What's missing from your team building events? Personalised jumpers, of course!

Team building events. Let's face it, they get a bad rap. When supervisors first try to incorporate them into the annual office calendar, you can almost guarantee it will be met with groans and snide comments around the coffee machine. However, for a company whose staff are familiar with these events, the picture couldn't be more different. Long gone are the days when team building events incorporated the cringe worthy "tell me three things about yourself". Luckily, these events have upped their game, with companies utilising a variety of activities ranging from escape rooms to assault courses. Basically, the embarrassment inducing activities have been replaced with events that are...well...fun. They've now become the perfect opportunity for businesses to build trust, improve communication and create more engaged employees. Essentially, in today's world of work, team building events now have the ability to be the most important investment that a business can make.

There is one problem with this. Like with every trend, the increasing popularity means that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to make your business stand out and be a step above the rest. You may be offering a team building event that has all the traits of a top day out, but you can almost guarantee that another business has already done the exact same thing and a month before you. So, just how do you accomplish the goal of creating the best team building event that generates the best results for your team? It's a lot more simple than you think.

Forget about putting effort into planning the craziest day out and forget about searching Google for unique and quirky activities that you and your team can take part in. Instead, the answer doesn't lie in the place your team goes, instead, it lies within what your team wears.

This is wear I introduce the power of custom printed hoodies. A simple, cheap solution which is an absolute must for any team building event. Read on below to find my top three reasons why a simple printed jumper can give your event a long-lasting positive impression on your business.

1 - CREATE A SENSE OF BELONGING AND INCREASE TEAM UNITY:

Remember being back in school, complaining about the fact that you had to wear a school uniform? Whilst you were likely to hear moans about the awful school badge inside the classroom, they weren't as common outside the school gates. Wearing a school uniform may have been an annoyance, but when it came to meeting kids from neighbouring schools, the uniform became a badge of honour. Something that gave you and your friends a type of unity, distinguishing you from the enemies at the nearest secondary school. Although, as we've grown up this isn't exactly how things work, at least not for the majority of us, the same logic can be applied to your workforce. Replace the school blazers with embroidered hoodies and a sense of belonging is instantly gained. By crafting a team building event which ensures all members of staff, regardless of status, wear the same item of clothing, a sense of equality is also fostered. By eliminating hierarchal structures a full sense of being part of something together is gained allowing you to get the most from your team building event.

2 - ENCOURAGE ENTHUSIASM: GET YOUR TEAM EXCITED ABOUT THE TEAM BUILDING EVENT:

As I mentioned earlier, team building events don't automatically generate a lot of excitement from a workforce. Unfortunately, the lame connotations are still very much present in many people's minds. The best way to overcome this and avoid your staff pulling out or calling in sick on the day of the event is to get them excited from the get go. Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest creating an over the top promo video complete with dramatic music (although this is actually a cool idea). No, it's much more simple than this. By informing your team that you will all be wearing custom printed hoodies, the fun can begin long before the actual event does. Jumper printing is a great way of allowing your team to get creative, have fun and increase team spirit in the process. There are numerous ways which your business can do this. For example, why not create various potential printed jumper designs and have your team vote for their favourite? Another idea is to include nicknames. Whether you ask your team to create their own nickname for their custom printed hoodies or have co-workers decide for them, this is a great way of creating a fun atmosphere and get the excitement started.

3 - LONG LASTING IMPACT: MAKE YOUR EMPLOYEES REMEMBER THE EVENT AND INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS FOR A LOW-COST:

The problem of a team building event? It only lasts for a day. However, with personalised jumpers your company can begin to reap the benefits for a lot longer. Firstly, let's talk about the staff. By giving your team custom printed hoodies which they can keep, they are sure to remember the fun day that they had. It becomes a permanent fixture of their wardrobe, a go to for a trip to the shop or an autumn walk. Not only does this benefit staff morale but it also provides you with free advertising. Imagine, having the ability to get your logo and your company name out and about in the town or city in which it is based, all without having to pay for advertising. It's the dream right? By providing your staff with free customised jumpers, this is exactly what you're going to get. Not only that, but think of what it can do for your social media pages. It's all good and well taking pictures of your staff at a team building event, showing the public how good an employer you are.

However, it's not the same as showing the public a united team, all wearing the same embroidered jumper. By showing photos of this, you're sure to show a sense of unity and pride, a definite favourite in the public eye. The best thing about all of this? The price. With cheap personalised hoodies available, there's no need to splash the cash to get the results. A small cost for big results.