What are experiential team building activities?

Team building is an ongoing process, in which employees work together as a team by engaging in various activities, such as experiential team building activities. The main goal of these activities is to influence team members to evolve into a more cohesive team.

Usually, the main focus of team building activities is to enhance leadership, team bonding, and management skills. By implementing this technique, HR specialists intend to address problems affecting team functionalities in an organization and find a way how to overcome them.

Experiential team building activities can be a powerful tool when it comes to uniting groups, developing their strengths and unveiling weaknesses. However, more than often companies plan their team building activities with no measurable goal in their mind. Hence, organizations risk losing their team’s interest and loyalty when the team building program doesn’t have any obvious benefits for the employees. How to overcome this issue? 

Read further and learn how to enhance leadership, team bonding and management skills through the best experiential team building activities tailored to your team needs!

What is experiential learning?

Experiential learning, also known as (EXL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as “learning through reflection on doing”. ​Experiential education methodology is a well-known model in education, training, facilitation and organizational development.

According to the Association for Experiential Education, experiential learning can be summed up in the phrase “challenge and experience followed by reflection and application leading to learning and growth.” Experiential education is an immersive, participant focused, active approach to learning that engages participants of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels.

Experiential education combines direct experience with focused reflection while building on past knowledge and experiences. It requires active involvement in meaning construction while encouraging collaboration and exchanging ideas and perspectives. Experiential learning can be used in various settings, such as in a class, lecture, community-focused, and lastly work-focused. 

How does experiential learning function?

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory defines experiential learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience.”

Kolb’s research shows mastering expertise is a continuous process of experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation. These elements make up the experiential learning cycle which shows the relationship between each phase. Kolb described two different ways of grasping experience, through concrete experience and abstract conceptualization. Additionally, he identified two ways of transforming experience, through reflective observation and active experimentation.

Concrete experience describes the hands-on experiences that we learn from. The reflective observation phase is when we reflect on the experience in order to successfully learn from it. During this stage we consider experiences. Abstract conceptualization occurs when we have identified and understood the defining characteristics of experience, so we can decide if and what we will do differently next time. This is a time for planning and brainstorming strategies for success. ​The active experimentation phase of the learning cycle is when we experiment with our ideas and test them in the real world. 

How to innovate with experiential team building activities? 

In its nature, experiential team building activities are an innovative way of conducting necessary HR activities. By implementing it in the right way, it can further trigger the true innovation that is asked from today’s employees.

Case studies show us that employees in general, learn best by doing, they prefer doing over listening. Consequently, employees are more interested in being engaged and stimulated with innovative activities, rather than being lectured or taught. Hence, experiential team building activities represent an effective tool when it comes to creating an innovation culture in any organization.

In order to drive innovation, companies must provide their employees with the necessary freedom which can stimulate their creativity, without putting any pressure on possible failure on them. In this manner, employees will be able to fully engage in the innovation process. This is exactly what experiential team building activities do for your company! By using concepts such as freedom of expression, effective collaboration and maximizing mindset, participants are effectively embracing the innovation culture!

How to motivate your team through experiential team building activities? 

What is the definition of a highly motivated team? One could argue that a highly motivated team has a common goal, which is clear to all teammates. They represent a cohesion of collaborative skills, which are necessary to overcome a challenge. Team members take responsibility and have their own authority, interrelationships within to provide mutual support and encouragement. 

In order to achieve this companies need to understand their teams, promote open communication and feedback, and most importantly- provide employee development opportunities. All of this can be greatly supported by experiential team building activities! They teach employees how to deal with elements of surprise and risk, which represent crucial steps when it comes to creating a motivated team.

When a team successfully completes a team-building activity it makes them feel good about themselves. Hence, it increases employees’ confidence in their team’s ability as well as their own. Furthermore, it not only raises the individual’s motivation, but also the motivation of the whole group.  Needless to say, it shows the employees that they are being valued and acknowledged by their company, which additionally motivates employees to increase their productivity and engagement with the organization’s goals. 

What do we offer?

There are numerous options when it comes to choosing experiential team building activities in Greece. Grekaddict.com can offer your company carefully selected and curated tours and activities, chosen with great attention to detail, by our team of experts. As a company, we always strive for perfection, and this is well reflected in our supreme list of top team building activities and corporate incentive trips! 

Why choose us?

In order to make it one of a kind experience, we work with various out-standing suppliers and partners, which each has something unique to bring to your company. With more than 200 activities, located from Athens to Mykonos, we promise you the best experiential team-building activity in Greece, specially tailored for your company. Send us an inquiry, and we will make sure your company stays imprinted in your employee’s hearts forever. 

Are you in the search for impactful and experiential team building activities that will not only build a stronger team but will allow the company to connect with their employees on a much higher level? Download our exclusive collection of carefully selected team-building activities, and provide your employees with unforgettable, meaningful moments that will be remembered forever!

If you may need more information about team building activities, or any further assistance, feel free to contact us anytime.