Times of recession require companies to get creative to stay ahead.  Declining profits threaten to create a vicious business cycle as a company feels pressure to react quickly, improving the bottom line by cutting expenses.   But hasty cuts from personnel to office supplies can create the perception that the business is in crisis mode.  This sense of fear leads to workplace incivility and stress which leads to workplace inefficiency.  The bottom line can be affected in multiple ways; increased sick days, disability claims, even theft or negative publicity about the company. Ultimately this all contributes to further declining profits.

 Alternatively, a business can use challenging times to focus internally, building company loyalty and creating high-performance teams that will position the business to be ahead of the competition when the economy rebounds.

 Establishing high performance teams is a process that requires focused effort over the long term.  The term “team-building” has become so overused it’s almost meaningless, describing any group activity including the office pot-luck or Friday doughnut day. 

 However, strategic, professionally facilitated team activities creates trust and open lines of communication that don’t happen naturally but have real impact as a platform for other team functions such as generating vision and goal setting. 

 Effective team building requires more planning then simply arranging a group dinner but does not have to be as elaborate as an overnight dude ranch excursion.  A half day of in-town activity is sufficient, as long as the event is directed by a professional trained in group dynamics.  Effective events don’t leave room for cliquishness, but rather force the entire group of participants to interact and work together. 

 There are plenty of fun activities from paintball to rock climbing that are short but still exciting enough to leave employees feeling refreshed and create positive memories.  These memories can later be used by an office manager to trigger the learning that took place during the event.

 Because the best team building is done in small groups, a company can create a long-term budget for activities by sending out small groups over a period of time. Short but strategic team building events held quarterly will improve the workplace atmosphere and keep employees on-board because they are loyal, not fearful.  Exactly the kind of team you want to have in place both when times are tough and when they aren’t.