It is evident that team building yields good results, however, it is important to consider those with the power mandate. Major stakeholders influence decision-making, company tradition, and resources. This guide will navigate the fascinating case for team building activity and work through potential objections.
Importance of Stakeholders’ Buy-In
- Stakeholders possess the power to arrange team building budgets and approve them and they can also deny revenue for your team-building activity plans. This is one major reason why they are important, they possess resource allocation power.
- To gain buy-in, thorough scheduling must be carried out, to avoid disorganization in working and also to encourage participation from all ends.
- Involving a stakeholder in a team-building initiative brings long-term support and develops the company culture in a way that team-building is more valued and seen as a profitable investment.
Major Stakeholders for Initiating a Team-Building Program
- Direct Managers: As a manager closest to the team, your concern should be understanding your team’s needs and concerns.
- Human Resources: This unit takes care of the team training, and development and seeks value for the team building.
- Heads of Department: They ensure cooperation and coordination. They have influence on other teams making sure that the schedules are in line with one another.
- C-Suite Executives: it’s a unit controlling larger budgets and organizing the tone in which the company’s culture should follow.
Some Common Stakeholders' Concerns to Consider
- The Feeling of Time Wasting: Sometimes, team building activity is seen as just a time away from work, something that just takes away precious time that should be spent doing some other thing. Productivity should be addressed and the ROI should be pinpointed as this will help see the benefit.
- Budget Shortage: If this is the case, one should start with low-cost options and emphasis should be laid on the long-term value. As the result starts yielding, more can be allocated to its progress.
- The Success Rate: This is another reason for accountability. Answers must be made ready to conquer this question if asked, it should follow the direction of tracking specific metrics and those metrics should be acquainted with stakeholders’ priorities.
- The Value of The Work Put In: This can be a major setback, wondering if your team will understand and value the time and effort put in to ensure the success of the team building activity. One cannot understand what they are not involved in, so ensure to involve team members in activity selection to boost their enthusiasm.
Questions Asked By Stakeholders Regarding Team Building
- Does this activity align with our company values and goals?
- What should the company be expecting for the return on ROI?
- How can we quantify the impact of the activity on the team?
- What’s the plan for blending the activity with other work schedules?
- What is the plan to generate revenue for any costly off-site activity?
A Step By Step Approach
- Identify people with like minds and those who understand the value of team building
- Don’t try to fix everything, rather channel your attention to specific needs faced by stakeholders, which may include a lack of good communication.
- Make yourself familiar with data gathering and collect evidence on the ROI of team building e.g. record of past success within the company.
- Connect team-building activities with accounts that are familiar to the stakeholders [e.g. better communication equals increased sales].
- Show the low-cost activities and how much value they bring first, before suggesting one with a higher funding
- Also, ensure to track the successes relevant to your stakeholders like reduced conflict, employee satisfaction, and improved project efficiency.
Tips for Winning Buy-In
- Request Collaboration: The input of stakeholders should be strategized and co-creating some team-building activity should be considered.
- Emphasis on Timing: Timing is very important and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Things that need to be done immediately must be carried out without delay and adjournment.
- Flexibility at its peak: Different activity options should be offered at different budget levels to enable smooth running.
- Realize the Goal: Ensure to remind the stakeholders that team-building isn’t just a one-time project that will sink but rather an ongoing investment.
Ways to Get Leadership Connected
- Always let your attitude towards the activity be encouraging. Be the first to sign up and also track the progress of the program.
- Build up a sense of connection by showing the names of the executives who would be participating on the leaderboards and feeds.
- There should be a sense of duty. Have leaders send encouraging messages and quotes to employees and also share their reasons for wanting to be a part.
- Challenges should also be put in place for leaders to solve as that helps to build their minds and morale
- Also, encourage leaders to get connected with the employees directly. An example is replying in chats, liking content, and so on.
The Importance of Getting Leaders Involved
Getting executives involved in a team building activity passes across a message that the employees are valued and the activity is worth it.
Also, we can agree that seeing both the employees and the executives working together on a particular activity helps build camaraderie and a sense of equality.
We also have the upgraded morale and motivation that comes with working together with an executive on a particular activity. This action encourages participation as it now becomes a game of competition.
Conclusion
Above, we have discussed the guide to team building stakeholders’ buy-in, how important it is to have the leaders also put in the work, and the benefits derived from that action. Now, you understand how to go about certain problems that may arise from the above.
