
Icebreakers and energizers for meetings are an important part of any company that needs individual cooperation through a group of people who can belt out ideas and suggestions that will work in the favor of the company.
Productivity in any company depends on the output that employees are able to produce, based on how comfortable they are within their working environment and if they are encouraged in the right way to procure good and lasting results. Management heads and team leaders will do well to come up with ways on how to get everyone in an engaging mood when it comes to meetings and strategic planning. Even advertising companies and those that are creativity-oriented, will benefit if they practice ways to let employees be themselves and come up with ideas that are both brilliant and workable.
Icebreakers and Energizers Meeting Activities
Meetings can be quite dull, especially the sort that drags on for hours. When meetings are held, some people grudgingly have to push themselves to attend it, with many dozing off midway through one. Even daydreaming is a common occurrence. Employees should first introduce themselves if they’re new to the organization, where old employees should make them feel comfortable. Conduct fun group games and carry out board game competitions to help them loosen up. Tell them to think about things that will make work life not just great to wake up every morning to, but fruitful. These ideas should be able to work inside and outside the office, like on day trips or events.
Mystery Fact
Employees must first introduce themselves before stating three facts about their lives or accomplishments, with one lie amongst the three. The others in the boardroom must guess which fact, out of the three, isn’t true. It can be any sort of facts, even of things they like or don’t like, phobias, or other intriguing tidbits. This helps employees learn something new about the people they work with; plus it encourages them to loosen their ties, interact, and have a good laugh.
Sculpt Me
Employees are divided into two teams, where two members come forward at a time to enact a certain feature of the game. Have teams draw up enough chits with different job profiles mentioned on each one. Team A’s and B’s members come forward by turn, in pairs of two, to enact the following – one will play the role of ‘sculptor’, and the other as ‘the work of art’. Members from each one’s teams must guess what their teammates are trying to sculpt, depending on how the ‘sculptor’ positions his ‘mold’. If the team can’t guess, the chance goes to the opposing team, who have to guess without being prompted further. The team with the most guesses wins. This game can be quite fun if you think of other characters to use beyond mediocre stuff, like famous TV personalities, politicians, and the like.
Employee Opinion
To understand how employees react to a certain idea or introduction related to work, create five posters and place them in four corners of a room entitled – ‘Most Definitely’, Why Not?, ‘Maybe’, ‘No Way’, and ‘Of course Not’. Ask questions related to the current state of things at work, whether it’s a new project, work ethic, new facilities and the sort, before asking employees to scramble to various corners. The corner with the most number of people, should be asked about their opinions, whether good or bad, when it comes to a particular question raised as part of the round. That way, you’ll know what the majority of employees feel and think, where you can also explore why others ran to different spots, when asked the same question. This is one creative way of gathering valuable feedback from employees.
Changes to Introduce to a Work Environment
If there’s one thing that will ring true for any company, it is that rigidity and a ban on certain availabilities will only have employees tightly wound and constantly in a state of nervousness in an attempt to not mess up. Stringent policies are welcome only if there is a balance between being abiding and lenient, that is – work seriousness combined with playfulness. Let’s take a look at how you can have employees shake off stress and therefore be more productive in the process.
Create a Meeting Room that is Eye Pleasing Yet Functional
Meeting rooms are an indispensable part of any organization, where major executions are made on several occasions. Employees need to feel comfortable within that space where ideas can flow easily and without the common mental-block situation.
Use either a soft color palette within meeting/conference rooms where most discussions and brainstorming sessions are held, or vibrant hues to give the space a bolder, edgier statement (think of the clients that may visit the meeting/conference room). They say that the color blue allows one to be more creative and calms our visual sense when looked upon. Meeting/conference rooms should also be spacious, well-ventilated, contain comfy chairs, and have sufficient natural/built-in lighting (soft yellow lights are recommended).
Encourage Office Parties and Outings
Not only is it a break from a monotonous routine or from the constant streaming of hardcore thoughts of what needs to be done in the office, but it is also a getaway to relax and enjoy oneself. In the company of others there tends to be a more interactive atmosphere especially if the outing contains outdoor activities or those that require bonding and communication.
It’s a nice way to have everyone out in the open and conversing about things that can sprout up on a trip. They’ll discover things that they have in common, and learn more about each others’ backgrounds and past work life if any. Office parties are a great way to fuel an employee’s enthusiasm to plan a function. It can involve a great deal of planning if it’s a festive one, where birthdays and going away parties should equally be encouraged within an organization.
Conduct Regular Seminars
Soft communication skills are sometimes a foreign concept to many people who join a company, especially if they’re anti-social or introverts. Have professionals in a particular field visit the company to give energetic and fun seminars on how to create a work environment that is not only work-based but exciting as well. Make seminars an impactful experience for employees where they leave feeling renewed and ready to take on work not as a forceful task but as something they love to do everyday.
Make it interesting by encouraging them to ask questions, and have them fill out feedback forms so that you know if the seminars are helpful; suggestions too matter a great deal so give them options and have them tick what they feel is much-needed for them, and execute it pronto after scoring forms on options most chosen, including overall feedback.
Show Appreciation
Nothing boosts an employee’s spirit like a little appreciation from members of the management. Whether it is securing a major client/deal/partnership, winning an award, hitting a particular mark in sales/viewership and so on, team/individual effort should be given due credit. If it’s a major achievement for the company, a little gift or dinner outing should be arranged depending on if it’s an individual/team result.
These ideas will help create a workplace that one would love to walk into every morning, as opposed to dreading work the following day. Companies need to do research on organizations that have a workforce that is in sync with what the organization expects from them, working as a united force with the management thus pushing the company towards success and growth.