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Sometimes it's the simplest games that have the most amazing results.
Companies spend lots of money on off-site corporate events, like week-long team building activities or bonding retreats. And while these activities can be helpful in many ways, a cost-effective way to draw a team together is through office games.
Sometimes it's the simplest games that have the most amazing results. While office games are often seen as counter-productive, that's not the case. Offices can sometimes beteeming with competition and natural tension. So, a mix of fun, collaboration and creativity can help you build stronger bonds with your colleagues - the kind of bonds that make great teams.
This article will explore fun office games to improve collaboration, team spirit and encourage team building.
First, ensure that it's an environment that people enjoy. You can do this by providing adequate lighting and plenty of space for people to move around. Fresh flowers or plants around the office also make it feel less like a sterile workplace and more homely.
Second, consider creating a volunteer program where employees can work together on projects for charity organizations or causes they're passionate about. These activities will allow employees an opportunity to bond over shared interests while also helping out others at the same time.
Third, create opportunities for employees to meet outside of meetings, such as having a game room or a lounge area with fun things they can do during their breaks or lunch hours. There can also be designated days for fun office games.
These will help them bond as a team and create stronger connections with each other outside of work hours as well.
Office games help with morale, team building, and engagement because they allow employees to bond, have fun, and get to know each other. When your team works in an office together, there's not a lot of opportunity for casual interaction and some quick fun office games.
The workday is full of emails, meetings, and conference calls—and not much else. But when you add a little friendly competition aka fun games into the mix, it can help keep things fresh and exciting at work. That's why we think office games are so important! It might tough to do board games but these office games will be easy to do for small groups and boost morale.
They help foster teamwork and camaraderie by getting employees out of their comfort zones and encouraging them to interact with each other in new ways. They can even serve as icebreakers that build meaningful relationships.
When you play an office game with your coworkers, you need to think creatively about how to win, making it easier for everyone involved to see their colleagues' strengths and weaknesses.
It also builds trust between teammates by showing them how they can rely on each other when necessary.
And finally, office games are just plain fun! They provide opportunities for laughter and playfulness that might not exist otherwise in such an environment as an office space where people spend most of the time working.
Ready to keep your team connected? Here are ten office games to get you started:
The concept behind escape games is simple: Team members are locked in a room and have to figure out how to get out. They’ll have clues and prompts and have to rely on each other.
It's a great way to develop problem-solving skills and build trust among team members.
Taboo is another classic game requiring participants to get their teammates to guess words by describing them without using certain words or phrases on a list provided by the leader (or moderator).
This game is great for building teamwork skills because it makes players think on their feet and communicate clearly with one another.
If you're trying to come up with new ideas for ways to connect with your co-workers, this game is for you.
A scavenger hunt usually involves an objective like finding specific items or solving puzzles, then taking pictures of those items or solving puzzles while completing the goal.
The aim is to prove that you completed it correctly before moving on to the next clue/item/puzzle. This continues until the end goal is reached or time runs out!
This is a fun team-building activity because it gets everyone involved differently: some may solve puzzles while others work on collecting items; some may draw pictures while others take photos.
This is another game you might have played with your friends as a kid, but it works equally well in the office setting.
You'll need some photos of famous people for this one, but you can find them online if you don't want to print them. Each person gets a picture of their celebrity and has five seconds to describe them to their partner without saying the name. And the partner will try to guess.
If nobody guesses correctly by the end of five minutes, the next round begins with new celebrities until somebody gets one right!
Another classic game for groups of any size is Pictionary. It is a fun way to connect with your colleagues more personally than you might otherwise get to know them.
The goal is to draw pictures that match words on cards, but it's not as easy as it sounds!
Teams work together to create funny drawings representing each word on their cards. Then they show the other groups the artwork to try and guess what they’re trying to depict.
This game will help your team bond over funny moments while strengthening communication skills that will enable them to work better together.
It's one of the most popular games in the world, and it's easy to see why. The rules are simple: Teams must build a device that can protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a height of 3 feet.
It’s even more fun when teams add some inventive twists.
For example, teams can have materials to use or not use. There can also be rules that make it more challenging, like "use only one piece of tape" or "no glue allowed."
This is an excellent game for colleagues because it requires teamwork, brainstorming and creative thinking. As they work on designs, they will learn more about each other’s strengths and weaknesses, leading to stronger working relationships within the group.
Charades is a fun and easy game that anyone can play and enjoy.
The goal of the game is to guess what other team members are trying to convey through gestures or facial expressions.
It's a good icebreaker for new teams who need to get acquainted and can be played anywhere.
