communication?

You can find out what your employees’ specific needs are by observing them while they are work. Conducting an informal survey about what skills they want to improve or issues they want addressed during the next gathering will help you out as well.

Additionally, you can ask the supervisor or team leads about the things their employees need based on their observations.

Lastly, think carefully about whether all employees need to join the event. If some members are already showing signs of disinterest, it may be best to not let them join. Keep in mind that if you force them to join, there is a high possibility they will be disengaged throughout the event no matter how interesting and fun it is.

2. Set specific goals that will address your employees’ needs

Once you have determined your employees’ needs, you can establish the goals for your team building event.

For instance, if your members need to improve their teamwork, your goals for the event should be to give them opportunities to know each other better and to work with each other.

Once you have set the goals, you can then choose the right activities that will address your employees’ needs.

And before the actual event, make sure you inform all the participants about the goals. Send them emails or schedule a meeting and discuss with them the purpose of the team building event.

When your employees know there is a good reason behind the event and that you planned it to meet their needs, they will be more interested in the event. And because of this, they are likely to be more engaged, motivated, and enthusiastic throughout the gathering.

3. Choose the right activities

With all the various types of team building activities you can find online, you won’t encounter any difficulties finding the right ones that will match your objectives.

You can narrow down your list of options by choosing activities that:

• Encourage healthy competition
• Do not exclude anyone
• Have learning elements
• Do not make the participants feel uncomfortable or attacked

You can also ask your employees for their suggestions or ask them to choose from your list of activities. By doing so, you will have activities that all the participants will engage in and benefit from.

4. Host the event outside the office

Team building events can take place in the office. However, if you want your employees to participate and have fun during this affair, take the event out of the office.

By renting a small meeting room or even going to a public park or venue for the team building event, you will increase your employees’ excitement and interest. After all, they will be outside the office, away from their workplace for a day or for several hours. And this will go a long way in making them feel interested and motivated to participate in all activities.

5. Inject fun

Team building activities are opportunities for employees to learn and have fun at the same time. However, it doesn’t mean that a team building event should only have activities that teach or impart something to the participants.

During these events, give the employees time to have fun simply for the sake of doing so. Consider hiring trampolines or a bouncy castle for adults. Let them jump around and do whatever they want.

When you give the participants something they can do that is not work-related, you will be sure that, at the very least, they will have fun during the event. If you inform the participants that they will have time to engage in non-directive fun at the end of the team building activities as a form of reward, you will likely find them more participative throughout the event.

You can get help from event management companies in Dubai if you need more ideas on how to inject fun in your team building event.

 
By following the tips above, you will avoid wasting your money and efforts and your employees’ time during your next team building event. You will be sure the participants will appreciate and learn something from the event as well.

If you need help with planning your next team building event, get in touch with us now.