How Often Should You Have an Employee Team Building Event?
This is one of what I call a “frequently unasked question” about employee team building events – that is, HR professionals and departmental managers like you don’t think about it that much, if at all. But really, if yours is a company that likes to have group bonding activities – or you’ve never had one before, but are considering it – how often should you do them?
Once a year?
Once a quarter?
At the end of every “busy period?”
Never?
Of course, folks like me who own corporate team building companies in New York City are supposed to tell you that you need as many events as possible; never too many, that’s for sure! But you know what? That’s total BS – so don’t believe it when you hear it.
The real answer is simple: as frequently as you need them.
Let’s take a step back for a moment, and ask: why are we holding team building events in the first place? Before determining how often, you need to clearly and specifically identify your team building goals and objectives, so that you can measure if they’re being met.
Are you seeking to:
- Integrate new team members?
- Boost morale after a particularly challenging month, quarter or year?
- Orient new hires or summer staff?
- Merge work groups, departments – or entire companies?
- Simply get people to know each other better?
Depending on your answers to the above questions, you may find that it makes sense to hold frequent team building activities on a regular basis, annually, just once – or not at all. It depends entirely on your unique situation (for more on the subject of employee event scheduling, check out “What Time of Year Should You Hold a Corporate Team Building Activity?”)
Any questions? Please leave in the comments below, I’m happy to answer!