We get to spend our time surrounded by excited, happy children, and knowing that we’re playing a part in creating unique, exciting memories for thousands of children makes us all really, really proud of our jobs. For me, however, one of the most satisfying aspects of working here is being surrounded by people that genuinely love what they do – we call ourselves Team Eureka!
Many of our team have worked here for years and it’s no accident that our employees stay with us for such a long time: a big part of building such a successful and committed team is the effort that goes into creating team spirit and a positive work environment.
So do we simply have a magical formula at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum or are there things that all workplaces can try? And why even bother in the first place?
Teambuilding isn’t just a buzzword. There’s a reason why the biggest and best companies in the world invest so much time, effort and budget into boosting the morale of their teams – it’s because they’re worth it. Simply put, a well-bonded, motivated and passionate team work more efficiently, creatively and consistently than disparate, demotivated groups.
Shawn Achor, author of the book The Happiness Advantage analysed more than 200 pieces of research about happiness, concluding that happier employees were more creative, accurate, with better analytical skills and better able to deal with adversity. According to a global health study conducted by Gallup in 2008, unhappy colleagues also cost employers considerably more money as they take significantly more sick leave – on average 1.25 days more per month more, adding up to a whopping 15 more days per year!
So while investing in your team’s bonding and happiness might take a bit of time and budget, it simply makes good business sense. If you want your customers/visitors/clients to have the best possible experience, commit to developing the best possible team.
This is a great time to invest in team building – it’s a rapidly expanding market with increasingly weird and wacky ways to get you and your colleagues interacting, problem-solving and getting creative as they blow away those office cobwebs. We’ve even developed our own Eureka! brand of team building into an away day package for teams who fancy a bit of Eureka! playfulness (our Wacky Races, Big Eureka! Bake Off and Eureka! Roller Coaster are great fun). If we can help you and your team develop, play and have fun, just give us a call!
By: Leigh-Anne Stradeski
