How to Measure the Impact of Team Building Activities

Ever felt like you’re trying to measure the unmeasurable when it comes to team building? You’re not alone.

It can be easy to think of team-building activities as “fluffy” expenses that are hard to justify in the face of budgets and skeptical CFOs. Team-building activities can lead to an increase in productivity of over 30%, according to a study by EastPharma. However, the connection between team building and workplace productivity isn’t always evident. That’s why it’s so important to quantify the impact of every initiative — including those problem-solving challenges and escape room adventures.

So, it’s time to debunk the myth that team-building results are purely subjective. You can use both quantitative and qualitative data to prove your team-building ROI. From setting SMART goals to choosing the right team-building metrics, you can employ actionable steps to measure the true impact of your team-building activities.

Section 1: Setting the Stage for Success

Before you start planning office trivia and scavenger hunts, it’s important to set the stage for team-building success. After all, you wouldn’t go on a road trip without a map, right?

Establishing Baselines & Goals

After all the hard work it takes to organize a successful team-building event, the last thing you want is to freeze when your boss asks for a rundown of what was actually achieved at the event. Establishing baselines and goals beforehand will help you understand what you should track and focus on during the event. It’s like taking a “before” picture in those weight-loss ads — without it, how will anyone know how far you’ve come?

Guide on setting SMART goals

SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals are the backbone of successful corporations. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill, “let’s all get along better” type of goals. Oh no — these are goals with superpowers:

• Specific: Pin down exactly what you want to achieve. “Improve teamwork” is too vague. “Increase cross-departmental collaboration on projects by 30%” is much more specific. It’s the difference between saying, “I want to get in shape,” and “I want to run a 5K in under 30 minutes.” The more specific you are, the clearer your target becomes.
• Measurable: If you can’t measure it, did it even happen? Develop goals that can be measured so you can track your progress. Instead of “enhance communication,” try “reduce internal email response time from 24 hours to four hours.” In fact, over 95% of all goals lack details for monitoring progress, according to a study published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, so setting up a measuring mechanism will put you ahead of the overwhelming majority.
• Achievable: Dream big, but keep it realistic. “Turn the accounting department into a competitive dance troupe” might be a stretch. Your goals should challenge your team members but not set them up for failure. Think of it as setting the treadmill to a brisk walk, not a three-hour sprint — challenging, but not impossible.
• Relevant: Make sure your goals align with your team and company objectives. “Learn how to juggle flaming torches” might be cool, but how does it help the bottom line? Every goal should have a clear connection to your broader business objectives.
• Time-bound: Set a deadline. Otherwise, that goal might be hanging around longer than that leftover birthday cake in the break room fridge. Having a timeframe creates urgency and helps prevent goals from being perpetually pushed to the back burner. It’s the difference between saying, “We’ll become profitable someday,” and “We’ll be cash-positive by Q3.”

Examples of common team-building goals 

Now that you’re a SMART goal guru, let’s look at some examples of goals that you might set for your organization:

Goal: Improve communication

SMART goal: Increase the frequency of cross-team meetings from monthly to weekly over the next quarter. 

Goal: Boost collaboration

SMART goal: Implement a new project management tool and have 100% of team members actively using it within two months.

Goal: Enhance problem-solving

SMART goal: Reduce customer complaint resolution time by 25% in the next six months through improved team problem-solving strategies.

Aligning with Business Objectives

Now it’s time to connect the dots between your team-building escapades and the big-picture business goals. This is how you can show your CEO that those trust falls are actually bolstering your company’s profit margins. Here’s how team building benefits the bottom line:

• Increased productivity: A team that communicates well and works together smoothly is like a well-oiled machine. Its members don’t waste time deciphering cryptic emails or redoing work because of misunderstandings. That means more gets done in less time, which translates into higher efficiency (and profits!).
• Decreased turnover: When people feel connected to their team and enjoy coming to work, they’re less likely to jump ship. That means less time hiring, onboarding, and retaining employees.
• Customer satisfaction: Happy teams equals happy customers. It’s simple math, folks. When your team is collaborating effectively and solving problems efficiently, your customers reap the benefits. They get better service, faster responses, and solutions that actually work. Cue the five-star reviews!

Section 2: Key Metrics To Track

Now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of team-building success: measuring team-building impact. You can track both quantitative and qualitative KPIs to see just how successful your team-building activities are.

Quantitative Metrics

Let’s start with the numbers game. (These are the cold, hard facts that’ll make any CFO’s heart sing.)

Employee engagement scores

Think of this as your team’s happiness thermometer. Send out surveys before and after your team-building extravaganza to see if you’ve moved the needle. Questions like, “How connected do you feel to your team right now?” or “How likely are you to recommend working here to a friend?” can give you solid data. You can use a scale (1-10 works great) to make it easy to track changes. If your team goes from a collective “meh” 5 to an enthusiastic 8, you’ll know you’re onto something! Tracking this is important because almost one-third of employees don’t feel engaged at work, according to a BCG Global study.

