If you’re a boss who thinks that work and entertainment don’t mix, consider the benefits of getting employees moving and socializing, especially when that afternoon fatigue starts to set in. Even when you’ve noticed the benefits of a more casual atmosphere at times, bettering the approaches you use can encourage stronger productivity on the job. Integrating employee motivation games into your company culture can make a tremendous difference in the output you see.
1. Human Scavenger Hunt
This activity is particularly effective for a group of new employees or when your team members don’t know each other too well. You can provide each employee with a list of items. For example, the list might say “has a twin” or “has exactly seven letters in his or her first name.”
Then, each employee has to go around the room and find someone who fits with each list item. The employee will then sign his or her name to the list item that matches. In addition to allowing employees to get to know one another better, this activity also has them up out of their seats, which can increase energy.
2. Advertising Miscellaneous Objects
For this activity within employee motivation games, consider dividing your employees into pairs or teams depending on how many people are participating. Place a corresponding number of random items into a bag or a box. As long as the employees can’t see into it, you can use any vehicle for holding the items. Employees will reach into the unit one at a time to pull out an item.
Afterwards, give them a few minutes to come up with an advertisement for the product. Then, you can have them present the product to the entire room. Depending upon how competitive you want to make the game, you can ask employees to vote for which product they are most likely to purchase at the end. If you are hoping to increase the marketing or advertising efforts at your company, this activity can provide an additional bonus. It is both entertaining and educational.
3. Storytelling Game
Ask each employee to take out a piece of paper and a pen. Then, you should provide a prompt. Some employee motivation games are related to a specific skill at the company, and this game can stimulate creativity.
For example, you might ask people to first write the name of the city in which they were born. After they write the answer, they need to fold the paper over and pass it clockwise. Employees should not be able to see what the first answer was. The second question can logically follow the first in terms of a story.
For example, the second question might ask employees to write the most significant event in their lives. The game continues until enough questions are asked for employees to have created a story without knowing what the person before or after them wrote. At the end, everyone can read their tales out loud. Laughs and unique story lines are almost a certainty.
4. Treasure Hunt
Sending employees on a treasure hunt is one of the employee motivation games that can challenge them. Such an activity can test how much team members know about the office and the policies in place at the business.
Each clue can ask them to visit a specific part of the building that they should know or to answer a trivia question about the company. Having employees work in pairs or teams helps to turn this activity into a team-building one. You could consider offering an incentive, such as a gift certificate to a local restaurant, to the winners of the treasure hunt.
5. Escape Rooms
Quite popular now are escape rooms. Groups enter into rooms where they have to find the key to unlock the door. You can likely find multiple locations with rooms of different themes nearby. In most cases, these rooms are designed to hold around a dozen people or fewer. Therefore, you may need to divide up your teams into separate rooms.
Imagine how much energy employees will have if you take a break in the middle of the day to go somewhere else to try an escape room. Returning to the office for the afternoon stretch with tremendous amounts of energy can lead to seriously increased productivity.
6. Sports
Encouraging some healthy competition in an athletic event can drive employees to show off their best skills. For example, you may see an employee take on a leadership position in a way that you never imagined.
If you’re going to infuse athletics into the day, make sure to provide your team with plenty of notice. They’ll likely want to bring in casual clothes to partake in these employee motivation games.
7. One Lie, One Truth
Games that make your employees think can also encourage them to get their creative minds working for the reminder of the day. Divide your employees up into pairs. They each have to write down one truth and one lie about themselves.
Afterwards, they will need to share their truths and their lies with their partners and try to guess which statement is true and which statement is false. After the activity is over, open up a discussion to find out who believed the lie and to examine some ways that people can protect themselves from falling for lies that might be damaging to the company.
8. Board Games
Another way to use employee motivation games is to provide your staff with some free time. For example, you can provide a break in the day where employees are invited to explore different board games and to interact with one another. You can even start a new tradition involving Friday Fun Day.
Set out games that have to do with the skills that you want them to develop. You could choose games that are related to money-management or games that explore the deeper layers of creativity.
Final Word
Employee motivation games allow you to bring a more casual and social approach to the happenings at your business. Another benefit of them is that they can encourage employees to work harder and to build necessary skills for their positions.
