Last Friday the Ambitek team entered a charity 5 a-side football tournament in Portsmouth with a team of 8 players. Whilst we had a ‘first team’ (mostly made up of the younger, fitter members of the group) everyone played a part in the game.
Thanks to sheer determination and teamwork…… we won! Out of 12 teams that entered, Ambitek Utd chalked up 3 wins and 2 draws in our group games (we topped the table) and managed to win the quarters, semi’s and the final.
Although we had a small number of goal scorers, we could not have achieved our success as individual players, we played as a team and we won as a team. This is highlighted by the fact that our goalie made arguably some of the best saves in the tournament and our defensive back two were solid and reliable whilst our two attacking players created chances and scored goals. This was all backed up by 3 subs who were pretty handy utility players. The culmination of all these skills led to us being able to beat our opponents, even when times got tough.
Whilst we faired pretty well in the end, the underlying principles of the trip were to build better inter departmental relations and help foster a more proactive teamwork attitude towards problems we face as a company. Enabling a team to understand that we all have something to bring to the table makes for a much better workforce than those who don’t.
So what are the benefits of promoting teamwork in the office?
It helps people learn and promotes creativity.
When people work together as a team, creativity can thrive. Working as a group means that ideas can bounce around and evolve further than they possibly would have done for a person working solo. Everyone on the team will have had different levels of experience and knowledge which can be shared within a team, helping new and old members of staff learn something new. This was easily observed during the tournament as the team grew in confidence and became more creative in their use of space and through balls as the tournament progressed.
Combined Strength
Whilst one member of staff may be great at creative thinking, another may be better at organisation. Combining these strengths is always going to make for a better outcome than just one of them alone. Teams work best when everyone has something to bring to the table, in our case we had some younger, more athletic players who were perfect upfront. They were slight, quick and skilful and gave us a real attacking potency, but it was some of the older members who provided the solid foundation of defence upon which our attacks were built from. As individual players alone we would have floundered, but together, we made a strong team.
Trust
Working together and being reliant on each other builds trust. Teamwork helps to establish strong relationships with those you are working with. Yes, we spent much of our games shouting and cussing each other but ultimately, we had built enough trust to know that each player understood their role. Building trust within a team means you can be honest and criticise each other without the team falling apart, it builds resilience that allows you to move beyond occasional disagreements.
Ownership
Working as a team instils pride in their work, the knowledge that everyone contributed and worked together to reach the final outcome. In our case, we were the overall winners and the whole team has taken pride in parading that trophy around the office. Working together to achieve a goal allows an employee to feel more connected to a company, increasing their satisfaction and loyalty.
Conflict Resolution & Communication skills
It’s inevitable that teams are going to have conflicting views. The beauty of working as a team means that these can be discussed and managed. Employees comes from all backgrounds and walks of life so will always have differing ideas of how to achieve the final goal. Learning to resolve these issues through open dialogue gives employees skills that will help them become a more effective employee or even a manager further down the line.
It’s Fun!
Effective and productive teamwork is fun and helps raise morale, motivation and loyalty to an organisation. The wide range of ideas and skill levels can help members of staff grow and develop in a positive environment….we should know, we really enjoyed the tournament!
I'd also like to take the chance to thank you for all your help during my time with Ambitek. I have always been paid on time and any worries I had were sorted out incredibly quickly either by yourself or your colleagues. Thank you for making my time as a contractor as painless as possible. I would certainly have no qualms about being employed by your agency again sometime in the future. Although obviously not any time soon!!!!
I contacted Ambitek last year about employment. They quickly responded and helped me get a job! I now have a full time job thanks to Ambitek and their staff. They have always paid me on time and have always been there to help me if I needed any advice! Now me and my family are doing great all thanks to Ambitek.
"Hi, hope your all set for Xmas just wanted to say thanks to you and all the staff at Ambitek. You have all been ace this year sorting out my wages and holiday pay and the rest, it's been a real pleasure working for you this year and can't thank you enough for getting me the job in the first place it really pulled me out of it when I was down and to say I appreciate it is an understatement
Hi, thank you for having me work for Ambitek, it’s been a pleasure
Hi, just wanted to say thank you for all your help placing me, as today I signed a permanent contract. The agency have been fantastic and in the future I wouldn't hesitate in contacting you if I need a job or recommending you to others. Once again, thank you and I would like to wish you all the best for the future. (One happy customer!)
Hi, don't know if they informed you but I got a full time contract this week, thanks to you and your team for everything mate I'd be nowhere without Ambitek.
Wish everyone looked after us like you.