We’ve encountered our fair share of team-building programs—from treasure hunts to painting murals to building bridges over imaginary rivers of acid. All were well-intentioned, but most felt repetitive and familiar, eliciting a common response from participants: “We could be doing better things with our time and money.” So why do companies persist with team building? The real reason is that employee relationships and trust are keys to a successful business and your bottom line.
Reasons for Team Building in the Workplace
When done well, a team-building experience in the workplace will create new relationships and improve understanding between employees, resulting in better organizational performance. This translates into a more efficient company and delivery of brand values.
Implementing team-building activities can significantly benefit any business by creating a more dynamic, cohesive, and productive workforce.
Six reasons why team building is important:
- Enhances Company Culture
- Fosters a positive and cohesive work environment
- Promotes shared values and goals
- Discovers New Leadership
- Identifies potential leaders within the team
- Provides opportunities for leadership development
- Boosts Employee Morale
- Increases job satisfaction and motivation
- Reduces workplace stress
- Improves Creativity and Innovation
- Encourages brainstorming and idea sharing
- Leads to innovative solutions and improvements
- Develops New Skills
- Provides opportunities for professional growth
- Enhances team members’ capabilities
- Enhances Cross-Department Interactions
- Promotes collaboration between different departments
- Breaks down silos and improves communication
Take that last point as an example. One of the world’s leading management consultancies approached SongDivision with a challenge. The partners who ran their various industry units were too busy to talk with each other, resulting in lost business opportunities and revenue. The partner for the banking and finance division wasn’t talking with her travel and transport counterpart. The pharma division wasn’t talking to FMCG, and so on. So, we took the 20 partners to a world-renowned recording studio and had them write and record a song about their communication challenges and how they were going to fix them.
In the months that followed, the company experienced a revived workplace with newly formed relationships, cross-fertilization between business silos, and the discovery of previously untapped business opportunities, all leading to higher sales and an improved bottom line.
The partners were allowed to break from the routine and politics of their usual work environment. They were offered a fun challenge that encouraged interaction and collective problem-solving. The experience effectively leveled the playing field and broke down traditional barriers. Partners who had never taken the time to get to know each other were now given an opportunity and subject matter to do so.
Using Music to Help Your Team Bond
The reason most team-building programs fail is that they often alienate a large portion of the audience, either by being too physical, too arty, or simply too cheesy. The appeal of music, however, is universal.
We all engage with some form of music. It impacts us regardless of age, gender, culture, or rank. It can be experienced indoors or out, acoustic or electric, with small groups or large. So when it comes to team building, music has a mass appeal and a great deal of versatility in terms of how it can be applied.
Using music for team building in the workplace is an art. When done poorly, it can be awkward and ineffective, failing to overcome participant cynicism, break down barriers, or foster meaningful connections among colleagues.
We encounter this cynicism often. When partners from the leading management consultancy firm were told they would be writing and recording a song together, their reaction was, “You’re kidding, I’ve got major deals I need to be working on.”
However, our expert facilitators and world-class musicians know how to manage the room and can soften this resistance. They can inspire groups by creating unique challenges within the experience that make the task feel more relatable and manageable. The partners were tasked to work against a ticking clock, focusing their efforts on solving the problem together. Before long, their cynicism gave way to laughter, joy, and collective creativity.
How Music Brings Teams Together
Scientific studies have shown that music can increase oxytocin levels in your brain. Oxytocin is often called the “love hormone” because it helps increase warm feelings between people. It’s also been shown to decrease anxiety levels and play a role in how relaxed and trusting you are toward others.
So, when music is involved in team building, there’s an increase in trust, because of the oxytocin being released. Listening or performing music in a group can also synchronize the heart rates of people in the room. That’s why when people sing together, they experience a strong sense of community. It’s also why music is the perfect way to engage groups in corporate environments or social situations.
SongDivision uses the science of music to strengthen corporate culture and create team building that lasts. Writing and performing songs together leads to happier, stronger, and more engaged teams. The positive results have a long-term effect on company culture, employee development, and organizational learning.
Team-building Musical Experiences
Credibility also goes a long way when eliciting engagement. The experience of our musicians, who have played with everyone from Adele to Prince, additionally helps participants gain confidence and become immersed in the team-building experience.
Our musicians can help you celebrate and motivate your team with our Team Anthem, Rocking Reception, or Live Band Karaoke experiences. Or check out the Song Slam and Lip Sync Battle experiences we offer to help increase team engagement.
When done properly, team building is a worthwhile investment. Team building with music can be even more so by engaging your full team, strengthening bonds, and creating a universal understanding of your vision and values to give you a sound return on investment.