5 great ways to encourage team bonding in the office

As a business owner, you may well be employing members of staff to help you grow your business. If your business has gone beyond the boundaries of your living room, you may all be working in the same office space. Managing a team is exciting, but also tough. You have to ensure that your employees are performing and hitting all their targets. But, as your team is relatively small, you don’t want to be seen as an ogre figure. Ultimately, it should be your aim to reward hard work and figure out ways to make your team bond.

A happy team is a productive team. They will be spending a vast majority of their day in the office - don’t you think it’s a good idea to make it a place they want to work in? Let’s have a look at some great ways get your team truly bonding.

Friday drinks

Everyone loves Friday. That’s why there is a Monday - so we can all do a four day countdown to the end of the week. It’s almost the weekend and this means subconsciously everyone is a bit more laid back. No one will say it, but many people don’t work as hard on Friday. This can sometimes mean that this can be a hard day to be productive. Instead of trying to fight this, embrace it. Consider finishing up early. Try at say 4pm and take your guys down to the pub for a round of drinks. Your staff will be more relaxed, so it’s a great opportunity for people to get to know each other in a non working context.

Outdoor games

As it’s summer, and relatively warm out, why not let your employees embrace their inner child and go outside and play. If you have a park close to your office then this is ideal. But find out what games people are interested in. Don’t just pick a default option which others won’t enjoy. So if your team aren’t big footballer lovers, a game of five a side probably won’t go down that well. Instead, try and go for something fun but not too physically exerting. We would suggest something like softball. It’s fun, inclusive and also encourages people to work together. But what you decide is totally up to you and your team.

Volunteering

This is one we really like. Encourage your team to help a local charity. And while you’re at it, join them. This demonstrates that your business cares about the wider community. But don’t deduct this from their holiday - this should be a kind gesture that allows your employees to represent the company and do community work. Do your research and check what local charities there are nearby. Maybe there is a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter that is a ‘stone's throw away’. These are the type of programs which always need volunteers. Some of your employees are bound to get ‘stuck in’ and the more reluctant ones will probably follow suit as well - this is good peer pressure.

Fun days out

Another great way to encourage team bonding is by organising days out for your team. If everyone is doing well and hitting their targets then reward them. Take the team out for the day and just go and do something fun. There is literally an endless number of ideas for what you could do - but whatever it is, it’s on you!

Here's some initial ideas to get you started:

• Go Karting

• A scavenger hunt

• Go Ape

• Escape Rooms

• Crystal Maze

• A theme park

This will all depend on what is feasible in terms of location and affordability. But a day out, as a reward for good work, is a fantastic idea to encourage team bonding.

Eat together

You don’t always need to spend large amounts on a day out to foster a sense of unity in your team. Sometimes this can come from simply allowing your team to eat together at the same table. Unfortunately, it has become quite commonplace in the UK for people to take their lunch break alone eating at their desk. If you can, try and discourage this type of thing and instead insist that people eat lunch in the kitchen - providing you have a large enough table. This is another great way for team members to unwind, relax and talk about things other than work. It’s also a far more sociable way for people to have lunch. Maybe even some of the shyer employees will find they can open up a little bit this way rather than look at Cat GIFs on their phone in solitude.

We hope that these tips help you create valuable experiences for your team that they will value, enjoy and bond over. Always remember a happy office is a productive office - so always have this in mind.

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