Those who have already experienced the power of consciously shaping relationships in a team know that it makes sense. Each group has its own dynamics as well as strengths and weaknesses. How to make team cooperation translate into better results? As the boss, you can influence them if you use the tips below.

It happens that a team cooperation trainer appears in the company and starts with direct questions: who is the best organizer? Who has the best soft skills? Who can you trust a secret to? If the team is not well-coordinated and knows little about each other, it is difficult to answer such questions. So, instead of building relationships in the team on rigid rules described in the manual, using ready-made scripts, it is worth starting with team cooperation in practice, so that the team knows its strengths and weaknesses in action.

Step one: find your strengths

Don't start teamwork exercises without analyzing the facts. Perhaps your team is already well-coordinated and well-connected, and only you do not know about it? Or maybe the team does not get along because there are reasons for this - e.g. unfair wages or division of duties? It is worth starting with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company and the team, as well as identifying the goals you care about. Team cooperation can aim not only at integration, but also at:

• greater productivity,
• better atmosphere,
• less rotation,
• better communication,
• building relationships inside and outside the company,
• motivation to work,
• creativity,
• agency.

It is worth knowing what the ultimate goal of team games or joint trips is to be able to plan them in this respect.

Step Two: Field Team Collaboration

Team collaboration in the office can develop over years or even decades. One integration trip can speed up teambuilding to months or even weeks. You don't have to worry that it will be a clichéd, drunk feast, after which additional misunderstandings may arise between the participants. See for example events calculator on the website of Dwór Korona Karkonoszy, where you can choose from a culinary tournament, sports tournament or joint machine building. Competition or survival allow you to quickly create extreme conditions in which participants have to prove themselves. This allows you to get to know each other's potential, even for people who don't know each other very well.

An additional advantage of going together is that the informal atmosphere gives you more freedom to express yourself and strengthen bonds. On such trips, from the practical side, you will appreciate ready-made scenarios of events, organization down to the last button or even the fact that there is conference room and large green areas, which gives you the freedom to choose activities regardless of the weather. Menu or the decor can also be adapted to the scenario of the event you plan.

Step three: everyday little things

Team cooperation after returning to the company from such a few days parties is now easier than before. However, if all employees disperse to their offices and from now on work alone, the atmosphere will soon turn sour again. That is why it is worth taking care of everyday opportunities for integration. At the most mundane level, it could be lunch eaten together in a communal kitchen or a meeting several times a week. Teambuilding is also good when employees can propose their ideas for the company's operation and even achieve goals in groups.

Step Four: Joint Initiatives

The spirit of team cooperation will flourish on a daily basis if you do not forget about regular joint initiatives for team members. It can be little things like a charity fundraiser. The initiative may also have a wider range and include ambitious, proprietary projects. In large companies, you can often see game consoles or table football. They allow you to relax, but in the spirit of integration. The same goal can be achieved to some extent by the so-called beer Fridays or days when the office has pizza for lunch. If team collaboration is important to you, suggest such initiatives and respond to suggestions from your team members. Sometimes only the lack of a green light about the boss prevents employees from moving with the company team or gardening together.

Finally, remember that memories from a teambuilding trip cement the team for a year or two, but eventually this glue will start to crumble. When a routine creeps into the functioning of the company and the team stops getting along, it is worth going through all the steps described here again and organizing an integration trip tailored to the goals and vision of the company. It might be a good idea to involve your team in such plans. Perhaps you don't want to leave them too much freedom. However, if you provide 3-5 suggestions for the scenario of the event to choose from, it is possible that employees will integrate before leaving to push through their dream survival or beer trip together. By the way, such team cooperation also gives an invaluable sense of agency, which translates into involvement in the company's affairs.