By Heidi Koffman

Let’s be honest, small business owners have it hard. From lease negotiations, tenant improvements, overhead costs, cost of acquisition for clients, retaining clients, hiring and firing, employee management, employee incentives, payroll – the list goes on. The one aspect that cannot be ignored, that is essential to the operational success of a small business, is the employees. Without them there would not be a business.

Day-to-day operations inside the walls of an office, store or for many businesses these days even virtually, is just that…a day-to-day operation. Employees encounter stress, communication barriers or feelings of loneliness (if a virtual employee).

The following are three reasons a small business owner needs to invest in team building, on a consistent basis.

1. Breaks barriers and helps employees come out of their shell.

Getting staff outside of the office and out of the ‘work mode’ allows them to open up and let you and their co-workers see a little bit of “them” as a person.

2. Feeling appreciated.

Setting a quarterly budget for team building shows an employee that they are valued, worth more than their paycheck and that they are invested in. Small gestures and feelings of appreciated are often deemed more valuable than monetary compensation.

3. Better communication and ability to work together.

Choosing team-building experiences that force communication and group project results in learning better communication skills and solving problems to work together.

These lessons can transfer back to the work environment and add value to the company! Many companies that host team builders invest a lot of time and money to ensure their activities have some sort of activity for communication and working together, all you have to do is ask them!

If those three reasons aren’t enough to tug at your ear to invest in employees, according to whyteambuilding.com the following three reasons are some alarming statistics on disengaged employees:

  • 89 percent of employees think their people leave for more money. Reality? 12 percent of employees actually leave for more money.
  • 75 percent of people voluntarily leaving their jobs don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses.
  • 43 percent of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week compared to only 18 percent of employees with low engagement.

 

Heidi Koffman is a serial entrepreneur and owns several businesses in Phoenix, AZ. She has spent countless hours investing in employee appreciation and retention. Craft Nights, in the “Sheaborhood” is one her latest joint ventures. Craft Nights is available with several team building packages to help small businesses succeed in their efforts to creating a fun, affordable and creative way for companies to invest in team building experiences. Visit CraftNights.com/team for details.