You have heard it said repeatedly that small businesses are the “backbone of the United States economy,” and while you might be tempted to think that this is a bit of a reach, it is most definitely a true statement. Consider the fact that the most recent statistics indicate that small businesses employ nearly half of the private workforce and that 97.7% of firms conducting international trade were small businesses. Net new jobs constituted 1.7 million workers being employed and there are almost 30 million small businesses in the nation.
While the number of small businesses remains fairly steady, even with close to a million new companies being registered in any given year, the reason for that is often a failure in the first two years. If you are seeking growth, one of the most effective ways to promote growth from within is to build a rock-solid team committed to success. One way to build a cohesive team is through team building exercises on the premises and off. Here are a few ideas to kickstart your teambuilding strategy.
Take a Break with an Escape
Learning to work together can be a challenge. Undoubtedly, you have a workforce comprised of people from all walks of life. Age ranges may be as large as four to five decades apart and levels of experience and education factor in as well. Arriving at a meeting of the minds may take some extra work, simply because of those vast differences. Many HR departments are planning escape days away from the job so that team members really get to know each other on a more personal level. They learn how their coworkers act while off the clock.
Fun Ways to Work Together – Live Puzzle Challenges
Speaking of escape days, scheduling a team activity at a Boston Escape Room, for example, literally forces the team to work together, but in a fast-paced way that is both fun and challenging. Here you will be ‘locked away’ with your teammates and the clock starts ticking. You are challenged with solving a mystery and you have 60 minutes to come up with the answer.
A guide may give you clues, but not strong enough to give anything away. Once your team, working together, finds the solution to the puzzle/mystery, the game is over and the door figuratively unlocked. It’s a fun way to learn how each member of the team approaches problem-solving without the worries that would be experienced on the job.
The Ultimate Goal – Working Together as a Single Unit
For a small business to prosper, the mindset must be one of unity. Of course, competition should also be embraced but the higher goal is to get the business to function as a whole with the company’s success as a central focus. If the company goes under, everyone loses. If the company prospers, so too does the team. Sometimes team building exercises and icebreakers are used at weekly staff meetings and other times a day away is in order. No matter how you approach it, if you want your small business to be one of growth, building a solid team is a must.