Working away from home whilst at university means I often don’t really know what’s going on at the office. As with any workplace, colleagues come and go but I never really get a chance to say goodbye to the people leaving us or hello to any new recruits. Last month’s staff bonding event gave me the perfect opportunity.
The last time I’d seen anyone from work was Christmas, we were in September so it’s fair to say it had been some time. For those unaware I started at Novus on placement for my T-Level qualification and was then offered a part-time role here at ITK. One of my favorite parts of the placement was being back in the workplace. The relationships you form with your colleagues I think are vital to being productive and making work enjoyable. I can be a big driving force behind the team if everybody gets along. Of course, not everybody will get along in the workplace but especially in small businesses, I think it’s so important to have a good relationship with your colleagues.
For our last staff Team Building night out, we truly had a bit of everything. We started off with a fabulous meal at Doncaster’s Relish Bar and Grill. This gave me a great opportunity to catch up with everyone. After going from seeing the team at least two days a week to seeing them twice a year there was plenty to talk about. It also gave me a great opportunity to meet the new members of the team. I say new but in truth, they’d been here a while now I’d just not had the opportunity to see anybody yet in 2023. For anybody wondering, I had a Seafood linguine which tasted just as delicious as it sounded.
After the meal, we split into two teams and headed for an escape room challenge. I love escape rooms; they really do force people out of their shells. Working as a team to piece all the clues together requires many different skills that whilst we might not have had individually, we did have as a team. When you finally crack the clue and unlock the next part that’s very rewarding, even if it’s not that meaningful, it’s fun. Escape Rooms in my opinion are the ultimate bonding exercise. They aren’t age restricting so those on placement or apprenticeships can still join in. They force you to communicate with people you might not have outside that room. Even those who are shy will find themselves joining in one room where there are not too many people. It's a lot less daunting than talking to a big group.
My group didn’t manage to escape but Novus and ITK boss Brett did manage to escape leading to his ever-gracious victory celebrations. Afterward, we headed to the local Wetherspoons for a quick drink and continued our conversations. Being able to catch up with my colleagues and tell them all about my university experience was great. Before I went to university, I spent a lot of time in the Novus office talking about how much I couldn’t wait to go so being able to finally talk about things that had happened felt really good personally.
This is why having these staff bonding events is so important. The post-covid business won’t have everybody in the office every day. People will work from home or maybe work different days with other people even in small businesses. Without your staff you won’t be successful so keeping staff morale high alongside a sense of being part of a team I personally think is so valuable to your business.