How To Boost Office Teamwork Through Team Sports

culled from:careerealism.com

Setting Times

Whenever possible, you should schedule the game during normal working hours. Most employees do not enjoy feeling obligated to attend work-related activities off the clock. Schedule one weekday afternoon each week or month for game time. Friday afternoons may be best, as this is when most people are beginning to feel burned out from the workweek. A game will get everyone’s weekend off to a good start.

Gathering Equipment

Rent or purchase good quality equipment. This means you should also get the right protective helmets and padding for everyone, and the right-sized equipment. If you have chosen baseball, you will need to choose baseball bat sizes that match the employees. Your 160 pound, tall male executive, will require a different bat size than a 120 pound, shorter female executive. Good equipment prevents injury and ensures every player has a fair chance in the game.

Creating Teams

Teams may be members of departments, or subgroups within departments. For example, IT professionals could be pitted against the HR department. In shipping, order pickers could be pitted against loaders. Much will depend on the size of your company. For companies with fewer than 40 employees, it may be best to alternate team members. This way, everyone gets to work with each other during the game at some point.
Another option is to play team sports with competing companies. Logistically, this is a bit more difficult to work out. It may be more difficult to find times everyone is comfortable with. However, this is an excellent way to instill extra camaraderie among employees.

Giving Rewards

After the game is over, seal the camaraderie by inviting everyone to a meal or ice cream, regardless of who won the game. Winners can receive other small prizes or trophies relevant to the nature of your company.