What are team building measures?

Team spirit, team spirit and cooperation are essential in everyday working life. For this reason, team-building measures are more important today than ever before. It is difficult to define exactly what team-building measures are, but ultimately they are all measures that make a team more successful and help people to feel comfortable and develop within the team. Team-building measures can promote cooperation, improve communication, build trust, strengthen cohesion, increase identification and so on. Specific measures range from company outings to intensive team training.

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What team building measures are there?

There is a whole range of team building measures that can be used. We will clarify which team building measures are useful in the next section. But what measures are there in principle? Here is an initial overview:

Facilitated team events, team development activities or team training, using the expertise of external providers to shape the team, correct dysfunctions or reward them.
“Self-guided” team building measures – use team building games, for example
Joint excursions or activities, this can also be a very simple city tour, a boat trip or a hike
Barbecue evening as a cozy end to the week
Team coaching or, in special cases, individual coaching can also be an important team-building measure, e.g. if there are conflicts in the team
Regular structured feedback
Create role clarity and initiate an exchange of values as essential measures for sustainable team building

We are aware that the list of teambuilding measures here is not complete, so please feel free to send us your additions.

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To the team development modules

Which team building measures are useful?

Which team building measure makes the most sense depends on a number of factors. The most important factors with examples are:

Objective

The team has been newly formed and is to be shaped – the most sensible measure is an externally moderated team building measure to clarify roles, talents, expectations, etc.
Conflicts in the team should be resolved – an externally moderated workshop is also useful here, as conflicts are often easier to resolve with the support of neutral persons
The team should get to know each other better – if the team is small, for example, a barbecue evening or a hike together is ideal
Team performance should be improved – a team-building game that creates transparency about potential for improvement with a moderated transparency process to transfer the findings into everyday working life is a sensible approach
The motivation in the team should be strengthened – if the motivation is generally there and just needs a boost, then reward your team with an outing. If motivation is permanently too low, it makes sense to take advantage of a team development measure and get to the bottom of the causes (conflicts, incorrect role assignments, lack of clarity about inner motivators….). Our workshops and our deep-sea expedition are very valuable tools here.

Who is in the team?

If your team works in the technical field, then team-building measures that have to do with building, tinkering and technology are often useful so that the participants get to know each other better or take away a different learning experience. This is where the BITOU chain reaction has proven its worth time and time again for many years.
If your team is mainly made up of young people, then cell phones can also come into play
If you have a lot of creative people on board, then the team-building activity should also offer something inspiring.
If there are people with disabilities in the team, you should definitely take this into account when selecting the measures
If the people come from different cultural backgrounds, then this should also be taken into account when selecting the theme, activity, catering, etc.

What budget is available?

A team building measure makes sense as soon as you have a team and not just a loose group. Every amount you spend is therefore money well spent. If the budget is limited, check which expenses are conducive to your goal and which are less so. Does one activity bring you closer to your goal or is it the extensive menu? Ultimately, you can also manage without a budget in the company and if you are facilitating yourself, but it is important to bear in mind that the participants’ working time must of course also be factored in.

Conclusion

Sensible team building measures bring you closer to your goal. Which measures you choose should depend on your objectives, the group of participants and your budget.

BITOU teambuilding measures

6 – 3000

120 – 240 minutes

Face to Face

Team Olympics

Experience a top-class company party with the BITOU Team Olympics! Look forward to unique and exciting activities such as pipeline, tower building and aerial rocket shooting, which not only provide a lot of fun but also strengthen team spirit. At BITOU, we take care of …

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6 – 3.000

60-180 minutes

Face to Face

Chain Reaction XXL

The term “Chain Reaction” reminds many of their chemistry lessons. But with this event, it’s not about a scientific experiment, but a social one: will we manage to work so precisely with a team as big as 3000 colleagues that it ultimately only takes a …

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Before Mars – good collaboration can be measured

9 – 300

120 – 180 min (without reflection)

Face to Face

Before Mars – good collaboration can be measured

main topics:

Psychological safety
Team performance
Responsibility

show and request

To the BITOU event finder

To the team development modules

When are team building measures useful?

There are a whole range of occasions when team-building measures can be useful, such as

when new teams are formed
when there are dysfunctions in the team
Conflicts in the team hinder cooperation
the team should be rewarded for good performance – there is something to celebrate
the team should be developed further
The team members should get to know each other better
The WE feeling should be strengthened
motivation in the team should be increased
the team should take a look at the daily work routine from the outside and improve itself
Silo thinking should be dissolved
etc.

You are also welcome to take a look at our workshops, where you will find further topics

What are the advantages of team building measures?

Well-structured and functioning teams are crucial to the success of a company. Team-building measures play a key role in creating such teams, retaining specialists in the teams and companies in the long term and building a trusting working atmosphere. An investment in a team building measure pays for itself very quickly. If team performance increases by just 1%, the cost of the team building measure usually pays for itself after just a few weeks.
Team building measures create a classic WIN-WIN situation. Companies benefit from more efficient, creative and effective teams. Employees benefit from feeling good and having fun at work.

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How can I assess the value of a team-building measure?

I can measure teams that have been working together for a long time very well through monitoring. In this way, the use of team building measures can become visible in the performance figures of the teams. You should definitely measure the immediate value of a team building measure directly during the implementation of the measure. In our opinion, direct surveys of participants and their feedback are of fundamental importance. Surveys are often also helpful in clarifying and anchoring what the participants have just experienced and learned. As the person responsible, they give you important information about what further measures the team needs and how effective your team building measure was. A mixture of evaluations and open questions has proven successful here.

Are team building measures mandatory?

This depends on various factors, such as the agreements made in the employment contracts, the type of event and the time of the event.
If an obligation to participate in team events has been agreed in the employment contract, the obligation can usually only apply within the agreed working hours.
If the team-building measure has the character of a company outing, no obligation can usually be derived. If the measure has the character of further training, it may well be mandatory.

Our tip: When selecting the team building measure, consider the needs of the participants and make your objectives transparent. When making your selection, bear in mind that physically demanding activities or programs that involve extreme experiences (e.g. climbing, mountain biking, soapbox racing, raft building, canyoning…) are not suitable for everyone. Choose an attractive offer and advertise your team-building activity internally.

Include the team-building measure in the regular working time and pay the time as normal working time. If an employee does not take part, the person is obliged to work as normal, even if their colleagues take part in the team building.
IMPORTANT: These are not legally verified statements and are merely our assessments

Are team building measures working time?

If the event is considered mandatory and takes place during normal working hours, the measure is working time. The situation may be different if participation is voluntary and takes place in the evening, for example. It is best to clarify this point with the management and the works council before the event and create transparency for everyone involved in advance.
IMPORTANT: These are not legally verified statements and are merely our assessments

Are team-building activities considered company events?

Team-building activities and measures are generally regarded as company events. They are therefore also deductible as business expenses. The character of the event is also important here: if it has the character of a company outing, tax limits of currently €110 per employee per year apply (no guarantee); if the event is considered further training, there are no tax limits.
IMPORTANT: These are not tax-approved statements and are merely our estimates

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Tips for organizing team building measures

Define and communicate a clear objective
Do internal marketing for your team building activity to motivate everyone in the team to actively participate
Work with professionals in the knowledge that the biggest investment in the event is the participants’ working time
Use modern formats to offer something new (many participants have already done the standards)
Plan enough time in the agenda, because the measure should bring benefits and not become a token event
Conduct feedback rounds and make the learning transparent, this increases the benefits exponentially
Regular team building measures increase team success in the long term