Why business needs team building training?

We got a very interesting enquiry from a client last week. What started off as a request for an interpersonal skills session, soon evolved into a team building training requirement. And from understanding the requirement, you will be able to clearly understand why businesses need team building training.

So, the client gave me a call last week. She said she needed a one-day training on interpersonal skills for a particular team in her organisation. As usual, I then got down to asking her a string of questions. What were the challenges the team was facing, how was it impacting them, etc.

I must say she gave me a very detailed answer which helped me understand the problem very quickly. She said that there were a lot of conflicts happening within the team. Individuals were having arguments and it was spreading a lot of negativity throughout the organisation. People were reacting to one another and tempers were running wild. Work was getting hampered and the overall morale of the employees was going down. She felt that the employees lacked interpersonal skills training and did not know how they should behave with one another.

Our conversation gave me the feel that what we were looking for was a training on conflict management. If we could teach the team how to behave with one another and also give them awareness on how they may come across to each other, they would be willing to alter their ways and come together as a team.

I then asked the client to fill up our training need identification form too. You see, it gives clients a chance to think deeply about what their needs are, as we tend to forget things while on a call. And that’s precisely what it did.

The client also came up with the various components of team building training like communication and collaboration, leadership, taking initiative, etc. that the team required. And that’s when we were actually able to put a finger on what we needed to deliver. A team building training that experientially made the participants understand the importance of each of these team building components along with a one-day training on conflict management. This would help the team in taking their first step to resolving their differences and work together more efficiently. It would also help them get a hold on their emotions and how they display them. Yes, the duration of the session had increased by a day, but it was now exactly what was needed by the group and provided a more holistic approach to the issue.

We also decided to package the session as a team building training rather than an interpersonal skills training. Why? Because the acceptability of a team building training will normally be higher than that of an interpersonal skills training in such a scenario. And ensuring that our participants look forward to a training session is an important part of our job. And teaching them what they need and in the best and most harmonious manner, our forte!

Importance of corporate team building training programs

Team building trainings are the most fun filled training programs. They provide the perfect combination of learning, fun and an opportunity to bond with team members. Many organisations opt for team building trainings as a part of annual meets, sales meets, team outings, etc.

Though team building trainings are the most enjoyable, they also provide amazing insights into team dynamics. There is a lot of awareness created while doing various activities and playing different games.

Working in a team should be fun for everyone and proper communication skills. In fact, it’s how a team grows its cohesiveness and bond for performing exceptionally well. You can’t be productive in a team where you don’t get a feeling of belongingness. Therefore, it’s very important that you and your team members are in sync with each other to achieve the best results. But how do you do that? How do you ensure your team is rock solid?

Most of the times; teams don’t even realise, or choose not to realise that there is something wrong within. They are trying so hard to achieve their goal, that they land up overlooking what’s impeding their progress. Conflicts keep taking place and nobody does anything about these ‘small things,’ that can actually be powerful enough to disturb the team’s dynamics.  This, in the long run can disrupt the overall purpose of the team and cause them to lose direction.

Team building trainings bring these very things to notice. Team members and leaders realize the factors holding the team from performing its best and are encouraged and supported in working on them. Corporates therefore give high importance to team building trainings. They look forward to organising such programs at least once in a year to keep the team’s morale and energy high.

Team building trainings are also conducted as a part of various events. They fit in very well with other corporate events like strategic meets, etc., by providing a breath of fresh air in between intensive discussions.   

Learning with fun is the best way to learn and team building trainings provide exactly that. I’m sure all those of you who have been a part of such trainings will vouch for that!

TOP 5 REASONS CORPORATE TRAINING PROGRAMS ARE AN INVESTMENT AND NOT AN EXPENSE

A lot of organisations who invest their time in corporate training programs try to do it inhouse, rather than outsourcing it to corporate training companies. Why? Because hiring a corporate training company looks like an extra cost. Doing it inhouse, they will be able to save on the extra cost of a third-party vendor.

While some feel that corporate training companies are an extra cost, others feel that corporate training programs altogether are a drain on their resources! And that’s why whenever there is a need for cost cutting, employee development is the first one to face the axe.

