5 Ways To Improve Team Cohesion In The Workplace

Hiring the right talent is imperative for achieving success in the workplace. But that is not where your work ends. Your next step is to build a group of talented individuals that has the zeal to work together. This necessitates the development of team cohesion among individuals to form a group capable of bringing success to the organization.

But what does it take to build the necessary group cohesion? This article is aimed to provide you with different ways through which you can improve the overall team unity.

Let's delve in.

What is Team Cohesion?

Team cohesion is nothing but the connection and motivation your team shares to achieve a common goal. Everyone on the team understands each other and works together to complete a project. The work environment is psychologically safe, and team members are not afraid to express their ideas and opinions. Cohesion in a team also enables you to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

In the long run, there is trust in each other, team support is always present, and everyone works collectively for the company's greater good.

Factors That are Important for Team Cohesion

Before you can work on improving team cohesion, you must first understand a few critical factors. Some of these factors include-

1. Time Spent Together

Time is an important factor in fostering positive team dynamics. The more time a team spends together, the stronger their bond becomes. The primary reason is their ability to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, which is critical for team cohesion. Furthermore, over time, team members develop good working relationships and mutual trust.

2. The Size of the Team

The size of the team is an important consideration that you must not overlook. Managing a larger group with diverse members is a difficult task. The challenge with such teams is fostering employee team cohesion. It is not impossible, but it will certainly take some time. Bringing everyone under one roof to work toward a common goal will necessitate a good strategy. If you want a united team in its pursuit of success, you must invest in ways to improve the overall cohesion of your team.

3. Comfort Zone in a Team

Teams with good team unity have employees that are comfortable and love working with each other. You need to understand if the employees in your team are the right fit. To create a team with the highest level of productivity and unity, you need to develop a sense of camaraderie between them. It is a good thing to let the employees go out of their comfort zone once in a while. But if you want to maintain good team cohesion, it is important to let your employees work under good working conditions. Try to reduce conflicts and avoid micromanaging employees for improved engagement in the workplace.

4. Behavioral Traits of Employees

Another crucial factor that you need to consider for better cohesion between team members is their behavioral traits. Employees with a good attitude foster respect and build positive working relationships. However, when employees have a negative attitude, they disrupt team harmony and increase conflicts. Their overall behavior hampers the team morale, which impedes the performance and productivity of the employees. This is why it is necessary to do good hiring practices and work on developing constructive behavioral traits in employees.

5 Ways To Build Good Team Cohesion

1. Placing the individual in the right job role

Placing an individual in the right position is one of the best strategies for developing great team cohesion. You should consider your employees' levels of satisfaction. Individuals are likely to struggle if a role is assigned to them that does not match their skills and competencies.

To avoid this situation, you must align their strengths and weaknesses in order to find the ideal job for them. This will allow you to keep their enthusiasm for work and increase their job satisfaction. In the long run, employees will give their all and contribute to the team's success.

2. Form the right team

To form the right team, you must first define your goals and objectives. This will give your team a good idea of what the organization's goals are. It will also help you understand your team members' overall dynamics. But that is not the end of your responsibilities.

The most important step is to identify team members who can help you achieve your goals with their efficiency. Create a team that is well-balanced in terms of both skills and competencies. This will help you maintain team cohesion in the long run and improve the organization's overall performance.

3. Invest In Team-Building Activities

Team bonding is an essential component of good team cohesion. It is difficult to sustain a team that works well together without good working relationships. However, one can build positive work relationships with the help of good team-building activities.

You must understand which activities will benefit the team and how to implement them effectively. Some of the activities can include-

• Blind drawing

• Minefield

• Human knot

• Scavenger Hunt

As a manager, you must also ensure that the activities you select are engaging and entertaining. Ensure that these activities aid in the development of a teamwork culture in which all employees collaborate and work in unison. This will help your company move in the right direction and achieve long-term success.

Read more: 38 Quick and Easy Team Building Activities Your Employees Will Love (+How to Play)

4. Work on Improving Team Communication

Team communication is everything when it comes to running a team without any conflict or hiccups. It forms an integral part of a team with good cohesion. Without proper communication, it is hard to convey the message between team members as it leads to misunderstandings. In the long run, this can negatively affect an organization's overall performance and team dynamics.

However, as a manager, you can work on bridging the communication gap between your team members with different strategies. Some of the strategies can include-

• Open-door policy within the organization

• Use of various automated communication tools

• Being open to feedback

• Focusing on diversity and inclusion

The idea is to maximize communication to improve team collaboration and develop strong team bonding.

Read more: The Importance of Office Communication

5. Celebrate Success

One critical approach to developing good team cohesion is celebrating the team's small victories. Create a work environment in which employees feel comfortable experimenting with their ideas. Recognize their efforts and desire to make a difference. A team will never progress if there is no trial and error. And a team that believes in this philosophy has a better chance of long-term success and cohesion. This is because everyone faces challenges and learns from them together.

However, as a manager, you must be wary of the bias factor and maintain a neutral attitude. Everyone should be treated equally, and they should be encouraged to support one another. Recognize and appreciate everything the team does to make a difference. You will be able to boost their morale, improve their performance, and instill a strong sense of team unity in everyone.

Summing it Up!

As a manager, it is up to you to determine how you want to foster team cohesion in your organization. To make it more sustainable, do it in a constructive and consistent manner. The longer the cohesion, the better the organization's chances of success. Furthermore, teams that have mutual respect and understanding tend to achieve their goals, stay productive, and engage at a high level. Try to incorporate strategies that will improve your team's performance and unity.

Mrinmoy Rabha is a content writer and digital marketer at Vantage Circle. He is an avid follower of football and passionate about singing. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com