Ask the experts: What are the benefits of team-building exercises and how do I design the best one for my staff?

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I believe that happy staff will generate a positive working environment, which will ultimately translate into the most enjoyable experience possible for clients and staff alike. With this in mind, we recently decided to engage the services of a yoga and meditation expert to deliver a wellness course to our team.

For me, it was obvious that the person offering the course needed to be someone who not only knew about the practices of yoga and meditation, but could also connect with my staff and deliver a programme to suit them.

In my team, there are absolute beginners to yoga as well as those who are really familiar with it. This, coupled with the various personalities that exist within our team, ensured I had to choose the practitioner with great care. I put a lot of research into the programmes on offer and those who offered them.

Once I had chosen the correct person, I worked with them to tailor the four-session programme to our needs. The focus of each session was a different aspect of wellness and included guidance on how to meditate. We explored the themes of spirituality, self-love, the importance of teamwork and compassion, and how to achieve goals.

The management team view Pastels Salon as a family and, as such, we believe that the happiness of each member is crucial to the overall achievement of the salon. We endeavour to foster an empathetic, supportive environment in which each team member feels valued and appreciated for what he or she can add to Pastels. I think this will be the first of many such team-building exercises for us as it proved to be a huge success and enhanced self-belief and morale among our team members.

Natalie Kasses is creative director and salon manager at Pastels Salon, Dubai. Prior to relocating to Dubai and joining Pastels Salon in 2004, Kasses was based in Sydney, Australia, and has been in the hairdressing industry since a young age, learning from within her family business.