Participants gather together in a circle or a line, and the starting player whispers a phrase or short sentence to the next person to their left. The 'whispering' continues with each person telling the next person what they heard. And it continues until the message has gone the whole length of the 'telephone line'.
The last participant then announces what they believe the previous person told them. And the inaccuracy of the phrase is traced back. The person who distorted the phrase leaves the game while the rest of the team continues till there are 2 participants left.
Broken Telephone encourages accurate communication and requires focus. It can go from intense to funny in minutes and is a great way to have fun while sharpening listening skills.
Drawing in the dark is a variation of the Pictionary game. This game is a great way to build trust among the teammates.
Divide team members into several groups of 2's. Each group of partners then sit back to back while drawing what their partner is telling them.
One person has an (unknown) object. The other is given a notepad and a pencil.
The person with the object then starts to describe the item without saying what it is. While the person with a notepad draws the object based solely on the partner's description.
Eventually, they'll review the outcome, and the duo with the most accurate drawing gets a score.
To begin, decide what kind of questions employees may be interested in or familiar with. Making it themed can suffice as holiday/Christmas games or just team-building games for the office.
You can divide office members into teams, with each team having the opportunity to answer a question correctly.
Several rounds can serve as the elimination rounds until two teams are left. Then, there's a finale to pick the winner. The last team standing can call eliminated people for help to make it more fun.
This game encourages employees to know more about each other and promotes communication skills. Each team member should present three statements about themselves; two are true, and one is a lie. The team guesses which one is a lie. The last person guessing correctly becomes the next one to share their statements.
Everyone in the office brings a baby picture of themselves, and all the members will try to guess who's who. This fun game promotes bonding and teamwork and provides lots of laughs.
Begin with a sentence, and the next person continues the story, adding their sentence. This continues until everyone has contributed to the story. It's an excellent team building activity, encouraging creativity and cooperation.
Set up an indoor obstacle course using office supplies. Two teams compete against each other, with the winning team being the one that completes the course in the fastest time. This game promotes teamwork and offers a fun challenge.
Create trivia games based on the company culture, processes, or industry-related information. Divide the office into several teams, and the team with the highest points wins. This game boosts morale and fosters a sense of team competition.
This classic party game is also a quick fun office game. When the music stops, the last person to find a chair is out. This game provides a fun way to promote team spirit.
If you have a ping pong table, organize a tournament during the lunch break. It’s a fun game that promotes a healthy competition and can serve as an excellent team building activity.
Small groups compete to raise the most money or supplies for a charity of their choice within a time limit. This encourages teamwork and gives back to the community.
For a hybrid team, send identical puzzles to each team member. Set a timer and see who can complete the puzzle first. This game encourages communication skills and provides fun challenges for remote teams.
Use a trash can as the basket and crumpled paper balls as the basketball. Divide employees into two teams, and the team with the highest points wins. This game is a fun way to encourage teamwork and provide a playful break.
When out of ideas, you can’t go wrong with contests. They can be as simple as having a best-dressed contest day or a more thought-out event like a Halloween outfit contest.
You can use the Halloween Costume Contest Flow to source the best pictures from your team and find a winner.
Another fun contest to spice up the Christmas season at work is the ugly sweater contest. And the Ugly Sweater Contest Flow can help determine the ugliest sweaters for the team!
Office games are a great way to bring team members together to have fun at work. But not all games are created equal. Some games will help you build trust, improve communication and strengthen relationships, while others may make you feel like you’re back in high school. So, while this list isn’t extensive of office party games, it’s a great place to start if you’re looking to shake things up at your office.
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Yes, at Assembly, security is a top priority. Each quarter, we have ongoing security work that is everyone’s responsibility. While we maintain a strong security posture, it was important for us to prove to our customers that we do everything we claim to do. This led us to pursue a SOC 2 Type II report that would provide evidence of our compliance with industry gold-standard security practice.
There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.
Yes, we will offer contracts for companies with longer-term agreements to help larger customers have more certainty around future costs.
The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.
We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.
At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.
The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.
We offer discounts or educational or charitable organizations. In order to secure a discount, you'll first need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
For all other organizations, we are willing to consider longer-term agreements in exchange for discounts. To set up annual plans or longer, you will need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a month to month plan, you can go here and cancel anytime. If you're having concerns or need help setting up your account for success, you can always book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a longer-term custom plan, you'll need to reach out to your customer support specialist to cancel your account or email us at support@joinassembly.com.
Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!
While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.
Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.
Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.
That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.
They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.
No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.
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