“High-functioning teams are what make high-performing companies click,” writes Judith A. Ross, Harvard Business Review.
According to a Harvard study published in 2006, heart surgeon performance improved over time when they were able to consistently work with the same team – a team they knew and trusted. This same principle holds true across industries. Team continuity is a valuable tool to help improve productivity and quality.
“Clearly, building meaningful relationships in the office can have a positive impact on job satisfaction and, as a result, success,” says Andre Lavoie, CEO of ClearCompany.
So, how do you create an atmosphere of collaboration and trust, especially with regular employee turnover? “High-performing teams aren’t the result of happy accident, research shows,” says Ross. “[Teams] achieve superior levels of participation, cooperation, and collaboration because their members trust one another, share a strong sense of group identity, and have confidence in their effectiveness as a team.”
The answer is simple: Team Building. According to the Small Group Research journal paper Does Team Building Work?, team building can have measurable, positive effects on performance. Of course, not all team building programs are created equal.
Make Sure Your Team Building Program is Customized to Your Needs
“When done well, team-building activities can…help build better relationships and increase communication among your team members,” says Lynn Flinn, CPA, president and managing partner of The Rowland Group of Staffing Companies. However, in order to be “done well,” team building programs need to be customized for their audience.
Team building should not be a one-size-fits-all type of deal. Each and every program should be custom tailored to meet the needs of each individual team. You see, while Company A may have an issue with inter-office communication, Company B may struggle with trust, and Company C may be having trouble with morale. So, why would all three companies do the same team building program? It wouldn’t make sense, which is why each program needs to be truly customized to the needs and goals of each organization.
“By talking with client about the group’s objectives, we can then assess whether the key metric of did we meet the group’s goals was achieved,” says Matt Baker, Chief Adventure Officer at Terrapin Adventures.
Custom Team Building with Terrapin Adventures
Team building “can also be adventurous and enjoyable if you do it with a little pizzazz,” says Brian Scudamore, O2E Brands founder and CEO. “The most successful, memorable team-building events are ones that don’t feel like a day at the office.”
Conveniently located between Baltimore and Washington DC, Terrapin Adventures is able to create a truly customized team building program (onsite or offsite, indoor or outdoor) to help improve communication, build trust, and better collaboration within your team.
“Spending time together, sharing an experience or working towards a common goal allows bonding to happen more organically and far more effectively,” says Scudamore. “Team building is the most important investment you can make for your people.”
At Terrapin Adventures, we make team building engaging, meaningful and fun! Our outdoor team building programs feature our highly trained facilitators taking you through a variety of team building exercises on our Low Ropes Course — activities either on the ground or very close to the ground. If our Zip Line and Giant Swing aren’t enough for you, think about adding in other elements from our Aerial Adventure Park like our Climbing Tower or High Ropes Challenge Course.
Our indoor programs are a blast as well. Plus, we can take our team building show on the road! Our experienced facilitators can travel offsite to your office, or any number of other indoor facilities, including hotels, conference centers, gymnasiums, etc. Our offsite team building programs typically run between 2-4 hours, though longer programs and multi-day events are also possible.
Click Here to Schedule Your Customized Team Building Event!
We service Maryland and Washington, D.C., and have traveled to other states as well.
If you have any questions, please call Terrapin Adventures at 301.725.1313, or email us at info@terrapinadventures.com to learn more.