Who wants to play a game? Games are a great reason to take a break during your work day. These 5 employee engagement ideas will be a win in your office.
Some employee engagement ideas can feel like one of those awkward “get to know you” camp games. You know the games I’m talking about. The ones where you say a person’s name and a fruit (with the same first letter), then the next person says the first person’s name and their fruit, and then adds their own first name and a matching fruit. You eventually make your way around the entire circle. No one ever wants to be the last person because then it is up to you to remember everyone's name… and their fruit.
Incorporating employee engagement ideas, that are games, within your work environment can be beneficial. They not only brighten the work day, but connect your employees on new and different levels — just leave the get to know you games for summer camp. With these five activities you can say goodbye to the awkward silence in your office. These employee engagement ideas will be a huge success and your productivity will increase too!
Two Truths and One Lie
The first employee engagement idea that is sure to get everyone interacting, is called two truths and one lie. Start by gathering your group of employees and explain the rules.
The Rules
- Everyone must be in a circle.
- Everyone must think of 2 truths and 1 lie about themselves.
- You cannot share your facts and fiction with anyone.
- Only one person can be talking at a time.
- When guessing put your hand up if you think the fact is a lie.
- Whoever guesses the most facts correct wins.
In this activity each employee will think of two truths and one lie, about themselves — it’s alright to lie for this activity. Give the group five minutes to think of their two facts and one fiction statement. Then start going around the room, one by one have each person share his/her fact or fiction. After one person has shared a fact or fiction, everyone else has to decide whether it is true and false. Everyone who thinks the statement was false raises their hands. The employee then reveals if the statement was true or false, everyone who guessed correctly gets one point.
The purpose of this activity is to find out new and interesting facts about your co-workers and employees. This game tests your brain to see how well you know each individual. With all these new facts about each other you are bound to have something to talk about in the elevator.
Beach Ball Bounce
The next activity that will increase the amount of employee engagement in your office is beach ball bounce. In this activity you will need a beach ball and a permanent marker. On the beach ball you will write different scenarios for your employees to answer. After covering your beach ball with questions, gather your employees in a big circle and explain the rules.
The Rules
- Everyone must stand in a circle.
- You can only touch the ball if it is thrown toward you.
- Do no move your hands when you catch the ball.
Now that everyone knows the rules, it’s time to get started. Start with one person and have them toss the ball to another employee in the circle. Whatever question their right thumb touches, on the ball, that’s what question they have to answer.
Here are a few examples of questions you could write.
- If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be?
- If you found a magic lamp what would your three wishes be?
- If you could only eat one food every day, what would you choose?
The object of this exercise is to, again, learn new thing about those who work around you. It can be also used as a small break from the tedious work throughout the day. Beach ball bounce will give your employees new insight to questions they may have never thought about and even the possibility of learning something new about themselves. An added bonus is that your team will be up and moving to participate.
Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn’t like a fun scavenger hunt? The name of the game says it all. Divide your team members into small groups and give each group a list of items they are to find, within your set geographic boundaries. Set the boundaries for your company scavenger hunt outside of the office. This will allow your team to grab some fresh air.
A few examples you may include in your scavenger hunt are:
- Take a picture of your group having a fresh cup of coffee.
- Have the tallest person in the group take you to their favorite ice cream shop.
- Take a picture of your group enjoying a fun activity.
Hosting a scavenger hunt as one of your employee engagement ideas will increase the progress of how each group works as a team. You will soon learn who the best navigator is in your office. Your scavenger hunt may also help your employees work together in effective groups — working toward a desired goal. Don’t forget to set a return time and destination on your scavenger hunt!
Mix Up
Mix up your office space and see if your team members will notice. Zaina Ghabra’s article, Six Quick Teamwork Games to Engage Employees at Work, tells us all about how to play mix up. Have your employees split into two teams next, have one team leave the room. Once they have left, have each team member rearrange something in the office. Have the team who left come back and see if they can figure out the changes that were made, and vice versa.
See how observant your employees are about the office setting, after it has been scrambled. This activity will give your team a break in their day and you also will find out who pays the most attention to detail. This game also provides you with insight and information about how quickly your employees are able to pick up on their surroundings, and act within a timely fashion.
Take What You Need
Ghabra gave us one other great game! This enjoyable engagement idea is another way to learn more about everyone in your office. With this exercise you will need an item/items that your employees can gather and hold on to.
A few good examples of items that would be useful for this activity would be the following:
- Creamers
- Paper Clips
- Sticky Notes
The first thing you want to do is gather your employees. Ask everyone, individually, to take as much of one of the items as they think they need. If anyone asks any questions, they should all be answered with “Take as much as you think you need.” After everyone has taken their share, you will then explain to them that, however much of the item they took, that is how many facts they share about themselves.
The theory behind these engagement ideas is to encourage everyone to learn new and different things about one another other, even if they only decided to take one item. Each step of they way you could even ask for your employee to share what they thought they were using this item for. Throw a little fun or your own little twist to get to know your employees better.
Everyday when we walk past the people we work with, it can often times feel uncomfortable or even distant. You should never feel that way with the people you see on a daily basis. Promoting these 5 engagement ideas, into your work week, will have your employees chattering away in the hallways, at the water fountain, and even on the elevator ride.
Create a comfortable work space and get to know those who surround you. Find new ways that you can reach out and assist others within the office. Incorporate informative, fun activities into your engagement ideas to see the highest jump in productivity, and engagement.This will help develop strong working relationships, which in turn will contribute to your workplace being more enjoyable, and as a result more productive.
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