Corporate team building ideas

What’s your immediate response when you hear the phrase “team building?”

If you’re like most people – be they business owners, managers or rank-and-file employees – it’s probably NOT one of overwhelming enthusiasm or joy. That’s because any experience people have had with corporate team building, in NYC or anywhere else, has likely been negative: tired, cheesy activities which allege to foster teamwork, when in reality they are simply a waste of time.

In fact, most so-called group bonding events are nothing more than elaborate ice breaker games: trust falls, obstacle courses, balance beams and so forth. These traditional corporate team building ideas are viewed as tried and true, but in reality they are holdover activities from generations ago, designed to put work groups in unfamiliar, silly situations under the guise of building teams.

Isn’t it time for new team building ideas for the 21st century?

With the advent of technology, today’s knowledge workers are in virtual teams that actually work together in person as a group far less frequently than in decades past, let alone know each other well. If corporate leaders truly want to foster teams which are happy, productive and efficient, then corporate team building activities which cater to the realities of the modern work team are needed.

Trust falls no longer cut it in the digital age – it’s time for new team building activity ideas which  foster positive workplace skills such as communication, collaboration, problem solving and conflict resolution, intended to boost morale, teamwork and loyalty among smart and social employees of all ages.

The contemporary American workforce needs strong teams in order to maintain leadership in the global marketplace, and New York City companies in particular need strong teams to remain competitive in an unstable economy. It’s time to meet our employees where they are by offering new team building ideas that speak to their specific needs, as well as to those of the companies which employ them.

Read more: Keep the Goal of Team Building Exercises In Mind When Planning Your Next NYC Event