Productivity metrics

Time to prove that your team building isn’t just fun and games (even though it totally is both fun and games). Track things like project completion rates, output quality, and meeting efficiency before and after the event will help you see if your teams are finishing tasks faster with fewer errors and more efficiency.

Turnover rates

Keep an eye on how many people are heading for the exit month over month and compare it to the average rate in your industry. Monitoring how your turnover rate changes over time can help you understand if you're moving in the right direction. Bonus points if you can get exit interview data to see if team dynamics played a role in people staying or leaving!

Customer satisfaction scores

If your customer satisfaction scores start climbing after your team-building activities, you’ve hit the jackpot. Look for improvements in areas like response times, problem resolution, and customer feedback.

Absenteeism rates

Are people more excited to work? Track sick days and unexplained absences. If your team attendance improves, then you’re on the right track. In fact, a Wellhub survey revealed that companies that invest in employee wellness enjoy a retention gain of 43%, showing that employees who are well taken care of are also happy to show up to work.

Qualitative Metrics

Time for the touchy-feely stuff. These metrics might not fit neatly into a spreadsheet, but they’re  till worth their weight in gold.

Observation of team dynamics

Put on your David Attenborough hat and observe your team members in their natural habitat. Are they collaborating more? Is Karen from accounting actually talking to Steve from marketing without being forced to? These real-time observations can provide invaluable insights. Look for:

• Increased voluntary collaboration
• More diverse opinions being shared in meetings
• Fewer conflicts or more constructive conflict resolution

Feedback from team members

Time to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth (or your employees' mouths, to be less equine about it). This is a crucial step, as over 90% of employees who feel heard at work are more productive, according to a Forbes study. Here’s how you can make them feel heard:

• Surveys: Ask specific questions about team dynamics, communication, and overall job satisfaction.
• Interviews: One-on-one chats can reveal deeper insights. People might share things they wouldn’t put in writing.
• Informal conversations: Keep your ears open at the water cooler. Sometimes the most honest feedback comes when people don’t even realize they’re giving it.

Self-assessment

Encourage your team members to reflect on their own growth and the team’s progress. You can do this with:

• Individual reflections: Ask team members to journal about their experiences and perceived changes in team dynamics.
• Team reflections: Facilitate group discussions where the team can collectively assess its progress. This can be eye-opening and help reinforce positive changes.

Manager observations

Your managers play an essential part in tracking your team-building efforts. They have a valuable perspective on how things are changing. Ask them to keep an eye out for:

• Changes in communication patterns
• Improvements in problem-solving approaches
• Increased willingness to help across departments
• Fewer complaints or conflicts landing on their desk

Remember, the key to making these qualitative metrics work is consistency. Set regular check-ins and observation periods to track changes over time. You might not see changes day to day, but give it a few weeks, and you should be able to notice some differences in your team’s communications.

Section 3: Identifying and Sharing the Results

Last but not least, it’s time to put on our Sherlock Holmes hat and investigate the results of your team-building efforts. You’ll be able to turn all those numbers and observations you collected in the previous section into a compelling story that’ll make even the most skeptical stakeholders sit up and take notice.

Choosing the Right Tools

First things first, let’s talk tools. You wouldn’t try to build a house with just a hammer, right? The first thing you’ll want is a reliable survey platform. Some of the best platforms out there are:

• SurveyMonkey: This is one of the most popular survey tools around — and for good reason. It’s extremely user-friendly and includes lots of question types, helping you craft highly customized surveys in no time. However, while its basic offering is free, its advanced features can get pricey.
• Google Forms: The free, easy, and no-fuss option. It integrates really well with other Google tools, but it lacks customization options.
• Typeform: The cool kid on the block with beautiful, engaging surveys. Note that it can be a tad overwhelming for simple needs.

Once you’ve collected the surveys, you’ll need an HR analytics platform that will let you do something fun with the results. Some of the best options are:

• Tableau: This program can help you turn your data into beautiful visualizations, but it can have a steep learning curve.
• Power BI: Microsoft’s powerhouse for data analytics and sharing can be an excellent choice for turning numbers into stories.
• Visier: This software was specifically designed for HR analytics, making it like your own little HR analyst in your pocket.

And finally, let’s not forget about manual tracking methods — because sometimes, old school is the best school. Excel or Google Sheets can be your best friend for data tracking and basic analysis. And don’t underestimate the power of good old pen and paper for qualitative observations.

Get More of This Team Building Series:

Making Sense of the Data

Now it’s time to turn that data soup into a gourmet buffet. At this point, you’ve done all the heavy lifting already — it’s just about the finishing touches before you have a finalized deliverable.

