How a renewed importance of employee engagement has driven the need for team building
Companies need to fundamentally redefine their cultures and provide new opportunities to grow, develop connections and find meaning.
In the past 100 years, we have not seen a disruption as dramatic as the COVID-19 pandemic to both the business landscape and daily life. As businesses, schools and other activities moved into the home or were put on pause, leaders struggled to keep their teams connected and engaged. At its lowest, employee engagement dropped to 31% in June 2020, reflecting the challenges business and HR leaders faced as they pivoted to a largely unfamiliar remote workplace.
Related: Taking the lead: The evolving role of HR professionals
As a testament to our resiliency as a society, workforces have adapted to new methods of business and found alternative ways to engage with each other. In January 2021, employee engagement increased to almost 40%, up from 36% at the end of 2020. However, we still have a long way to go. Across industries, many companies need to fundamentally redefine their cultures and provide their teams with opportunities to grow, develop connections, and find meaning, purpose and wellness.
The corporate team building industry is growing in response to this demand. But beyond training and experiential activations, to truly thrive, it is vital that companies focus on meaningful and sustained change. Here are four key factors to consider.
Long-term disruptions to the corporate landscape
Remote work has endured since early 2020, and as such, many companies are now facing challenges when reintegrating teams in an in-person environment, especially employees who were hired while their companies were fully remote. Some businesses have realized that their goals can be met while employees are at home, eliminating the need for a full-sized office. Other companies are expanding rapidly and experiencing huge growth in their business and workforce.
Across the board, businesses need to find the right balance between in-person, remote and hybrid models of work. No matter what situation the business is in, its key focus must still be on its employees, new or ongoing, as they make up the daily workforce that keeps the company operating at its highest potential.
Companies of all sizes now see that cultivating relationships within this new corporate landscape is more essential than ever for business success. As a result, organizations are making an effort to keep teams engaged through team-building activities that boost connectivity and encourage well-being. In-person teams are looking to refresh their connections in order to work together most effectively, creating an opportunity for team-building activities that emphasize communication. Remote teams require corporate training that builds bonds between staff members as well as creates a wider culture of community care.
Creating culture in a new work environment
The past year has changed culture within the workplace and created a new set of challenges and expectations. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is assuming that their staff is on the same page and ready to return to the office full-time. While some employees are eager to return to pre-pandemic times, others may have lost loved ones or are navigating other ongoing challenges that impact their ability to return to the office full-time.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a reintegration plan, so companies need to look at the individualized needs of its teams. Businesses must customize employees’ return experience as much as possible by offering hybrid work, remote work, in-person work, flexible hours, childcare or any other necessary accommodations that allow them to bring their fullest selves to work. In addition, an emphasis on corporate wellness ensures that staff is taking care of themselves and each other. Through weekly, monthly and annual corporate wellness programs, employees can look after their health which ultimately increases their productivity and engagement with the company.
Businesses must also make a concerted effort to re-engage and recalibrate its staff when returning to the office, especially for employees who came on during remote work and may not have met their team members in person. To be successful, people need to feel connected to their team and looked after, which can be achieved through activities that encourage communication and care. If they feel part of a culture that is greater than themselves, they can feel wellness, health and vitality and inherently deliver a higher level of performance than if they feel disengaged. By focusing on a unique approach to corporate wellness and training that prioritize bringing staff back together, companies can continually increase employee engagement while entering a new era of work.
A renewed focus on employee engagement and team building
Beyond the physical changes made to the team-building industry following Covid-19 lockdowns, the space has adapted to reflect the changing attitudes towards corporate training and employee development. This is also seen through industry growth, as estimates suggest the corporate leadership training market will increase by $26 billion through 2024.
Team building offers an opportunity for businesses to train their teams, allowing them to grow as individuals and within the organization. This is both a personal and professional strategy as employees who feel they have growth opportunities at work will remain engaged and stay with the company for longer periods.
Giving employees freedom, purpose and autonomy creates a healthier, more productive work environment for both leaders and their staff. As a result, today’s team-building programs need to add more value than the traditional, surface-level team bonding activities that often have short-term results. Successful activations, both virtual and onsite, will focus on experiential learning, with clear takeaways, renewed values, and the ability to modify and change behavior, creating lasting results.
Companies should look for team-building providers who take a comprehensive approach to assessing company needs, evaluating the demographics of each team, and understanding the top goals and priorities for the program. This looks different for every business: a company that recently hired 50 new employees has dramatically different needs than an organization that recently underwent restructuring. The same is true for companies that will remain remote versus those that are employing an in-person or hybrid model. This is why leaders should look to build specific, targeted programs that fit the unique needs of their company.
The future of corporate culture
The future of corporate culture is meaningful employee engagement, better productivity, and ultimately growth for the company and its employees. The businesses that get it right will focus on taking care of their teams through programs that foster wellness and connectivity. Successful companies will have team-centric cultures that uplift their employees in ways we have not seen before. Businesses that ignore wellness and instead drive its employees into the ground will find that regardless of salary, at a certain point people will accept reduced pay and join a brighter, more vibrant, and more caring culture.
The companies that have a strong social impact and prioritize corporate caring through opportunities to give back and volunteer will succeed both with employees and customers. As we know, modern customers are willing to spend their dollars on supporting companies that give back.
By emphasizing the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit, businesses can succeed and meet their business goals while providing a supportive environment for their employees to grow and thrive. Those that do not will quickly fall behind, as the new cultural paradigm takes hold and transforms the way we do business.
Ryan Shortill is founder of Onyx Offsites & Trainings, a corporate concierge team training company with a mission of empowering businesses to create meaningful culture, connection and change.
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