Team building events are nothing new and lots of companies have utilised them for staff bonding and various other work enhancements for years.The idea for using team building days was initially used among the biggest and most diverse companies who had lots of people in lots of different places and who needed all of them to be able to communicate. This then filtered down into the more modestly sized and independent businesses who wanted didn’t want to miss a trick. These days business have moved on and branched off into many different area. There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of people basing their businesses at home or using the Internet for the majority of their trading. According to leading team building businesses, these companies too are increasingly seeing the benefits of running bonding and communication sessions themselves.
The findings were released by a group of corporate events companies in London, England. What they discovered is that although many Internet based business or those run from home only have a few team members, their communication abilities are limited. In these businesses there is often a reluctance to communicate face to face, with employees opting for email or phone calls most of the time. Also, these types of business often have a number of hubs in different locations and the workers from each rarely meet up in person. Additionally, home and internet business employees tend not be that active in their job and are one of the most at risk categories for suffering weight problems and heart disease.
The group who released the findings documented a 30% increase in the number of team building days booked last year by home and internet based businesses (the most popular being Waterside in Windsor events) and suggested this is down to an increased focus on work efficiency. In fact many corporate companies have claimed that they have seen a 40%+ increase in staff productivity and reductions of up to 50% in people talking days off due to illness. This is something the smaller companies realize they should be emulating. As well as team building events, many companies are increasing their spend on hospitality events such as Henley Regatta hospitality days in an attempt to improve staff job satisfaction.