This weekend, the NFL held their annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony (and Hall of Fame game, where our Minnesota Vikings embarrassed the Pittsburgh Steelers - SKOL!). Fran Tarkenton, the great former Viking QB, inducted his best friend, Mick Tingelhoff into the Hall with a short speech.
Afterward, in an interview, he mentioned that what made the Vikings of the 70s great was their culture. He said that, from a talent or schematic perspective, NFL teams are very similar. But what makes great teams is the culture of hard work and winning that they exhibit.
The same applies to your field service business team. You need to build a culture of winning if you expect to grow. How do you do that? One way is to incorporate team-building exercises into your business. You can do small exercises weekly, larger ones quarterly and gargantuan ones (look, I just used the word gargantuan in a blog post!) annually. It’s a great way to get away from the daily grind and get to know each other on a deeper level.
Want some tips? Here are 8 team-building activities to try in your field service business:
Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to build teamwork and a culture of giving in your business. There are a ton of volunteer opportunities available - websites like Volunteermatch.com can help you find hundreds in your area. If you have a cause that you or someone in your business loves - say diabetes research or dog rescue - find a volunteer opportunity and sign your team up.
Another option is to find volunteer work related to what you do. For example, if you own a green industry business, search for landscaping or hardscaping opportunities. Fix up a park. Hold a fundraiser to buy new park equipment.
Doing something for others is a great way to bring your team together while improving the community where you live. Plus, you can leverage it to build awareness about your business. That makes it a win/win/win, right?
Two truths and a lie
At a previous employer, we held annual meetings and one of the goals was to get to know our teammates better. A game we played was called two truths and a lie. Essentially, each team member makes three personal statements, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. It’s up to the other team members to select the lie from the three statements. Then, you earn a point for every lie you accurately predict, and lose a point for every one of your teammates that accurately predicts your lie. So the better you are at disclosing three things that no one knows about you, and the more you know about your teammates, the more likely you are to win.
Depending on the size of your team, this is a quick 15-30 minute activity. It can help people learn a lot more about their co-workers, and, if you play it frequently, you may “teach” your employees to pay more attention to their peers.
Life Highlights
The life highlights exercise not only helps you get to know what your team loves, but it also helps put them in a positive space. It’s simple, too. Have your employees think about the best times in their life. It could be anything - spending time with family, personal successes, adventures, work, whatever favorite positive experiences they have.
After a few minutes of thinking, tell them that they can spend 30 seconds reliving any memory they have. Ask which 30 seconds they want to relive. It’s a great way to get your employees to share very personal, positive experiences.
Do more of/do less of
We follow the Entrepreneurial Operating System described in the book Traction. At our annual meeting, our management team tells each other what we like - what we want to see each other do more - and what we dislike - what we’d like to see each other do less.
It’s a great way to deliver open, honest feedback. More often than not, the positives far outweigh the negatives, and the negatives help people understand what they don’t do well so they can improve. Every time we’ve done it, it’s brought the team closer together.
Battle of the air bands
One of my favorite documentaries is Air Guitar Nation, about, you guessed it, an airband competition. If you’ve ever listened to a great song and started playing air drums, guitar or lip synching, this activity is for you.
It may be dumb, but it’s a lot of fun. Split your employees into three or four person teams (or, if you like the White Stripes or Local H, two-person teams). Have them pick a song, find it on Spotify, and have them air band!
If you want to take it a step further, turn it into an event. Invite your customers and families, do some tailgating in your parking lot, rent a stage, and go big!
Office Trivia
Who doesn’t like trivia? Why not turn that love of trivia into office trivia! Take your team away from the office and create 25-50 questions. They could be as simple as “What color is the tile in the office?” to more complicated like “How many kids do all of our employees have?” Whatever it is, put together some teams, ask the questions and test your team!
Pinewood Derby
I was a Boy Scout for a while, and one of my favorite things was creating a Pinewood Derby car. My cars were always terrible - the reason why I’m in Marketing may be because I’m not mechanically inclined - but it was still a lot of fun racing them and seeing what much smarter kids were doing to win.
Give each of your employees a Pinewood Derby kit, have them create a car, and then spend an afternoon racing them. You can learn a lot about someone by how they decorate their car, and since most field service businesses are dominated by males who like to build things, it’s sure to be a hit among your field employees.
Scavenger Hunt
I’m a recovering geocaching-aholic. As a result, I’m unable to take part in scavenger hunts. But that doesn’t mean your office can’t. Create a list of things they need to find in your neighborhood - a dog, a maple tree, someone older than 80 - and send them out to take pictures of these things. The first one to find all the items wins a prize!
These are just some ideas you can use to build a great team and a winning culture. Another piece of the puzzle is hiring the right people. For more tips on how to hire great employees, download our free eBook, How to Hire the Best Employees for Your Green Industry Business, today!
