LCI Blog: The Value of Team Building

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By Hilary Burns, account coordinator/office manager at Landis Communications, Inc.
This past June marked my first full year out of college. It was also the anniversary of the beginning of my public relations career. Over the past thirteen months, not only have I become a Cision whiz and a pitch-writing pro, I have also gained a legitimate respect for communications professionals and the amazing work that we do. Equally important, I learned that the “work hard, play hard” motto is essential, which is why I took great pleasure in planning an LCI team summer outing recently at Lucky Strike San Francisco.
The team had a great time together. Relationship building outside of the office environment is absolutely necessary for enhancing the overall success of a business. According to Mashable.com, statistics show that strong relationships between co-workers foster productivity and improve overall company culture. A report from RedBalloon/AltusQ found that “companies with high employee engagement levels were up to 10 times more likely to see an increase in sales and profit than those with lower engagement.”
Here are a few of my own reasons why team building and company outings are imperative to success. Company outings:

  1. Build trust and respect: Team activities facilitate the growth of interpersonal relationships and also help develop trust and respect. Employees with stronger co-worker bonds are more likely to help each other in the working world.
  2. Give everyone a chance to decompress: We live in a fast-paced and competitive society. It is important to take time to unwind and have fun. Stressed and tired employees can propogate negativity. But satisfied and happy employees are more likely to spread positive vibes and lift morale.
  3. Level the playing field: From the CEO to the intern, everyone can engage in the same activity and share a similar experience. Employees can learn more about individual strengths and weaknesses as well as discover hidden talents. You never know when you may need to call upon a co-worker’s secret strength.
  4. Build memories and increase SEO: In addition to building fun memories, you can also share pictures and videos on social networking sites to update your followers. Adding new content to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, etc. increases SEO (search engine optimization) and lets you share your great company culture with others!

Here are a few pictures from our team outing at Lucky Strike. To see more pictures, visit the LCI Facebook page.

 

Tell us about a great team-building exercise at your office. Comment below or send an email to Hilary at [email protected] or [email protected].

12 thoughts on “LCI Blog: The Value of Team Building”

  1. Hilary – nice post! You’re so right about the value of taking time to just relax and have fun together – makes for a better team overall.

  2. Thanks for the great times and for teaching us all how to bowl, Hilary. You Rock! -Jordana

  3. HIlary – and I would add it’s always a hoot to see the big boss deliver 5 double gutter balls in a row! Cheers, David

  4. A great time OOO, as they say, and thanks for making it happen, Hilary! Truly valuable to gather the team outside office walls. But should we view your winning score as an indication why you suggested we go bowling? — Rob

  5. As a returning and part time staff, it was so much fun getting to know the team outside the office. LCI has the best outings.

  7. Very well written and spot-on about team building. Bowling is a perfect staff outing. It is just like life. One minute you’re up (a strike), another you recover (a spare) and then the next everything goes sideways (a gutter ball!) Here’s to a lot of strikes and spares!!!

  10. Great post Hilary! I loved the photos– they make me want to head over to Lucky Strike! But you also make important points about getting OUT of the office… team building, off-sites, etc. — all useful for positive team morale. Nicely done– and congratulations on your success! Love your enthusiasm too! Hope to see you soon….

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