Everyone knows that the pandemic has given all kinds of employers and employees challenges. And whilst online tools have enabled us to remain connected, it’s not the same as being in the physical presence of someone, feeding off their energy and basically building that relationship that only physical interaction can do.
In addition to that, everyone’s morale has taken a hit recently and we’ve all been under a lot of pressure. Especially if you’ve had to home school children. So as our main site began to open-up again to all our workforce, we decided we wanted to do something to help bring our people together in a safe outdoor space and have them reconnect again.
Step forward the Yorkshire Activity Centre.
We’d long been aware of the Yorkshire Activity Centre and their range of activities that help foster a teamwork ethos. And there was better time than now to leverage this and invest in our people and take them out for the day.
Speaking about this decision, Kirkstall’s MD Adam Thornton commented that: “Employee relationships are the backbone of a strong team. Strong teams can lead to company loyalty, increased productivity, and satisfied employees. To build strong work teams, you need to emphasise the importance of relationships. Taking all our people to the Yorkshire Activity Centre was a great way to do this and the buzz around the place after we had gone was immense and it was well worth the investment.”
With 68% of HR professionals reporting that their employees’ people skills were average or worse before the pandemic, and nearly half that those people skills got worse during the pandemic, the time was certainly right to find ways to ensure Kirkstall’s people were interacting again but in fun ways that would then bleed into the workplace.
Talking about this, Kirkstall’s Operations Director, Iqbal Bahia, commented that: “Adam and I had discussed team morale and the impact that being apart had had on our teams and we instinctively knew that something was missing and that the camaraderie that was there before had been chipped away at. We knew that taking the team out together would be the answer to renewing the brilliant spirit we had in the business and the results have proved us both right.”
Teamwork does make the dream work.
Whilst it may be a cliché to use the above phrase, it really does ring true. Kirkstall’s productivity levels have risen, and the spirit of Kirkstall is well and truly back, so much so that even our customers have commented that they love working with us for our boundless enthusiasm, professionalism and ‘can do’ attitude.
Whilst this was always there, our day out together has ensured that flame has been fully reignited and it’s business as usual here at Kirkstall Precision Engineering.
Check out the pictures from the day below.