There's no I in team, and there are many benefits for bringing a workforce together and creating a cohesive working unit.

A cohesive work environment allows employees to work well together and contribute to the success of the business. Cohesive work environments encourage employees to focus more on achieving group goals rather than their own success, motivating them to do their best.

But how does a business get its employees to bond together and create a cohesive work environment? These tips will help bring your workers together and improve your company culture as a whole.

Team Bonding Activities

Team members of a large business are not in direct contact with all other members of the organisation on a regular basis. In light of this challenge, team building activities provide your team with the opportunity to network with members from other departments. A team-building event can also help your employees meet new coworkers.

There are many ways to bring employees together for team building time and activities like discovering the best escape room in Melbourne can really help teams bond, get to know each other and develop group problem-solving strategies at the same time. Through these activities, you can build relationships that will have tangible benefits for your business. According to a recent report, having friends at work doubles the probability that your employees will be engaged at work.

Company culture can also be boosted by team building. Investing in team bonding demonstrates what kind of corporate culture your company wants to create. Participating in fun activities with your team demonstrates your appreciation for them as individuals and your desire to cultivate positive relationships in your organisation.

Training and Development

It's crucial that every member of your team feels competent enough to contribute to the team goal in the first place in order to keep cohesion strong. As soon as you hire staff, make sure you define their responsibilities and ensure they are properly trained so they can perform the tasks they will be assigned.

This will lead to your employees improving over time. They will need opportunities to learn and develop. It is critical to provide training and development opportunities for your team members so that they gain control over their skills and abilities and feel confident when performing their duties. The team will in turn benefit from their improved work and contribution.

The more confident team members are, the more productive their interaction with their colleagues and the more efficient their tasks will be. This will also improve with employee retention, with research showing that 94 per cent of workers would be more likely to stay with their company if they invested in their future.

Building Trust

Teamwork and cohesiveness are dependent on trust. Boosting and improving communication can contribute to building trust, but there are other things you can do to further build trust between team members.

It is important for managers to set a precedent of transparency while leading. It is very possible for team members to lose trust and feel they can't communicate safely or productively if their leader keeps secrets or isn't being honest or open.

Providing constant updates is one of your responsibilities as a team leader. You should share successes and issues with the team, and encourage them to come up with solutions together.

You should celebrate successes as a team and also own and work together to resolve any mistakes. Singling out team members is not effective for cohesiveness. Success and failure should both be contingent on the efforts of the team as a whole.

Strong And Transparent Communication

About 86 per cent of employees point to a lack of communication or collaboration as a reason for workplace failures. Successful teams must communicate constantly and clearly.

As a team leader, you must provide your team with the resources it needs for communication. It should be easy and convenient for them to connect with their peers, regardless of whether they need support on a project or are brainstorming ideas.

To help your team stay productive and engaged, you should open up multiple channels of communication. Even remote teams can stay in touch and cohesive using online messaging platforms.

Diversity In The Workplace

Team success depends on diversity. Teams with diverse backgrounds have many people of varying skills and experiences available to them which can help unlock the potential of teams and bring new ideas to the table.

Diversity leads to greater innovation than homogeneity, according to a study published in the Harvard Business Review. It has been shown that working with people who think differently than you may help your brain overcome its stale thinking and sharpen your skills. 

Teams that are cohesive and diverse can lead to greater innovation and creativity and can unlock solutions to challenging issues never before considered.