Tips for analyzing quantitative data

You don’t have to be a data scientist to interpret your data. Here are some tips that will help you make the most of your efforts:

• Look for trends: Is employee satisfaction climbing? This is where tracking things over time becomes incredibly important. Knowing that your average employee satisfaction is 8.7 is one thing, but knowing that it went up from 8.3 to 8.7 in three months is entirely different.
• Compare to baseline: How do your post-team-building numbers stack up against your “before” picture? Taking measurements before you start team building will give you this crucial data point.
• Segment your data: Maybe your marketing team is loving the new collaboration tools, but finance is still stuck in email purgatory. Look for ways to divide your surveys so you can see how different people respond to different team-building activities.

Guide to interpreting qualitative feedback

Qualitative feedback can be a bit trickier, but it’s still fairly easy to interpret it. Here’s how:

• Identify themes: Are people consistently mentioning improved communication? That’s a theme, my friend.
• Look for commonalities: If three different departments mention feeling more connected, you’re onto something.
• Don’t ignore the outliers: Sometimes, the most insightful feedback comes from the lone voices. Take the time to speak with any outliers and see if there’s anything they can add to your results.

Correlating data

This is where the magic happens. Look for relationships between your team-building efforts and business outcomes. Did productivity spike after that escape room challenge? Did customer satisfaction soar after your communication workshop? That’s not a coincidence — that’s ROI.

Communicating Results to Stakeholders

Time to show off your hard work and prove that team building is more than just charades and icebreakers. Here’s how to make the most of your results and communicate them effectively:

Expert tips for creating compelling presentations and reports

If your presentation isn’t engaging, then you’ll have a harder time convincing your executives that your team building was a success. A few ways to give your presentation some razzle dazzle include:

• Tell a story: Don’t just throw numbers at your audience. Weave a narrative that connects team building to real business impact.
• Visualize your data: A picture is worth a thousand spreadsheets. Use graphs, charts, and infographics to make your data pop.
• Keep it simple: Your CEO doesn’t need to know the p-value of your correlation analysis, so it’s best to leave out any unnecessary data.

The link between team building and results

At the end of the day, stakeholders care about results. Here are a few quick tips to link your team building with real results:

• Show a clear before and after: Nothing sells success like a good makeover montage. Show your team’s transformation in numbers and stories.
• Quantify the impact: “Our customer satisfaction scores increased by 15% following our team communication workshop” sounds a lot better than “People seem happier.”
• Share real stories: Complement your data with anecdotes and testimonials. Let your team’s voice bring numbers to life.

Using data to justify future initiatives

Lastly, don’t stop here! You can use your data to forecast the potential results of future team-building investments, compare them to industry benchmarks, and calculate how the benefits of team building outweigh the costs. Remember, the goal is to transform your data into a compelling argument for the power of team building. 

Boost Team Performance and Employee Wellbeing Through Strategic Measurement

Measuring the impact of team-building activities isn’t just about justifying fun outings — it’s about understanding how these initiatives contribute to your team’s performance, satisfaction, and overall wellbeing. By setting clear goals, tracking the right metrics, and effectively communicating results, you can create a data-driven approach to team building that delivers real value to your organization and employees.

A comprehensive employee wellbeing program can amplify the benefits of your team-building efforts. When you combine targeted team activities with a holistic approach to employee wellness, you create a powerful synergy. As revealed in Wellhub’s Return on Wellbeing 2024 report, 95% of companies tracking ROI see positive returns on their wellbeing programs, so why not track your wellness ROI in addition to your team-building ROI?

Our Wellbeing Specialists can help you implement a wellbeing program that complements your team-building initiatives. Get in touch today to see how we can help!

You May Also Like:

• Say Goodbye to Boring Team Building Activities
• 25 5-Minute Team Building Activities for Wellness
• Master Team Building Activities: Ultimate Guide

References:

• Baharom, G. K., Stoverink, T. G., & Kalogiannidis, O. S. (2022). Effect of Team Building on Employee Productivity; A Case Study of Eastpharma Company in Turkey. Journal of Human Resource &Leadership, 6(4), 11–20. https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t50109
• Ceniza-Levine, C. (2021, June 23). New Survey Shows The Business Benefit Of Feeling Heard – 5 Ways To Build Inclusive Teams. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecenizalevine/2021/06/23/new-survey-shows-the-business-benefit-of-feeling-heard--5-ways-to-build-inclusive-teams/
• Krentz, M., Dartnell, A., Khanna, D., & Locklair, S. (2021, August 27). Inclusive Cultures Have Healthier and Happier Workers. BCG Global. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/building-an-inclusive-culture-leads-to-happier-healthier-workers
• Stewart, V., McMillan, S. S., Hu, J., Collins, J. C., Sarira El-Den, O’Reilly, C. L., & Wheeler, A. J. (2024). Are SMART Goals fit-for-purpose? Goal Planning with Mental Health service-users in Australian Community Pharmacies. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 36(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzae009
• Wellhub. (2021). U.S. Employers Enjoy a 43% Retention Gain for Active Gympass Users. https://blog.gympass.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/US_ROI.pdf
• Wellhub. (2024). Return on Wellbeing Study 2024. Wellhub. https://wellhub.com/en-us/resources/research/return-on-wellbeing-2024/