TEAM BUILDING COOKING CLASS AND HOW COOKING COMPETITIONS BENEFIT YOUR TEAM
Companies across the globe are seeking new and effective ways to build up an efficient team. A simple internet search would surely turn up results on team dinners, sporting events, and trivia nights. However, an often overlooked team building activity is a cooking competition. From a team building cooking class to a full-on competition, there are a number of benefits that your team can take away from an experience such as these.
Cooking with Coworkers
Consider the actions surrounding a team. They must work together by communicating efficiently. Imagine preparing a meal with a lack of communication. Multiple people might start working on the same thing without the others’ knowledge. By practicing communication by cooking together, a team can avoid unnecessary mistakes, thereby increasing productivity.
When it comes to being in the kitchen for a cooking corporate team building event, working together is paramount. Teams will be working together to create a final, delicious dish. If instructions are not followed to the letter, the end result will likely be far less tasty. In an effort to achieve the proper flavors, team members will be motivated to work together efficiently. Food is always something that motivates people to achieve the ideal finish.
The Benefits of a Challenge in Team Bonding
While a few companies may have used cooking team building activities for their workforce, very few have thought to add in the idea of a competition. Perhaps a friendly, fairly judged competition can be a way to draw out the skills of individual employees and a challenge that inspires everyone present. Competitions can be done in teams or as individuals, both of which have their own benefits.
Where a team building cooking class will teach the skills necessary to have confidence in a competition, the competition itself forms a challenge that workers are driven to meet. Applying previously learned skills to a chili cook off, a healthy lunch challenge, or even a breakfast foods competition can teach employees how to use new skills in a practical way.
Imagine the use of this in the work environment – employees may learn something new but are hard-pressed to apply it to their work lives regularly. Seeing that newly learned information as a challenge to meet can make workers more willing to make the attempt, even if it starts as a hardship. With the added benefit of practicing better communication, teams that participate in a cooking competition are sure to develop a bond that extends to the office.
A challenge amongst co-workers also opens up the lines of communication in a different way. Prior to the competition might show some friendly jesting or teasing. When all is said and done, the competitors have something new to talk about – recipes, tips and tricks, and possibly what the next competition might look like.
Finding the Right Mix of Competition
Studies show that too much competition can create an unproductive atmosphere. With a cooking competition, there is little to fear with having too much. The participants might plan for a week, submit their entries, enjoy the spoils of their hard work, and move on. There is not generally a lingering competition associated with these kinds of events.
Choosing to take new skills, such as those learned in a cooking team building class, and place a challenge on it can be fun and exciting. With more communication, more time spent together, and a common interest, employees are sure to develop a stronger bond. That bond will be carried from the kitchen to the workplace and beyond.