If you think about it, there are a lot of reasons why corporate training programs and companies are an investment. Today, I am going to list down the top 5 reasons for you. Let’s take a look:

1. The biggest reason why an organisation should invest in corporate training programs is, for enhancing the capabilities of the employees to perform better and yield better output. Developing employees means working on their capability to improve productivity. And it’s no rocket science that higher productivity can give higher revenues and higher profits to an organisation.

2. The second benefit is related to the first one. Corporate training programs for employee development help in creating a pool with enhanced capabilities who can move up the hierarchy. Hence corporate training helps in succession planning by creating an in-house pool of employees that are ready to take on higher positions. This saves big time on recruitment cost for higher positions. It also ensures that you have employees at the top who know the pulse of the organisation by having steadily grown through its ranks.

3. Corporate training programs are also very useful for attracting good talent. Talent that’s looking forward to development of organisation and their career. In fact, not just attracting; but also retaining the good talent. It is beneficial for creating a good reputation and enhancing the employer branding in the market.

4. Regular corporate training programs help employees in staying up to date with the new trends in the market. Rather than hiring new people with up-to-date technological knowledge and trends, it is always better to improve the existing people and keep them updated. This will also help in engaging the employees more and increase the retention rate.

5. The fifth reason why corporate training companies make a difference is what many Human Resource professionals tell us. Employees tend to take a third person with a neutral view to the organisation and the employees more seriously than an inhouse trainer who may have biases. Figuring out the training needs through a corporate training company rather than doing it inhouse also eliminates internal biases and provides more valid data.

And a sixth reason, a corporate training company typically has more exposure to various other organisations and industries. They would therefore have a better idea of the best practices in the market and can help their clients implement the same.

So there we go. Have given you more than the promised number of 5 I just couldn’t help it as there genuinely are many reasons!

Strong Leadership Starts with great Communication Skills

Communication skills training for leaders might not sound right to some people. I understand why you think so. Leaders are great communicators by default, right? 

Well, not necessarily. Not all leaders are great at communication. Some of them become leaders because of their rich experience but may face issues in leading a team due to lack of communication skills. 

According to me, communication skills training should be the top most requirement for even a leader's role. Afterall, there is a team that they need to lead and communicating with them to get things done is necessary.

Talking about the team which is an extremely essential part of a leader’s life, having an open communication between the leader and the team members is something that is crucial for a leader. Not just being able to get the work done from them; but also listening to their ideas, opinions, suggestions, grievances, issues, challenges, etc. That’s why communication is so important.

Am sure you must be definitely having that one person in your organisation who is very successful as a leader. Everyone looks up to that person. Have you ever noticed what is it that makes that person a successful leader? I can assure you, communication is one of his or her strengths. And its’s something that they developed over time.

A leader has to deal with various challenging situations. And solving these problems can get a lot easier if the leader is good at communicating the challenges to people. People at the ground level are the ones implementing his ideas; and hence listening to them and their opinions in an open manner is essential. Also, giving feedback at times for improving the team’s performance is where effective communication skills are a must. And let’s not just leave it at giving feedback. Receiving feedback is also a must for enhancing self-performance, for which listening is the key.

Conflict is as a part and parcel of almost every team. And handling conflict a skill. Leaders need to attend a good communication skills training that teaches this advanced communication skill. It takes time to master, but is definitely worth every effort.

Good leaders realize the importance of communication skills and know that for being a strong leader they need to be exceptional at it. Not only do they need to focus on their speaking and listening skills, but also need to take care of their body language and.

Communication skills training therefore forms one of the important parts of leadership trainings. Yes, like we discussed at the start, it is strange that a leadership training would have communication skills as an important part. But great leaders who wish to be better for their organisation, teams and also for themselves, realise that sometimes the basics get missed out. Yes, they communicate. But sometimes they don’t realise the way they are communicating. And gaining awareness on that front is of utmost importance. Afterall, you don’t want to think you are great and have your team think otherwise. Therefore, attending communication skills training every now and then is important.

So, if you are going to attend a leadership training any time soon, do ensure it also includes communication skills training. We want you to be a leader who not only strategizes well, but also one who leads his people well.