maxifyThis post is one in a series of tips designed to help small business owners better-navigate the challenges of today’s startup environment and is sponsored by Canon MAXIFY – the printer lineup crafted to help small business owners increase productivity so that they can focus on everything else that matters. For more information about the Canon MAXIFY printer lineup visit www.usa.canon.com/MAXIFY

With an epidemic of Ebola threatening the world, there is a lot of talk of the usefulness of quarantines. But forcing people at a company to spend time together can actually have a positive effect on building a company culture and an effective team. Here are methods to “quarantining” the staff so they learn to work together:

The annual offsite meeting. Many of these started with good intentions, but they have turned into a company obligation. Getting together once a year to talk strategy is too artificial and forced. Most of the time, there is little follow up and few action items implemented as a result. Make off site meetings a once a quarter activity. Ensure that everyone contributes to the agenda and has action items for follow up.

Team problem solving. Give a team a problem they have to solve and a limited timeframe. The deadline should force intensive time together to come up with a solution. This will cause stress, but also bonding between team members as a result. Despite their negative reputation, team building exercises do work.

Mix it up. Randomly assign groups of four to five people to work on a project. This will force collaboration among team members to extend culture outside of their immediate group.

Places to gather. In the days of the offices of “Mad Men”, people used to gather around the water cooler to talk about what was going on at the company. Today, team members might gather online in company chat or a social media tool. But, it is still important to have designed physical gathering places at the company. Pods with Canon MAXIFY printers where team members need to retrieve their printed work can act as good rallying points.

Share meals. Build places where groups can have lunch or other meals together at the office. Sharing a meal is still the best bonding experience. Remote employees can actually eat together through video calls.

Physical activities. Sports and games are a great opportunity for employees to spend time together and work toward a common goal.  However, pick the sport carefully for the company based on the team. It should be one that everyone can play with minimum skill and without injury. Silly and fun with the right mix of competition are the most effective.

Professional development activities. These can be things that have nothing to do with the business, but show an investment by the company that they want improve their team. Before deciding on activities, poll team members to find their specific interests.

What have you done to quarantine your team and build a stronger culture?

Canon will be spotlighting several small business owners on its social media channels throughout the next several months, so be sure to leave a comment and share your thoughts on this post using the hashtag #MAXIFY in order to qualify. If you are a U.S.-based small business owner (1-9 employees) and have faced a unique business challenge in your first year on the job, let us know! We’d love to hear what line of work your small business falls within and what you feel is the most important takeaway from this post. We’ll also be rewarding select small business owners with a prize pack including the Canon MAXIFY MB5320 printer as well as other essentials to help you run your business more efficiently. So don’t forget to leave a link to your website or social media pages that way we can see how well you’re marketing your business and get in touch!