25 Aug 2013

Team building in the work place helps to foster better and open communication between employees, Ministry of State President  eputy permanent secretary, Mr Arnold Madikwe has said. 

Speaking at a team building event for the ministry last Friday at Gaborone Club, Mr Madikwe said this initiative also aims at improving professional relationships, understanding and cooperation amongst employees.

The initiative also fosters better and open communication between the employees and their employer and contributes towards employee motivation as well as building trust among employees, he stressed.

Mr Madikwe stressed that as employees of government, “we should all and collectively know that we are providing a service to customers”. 

He noted that government’s customers were many and varied in terms of expectations than in the private sector.

These customers, the deputy permanent secretary said, included among others, the general public, business community, NGOs, civil society, cooperating partners, stakeholders and the employees themselves. 

Mr Madikwe said it was through team building that employees would have a common understanding of the ministry’s vision, which he  reminded them was ‘Connecting Government to every citizen every day”.

However he highlighted that ensuring lasting team building requires understanding of the ministry’s broader vision, self- understanding as employees, knowing their strengths, managing egos and demands for attention and recognition, respect for one another and being compassionate to one another.

Mr Madikwe stressed the importance of coming together as a ministry as it promoted understanding in an  informal setting. 

He also highlighted that it was important to come together to celebrate sucess. 

The event included a variety of mind soothing games and massages by health officials. ENDS