AI, online meetings and flexible working hours have changed the way we relate to each other and collaborate at work. Companies are therefore increasing the number of staff events that support relationships between employees, collaboration and job satisfaction.
Read this article in Danish on Arbeidsliv i Norden
“We see that quite a few companies have increased their team building activities which strengthen relationships in the workplace, and some choose to host activities in the open rather than in meeting rooms, conference centres and online,” says Sandra Houmann, head of commercial and the team building firm CoastZone.
Relationships are golden
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are working from home, more company meetings are online, and AI is taking over many of the tasks that do not require employees to collaborate to create something.
This has created a need for events where employees meet physically in order to strengthen their relationships while practising their ability for collaboration, believes CoastZone’s head of commercial.
“Collaboration and good relationships between coworkers represent a major advantage for Danish companies, and as AI take on more tasks, humans working in good teams become an even greater advantage.
“Turnover improves when you prioritise team building that involves coworkers meeting physically to strengthen their relationships with one another.”
Challenges to human relationships also go beyond the workplace – it concerns us all, says Sandra Houmann.
“As a society we have somewhat lost our grip on relationships in the wake of digital developments, and we no longer notice each other as we used to do. Many companies are now aware of this and prioritise activities like the ones we offer,” she says.
More events in nature
CoastZone have been offering team building events and programmes since 2004 and have a range of major Danish companies as customers.
Sandra Houmann has seen an increased interest in nature-based team building events among these companies, because nature creates an obvious framework for strengthening relationships between employees.
“Most of CoastZone’s team building events are now held in nature, and an increasing number of customers choose nature-based staff events. In the forest. By the water. We get really close to nature.”
Sandra Houmann sees this as part of a broader movement towards nature.
“There is a force in nature that calls to us. Many of us have lost the connection to ourselves as humans.
“This goes for both children and adults, and I believe we have a need to seek out nature to experience what really matters. Both for the individual and as part of communities, including workplaces.”
Building trust among employees has always been the foundation for CoastZone’s team building events, explains Sandra Homann.
This is because trust is a prerequisite for employees’ ability to thrive and to have positive experiences in dealing with the friction and conflict that inevitably arise between people, including within groups of workers, she says.
“Trust is the foundation that allows a team to collaborate in ways that can also deal with friction, and managing friction is necessary for innovation and good results.”
Professional learning and breaks
It takes time to build trust together, and time is in short supply in many companies. Many of them also wish to include a professional element when planning team building events.
That is why CoastZone offers many concepts that combine professional learning with social interaction.
One example is the “Profile Playground” concept, where coworkers are given a professional introduction to the differences between people in a workplace.
This is a very popular concept, says Sandra Houmann, who expects to see even more customers choosing this because any workplace can benefit from having many types of employees, including neurodivergent people.
CoastZone also recommends their customers to set aside plenty of time for breaks during the team building day.
“This is valuable in a time when coworkers might not be eating lunch together, and when the traditional coffee and cake break is no longer trendy in many places. Breaks also improve our learning capacity and our ability to reflect on what we experience.”
Campfires and rain
One of CoastZone’s many team building concepts include spending three hours in nature while participants experience a combination of physical activities, plus time to reflect – with a high degree of participant influence.
The customers can choose between active concepts like bike riding and team competitions, as well as slightly calmer team activities.
Calm team building in nature can include a guided foraging trip in the forest and team exercises with food preparation over a campfire.
“This gives people the chance to get closer to each other through hygge, togetherness and good conversation,” CoastZone write on their website.
CoastZone offer concepts for small teams and small companies as well as the entire staff at large corporations.
The firm recently arranged a major team building event for nearly 500 employees using both water, earth and fire – nature’s strong elements. The occasion was a merger, where a new set of values needed to be put into practice.
Other team building events might be linked to the kick-off of a new strategy or the onboarding of new staff.
Unpredictable weather is one issue that might deter some companies from choosing nature-based team building. But a rainy day can also be a good day to spend outdoors together, when the goal is building a better team, in CoastZone’s experience.
“We just had a team from a Danish energy company outside in a proper Danish downpour. Experiencing the rain typically brings the participants closer together and makes the whole thing even more memorable.
“Our body and brain remember this – and fortunately in a positive way,” says Sandra Houmann.
