Team Building

What is it? 

The term "team building" refers to a varied group of activities aimed towards encouraging group bonding and improving the performance of a team. Almost any organisation that has a selection of people working together utilizes team bonding; you can find examples of it in businesses, the military, charities, sports and schools.

What does it involve?

Team building exercises usually involve encouraging people to work together effectively to achieve a certain goal; however, the main aim of team building is not to be the quickest or best at something, but to improve the relationships, operating dynamics and problem solving capabilities of the team in question. 

Why do it and what are the benefits?

Activities that help with team building have many benefits, from building confidence in both the self and the group. Students can also learn important skills such as how to lead and how to follow, and how to collaborate with others and use the collective abilities of the group to achieve the best possible outcome.

What equipment do we need?

Equipment is often used that everyone can collaborate on, but thanks to the wide variety of activities that can help team building you cannot define exactly what equipment is needed. Some examples need only brainpower whereas others need specialist apparatus - make sure to consult with any venues you intend to visit beforehand to see if you need to bring anything. 

Who is it suitable for?

People can start team building at any age! The complexity of the exercises can be adjusted to suit the needs of most groups, from primary school students to those in their late teens. 

Costs?

You can attend specific events tailored towards team building, but it is also often a secondary benefit to an already established activity such as Sports the costs will therefore vary between activities, but should be too expensive!

Issues/Things to think about? (unsuitable for age groups, medical conditions etc)

You must make sure to tailor the nature of your activity to your students. Team building is highly customisable and therefore has an incredible range of possibilites; make sure to choose the right sort for the group e.g. physical teamwork for sports enthusiasts!

How do we include?

The very nature of team building is to include everybody in the tasks, so you can customise what your students do to suit the needs of the group perfectly - a great way to ensure full inclusion!

Doing it abroad?

You can find activities all over the world that can help with team building! However, they may not be advertised as such as the main attraction of the event is unlikely to be teamwork - exercise common sense in deciding what to do with your students to improve team bonds!