More Than Just Team Building: How Connection and Collaboration Drive Success - Inside and Out
More Than Just Team Building: How Connection and Collaboration Drive Success - Inside and Out
As organizations wrap up the year and look toward what’s next, many turn their focus to setting goals, metrics, and strategic plans. But before diving into projection spreadsheets and performance targets, there’s something even more foundational that determines whether those goals succeed — the strength of the team behind them.
STRENGTHENING YOUR TEAM THROUGH CONNECTION
Teams that feel supported and invested in don’t just work harder; they work better. When leaders allocate time for opportunities that reinforce connection, team members communicate more effectively, innovate more freely, and deliver results with greater consistency. Thus, meaningful connections drive the strength of the team.
💡When leadership takes the time to build trust and invest in team cohesion, employees respond with stronger performance, higher engagement, and lasting loyalty.
At Integrity Advantage, we’ve seen firsthand that success, whether inside our own company or within the organizations we serve, starts with connection and strong team connections yield positive outcomes. Team building activities act as a practical strategy to foster these outcomes.
TEAM BUILDING WITH PURPOSE
When most people hear “team building,” they think of games, icebreakers, or company retreats. Those activities are important, and yes, they can be a lot of fun, but the real power of team building goes deeper than that. Effective team building is about creating space for people to connect as humans, not just as job titles or Zoom squares. It’s about building trust, communication, and understanding, while aligning everyone around shared goals and helping every team member see how their role contributes to the bigger picture.
💡65% of workers reported feeling more loyal to their employer following team building exercises, according to Zipdo.co.
Integrity Advantage recently spent dedicated time together as a team, in person, doing exactly that. After months of collaboration across screens, emails, and virtual meetings, we came together for a week filled with both meaningful conversation and friendly competition. We worked side-by-side, played games that sparked our competitive spirit, and had open discussions about our goals for the upcoming year. What stood out most wasn’t just the laughter or the victories (though those were great, too☺️). It was how quickly our team connected, some meeting face-to-face for the first time, and how naturally those connections turned into deeper collaboration and renewed motivation. Those few days reinforced a truth we see every day in our client work:
Strong teams don’t happen by accident. They’re built with intention.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
Survey statistics compiled by Zipdo.co echoed these sentiments. A May 2025 report, “Team Building Statistics,” included the following data points:
✔️86% of employees say they are more engaged at work when their managers support team building activities;
✔️Companies with effective team building reported a 25% increase in productivity; and
✔️54% of companies reported a boost in collaboration following team building.
CONNECTION LEADS TO CLARITY
When teams feel connected, they communicate more openly. When they communicate openly, they collaborate more effectively. And when collaboration is strong, clarity follows.
💡Clarity enables organizations to set meaningful, achievable goals, not just lofty aspirations, but real, actionable plans that move the needle.
That’s why our team building efforts naturally flowed into a larger discussion about the business: what we accomplished this year, where we can improve, and how we’ll define success in the year ahead. Together, we mapped out priorities, identified obstacles, and outlined practical steps to help our team and our clients succeed.
This process mirrors the work we do every day with healthcare organizations across the country. Whether we’re assessing FWA program effectiveness, helping refine investigative processes, or providing actionable recommendations, we don’t just point out what needs to change, we help our clients figure out how to make that change happen.
WALKING THE WALK: HOW WE HELP CLIENTS BUILD AND EXECUTE THEIR OWN PLANS
We believe in practicing what we preach. The same principles that drive our internal success, connection, communication, and collaboration also guide the way we partner with our clients. When we conduct FWA program assessments, for example, we don’t stop at delivering a report or checklist. We work side-by-side with our clients to make our findings actionable by supporting goal setting, defining measurable outcomes, and developing step-by-step action plans to ensure success.
We help teams not only understand their current program performance but also see what’s possible and chart a realistic path to get there. That might mean refining internal processes, improving coordination between departments, or identifying new opportunities for prevention and impact.
Just as with our own team, the goal is alignment, ensuring that everyone involved understands the “why,” the “what,” and the “how.”
💡When a team moves forward with shared purpose and clarity, real progress follows.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF INVESTING IN YOUR TEAM
The benefits of investing in team building and goal setting go far beyond morale or engagement scores.
💡Stronger teams lead to stronger outcomes — for your organization, your partners, and ultimately, the people you serve.
In healthcare, where collaboration, communication, and trust directly impact outcomes, this is especially true. A cohesive, connected team is better equipped to identify risks, address challenges, and implement sustainable improvements. The most successful organizations don’t view team development as an annual event. They treat it as an ongoing process, a rhythm of connection, reflection, and recalibration that ensures everyone is working together toward the same mission.
As we’ve experienced firsthand, even a few days of intentional connection can reignite energy, creativity, and focus. It reminds us why we do what we do, and more importantly, who we do it with.
AS THE YEAR ENDS, SET THE STAGE FOR WHAT’S NEXT
As 2026 approaches, take the time to bring your team together wherever they are. Celebrate the wins, acknowledge the challenges, and have open conversations about what’s next. Create opportunities for people to connect, contribute ideas, and feel ownership over the goals ahead.
💡The new year offers a fresh slate, but lasting success comes from the groundwork you lay NOW!
At Integrity Advantage, we’ll be doing exactly that, building on our momentum, refining our goals, and staying true to the collaborative spirit that drives our work. And just as we do within our own walls, we’ll continue partnering with our clients to help them turn their goals into action and their plans into progress. In summary, here’s what we recommend:
✔️ Create intentional opportunities for team connection and reflection, both in-person and virtual;
✔️Involve teams directly in goal setting and strategy discussions to foster ownership and clarity;
✔️Align internal communication and collaboration methods with overall organizational goals; and
✔️Treat team development as a strategic investment, not an annual activity.
Because whether it’s your internal team or your organizational partners, one thing is certain: when people come together with shared purpose and clear direction, incredible things happen.
INTEGRITY ADVANTAGE IS YOUR ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR FWA SERVICES!
Whether it’s strengthening your internal team or assessing your FWA program’s performance, we help organizations align people, processes, and purpose. We work with healthcare payers nationwide to transform insights into action, helping teams move from goals to measurable progress. Integrity Advantage is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business (EDWOSB).
With more than 30 years of experience supporting payers, the team at Integrity Advantage provides healthcare fraud, waste and abuse consulting, outsourced investigations and medical record reviews for Special Investigations Units and other organizations fighting healthcare fraud. We are a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business (EDWOSB).
For more information click below, call us at 866-644-7799 or email info@integrityadvantage.com.