Fun Activities
Free Ideas, activities and office toys to add FUN to customer service training, meeting planning or to any day!
The Top Ten Reasons To Add Fun To Work.
1. Increase employee morale
2. Motivate employees to new heights
3. Spark creativity
4. Strengthen teamwork
5. Facilitate open communication
6. Minimize stress levels
7. Reduce employee turnover and absenteeism rates
8. Improve trust between management and employees
9. Offer dynamic customer service
10. Improve productivity
Spring Energizer
Break people into groups. Give each group a piece of flip chart
paper and give them two minutes to brainstorm all the words that
come to mind when you think of spring. Examples: warm, flowers,
renewal, growth, fresh, flowers, birds, blue sky, etc,
Once the two minutes are up, give them 7-10 minutes to make up a
story about the training program (meeting purpose or unit function
such as customer service) using all the words on the flip chart.
They should select one person to record the group's story and then,
going around the room, have each group read their story out loud.
As an alternative you can have the participants illustrate their
story.
Give away office toys for prizes. Another great activity to do with
any customer service training program.
How about a Halloween Scavenger Hunt?
Scavenger hunts are very popular at Halloween. It gives guests an opportunity to get involved, get up off their butts and have fun!
These tips are meant to provide ideas for your own scary scavenger hunt.
Pick a Theme
Brainstorm all of the scary things that surround Halloween. Things like ghosts, witches, and vampires. Then brainstorm all of the things you could put on the scavenger list. You will find that this step will help you eliminate themes that would limit your ability to put enough things on the list to gather!
Break into Teams
We suggest that you divide people up into teams before you ever begin. Choosing team members take too much time. If it's your hunt so choose teams and just announce them. Have each team select a name for their team.
Set Boundaries
Unless you're going crazy with this we suggest that you set boundary lines. Decide if your hunt should be confined to the office/house and make sure everyone knows the boundaries. If your having a party that includes outside set how far people can go.
Tell EVERYONE what is going on
If your scavenger hunt is only for your team, tell other divisions leaders in your office what is going on so it doesn't look like a bunch of crazy people wandering around. If your having it at a house, make sure the neighbors know if people will be going outside your yard.
Add Drama
Encourage masks, costumes and props. Make it exciting by holding your hunt at night. We have very cool flashlights you can give your guests/employees to use. You can also give each team a Halloween bag or sack to use to put their items in - yes, we have those too! You can be creative and even decorate a pillowcase for them for the holidays - or have another event doing that.
Record the Event
With the ease of using digital cameras these days it is fun to take pictures of your teams. Chances are good that someone on each team will have a cell phone with a camera they can use. So you can put that a specific item has to be photographed. If you really feel ambitious and creative you can make a scrapbook with the pictures you receive back from the hunt.
Award Prizes
Have a Spooktacular Award Ceremony. What you want to award prizes for is entirely up to you. If you have a hard list you might want a really fun prize for the winners. It's also fun to have little trinkets to give away for everyone.
by Nancy Magsig
This is a fun and easy way for learners to practice what they’ve been learning. To prepare, you’ll need to create the “game board” on the floor of the room. Create a grid on the floor using tape (masking or painter’s tape work well) that has four columns and five rows. You can adjust the number of squares depending on how long you want the game to last. The fewer the squares, the shorter the game. Just make sure the squares are large enough for an adult to stand in.
Next, divide the class into teams. This works well for 2 – 4 teams. Ask each team to designate a “game piece”. That person will be the one to physically move around the board. The rest of the team, with input from the “game piece”, will be responsible for rolling the dice and answering the questions.
The goal of the game is to see who can move through the board most quickly. To start the game, ask the first team a question. If they answer correctly, they roll the dice and their “game piece” takes that many steps forward on the board. The “game piece” will stand on that square until their next turn. If the team doesn’t answer correctly, they lose their turn. Each team takes turns answering questions, rolling the dice and moving in a zigzag pattern around the board until the winning team has moved completely through the board.
Some fun twists:
- Use large, foam dice so that they can
be thrown on the floor, for everyone to see. To purchase dice
large dice, click here now.
- If a team misses a question, let the
other teams try to answer. The first team to get the correct
answer gets to take the turn of the team that missed the
question.
- If someone lands on an occupied
square, they get to send the person who was first on the square
back to the starting line. Just like in Parcheesi.
-
More Fun At Work Ideas
by Nancy Magsig
Be a role model. Make it a point to smile, laugh and be relaxed. But . . . "I don't FEEL like smiling!" Sorry, but it's an important part of your job. Set a positive tone even if you have to act!
Post the "word of the day". The Merriam Webster dictionary site will send you a new word each day, along with the definition. But why you might ask? Because it's easy, free, fast and lets people learn and is a change of pace.
Sweeten
things up - create a communal candy bowl in a common area. But . .
.if people complain "There's no budget for it and everyone is on a
diet." Spring for sugarless candy. If you don't hear it
go for the big bag of mixed candy at your discount store.
Give out for the First day of School
Here is a simple treat to make: Take lucky charms cereal and put it in a little plastic bag. Attach a little cut out piece of paper that has this little saying:
A yellow star - to remind you to always shine!
A pot of gold - to remind you that you are worth a million!
A colorful rainbow - to remind you to promise to always do your best.
A blue moon - to remind you that once in a while, we all make mistakes, and that's okay!
A green clover - to give you good luck as you begin a new year!
A purple horseshoe - to remind you that U matter.
A red balloon - to remind you to soar above the clouds and try new things!
And most of all - a pink heart to remind you that we care about you!
Treasure Maps
Bury hidden treasure and provide treasure maps that provide hints where your treasure is hidden. Our squeezies make great hidden treasure but we can also provide treasure chests full of treasure for you. If you need help with creating a treasure map our in-house artist can create one for you!
Make Your Own Poster Contest
Distribute flip chart paper to each team. This is a
great addition to any customer service training program. Have them
create a poster that represents caring customer service (or whatever
subject you may be in class for such as effective coaching, caring
leadership, etc.
Hang the posters in a common area such as the cafeteria or a common
hall way. Invite all employees to come visit the "Customer Service
Gallery."
To add excitement either appoint judges to choose the best or let
all employees vote. Award prizes to the winning team.
Word Search Puzzles
Distribute various word search puzzles to use
throughout the day. Use ours or create your own. Keep checking back
~ We add more all the time!
Collages
Materials: This is a great activity for any Customer Service
Training Process. Get a lot of old magazines, company publications,
trade journals, etc., scissors, glue and poster board. Hint: Several
weeks a head of time ask several people to save magazines and trade
journals for you. Give a stack to each team to find pictures and
words that represent customer service or whatever topic you want,
and cut them out.
Encourage them to find colorful pictures, they
just look better!
Instruct the teams or groups of individuals to find pictures, words
and phrases that represent customer service. They should cut them
out and glue them onto poster board and make a collage of customer
service related items. A tip of judging a good collage is one that
has the right pictures and words but they should not have any poster
board showing. Everything should be covered.
If you want to keep the collages to display cover them with
Modge Podge that you can get at your local craft store.
Customer Service Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of items each team must find. (During National
Customer Service Week use service related items to add to the
excitement! These can be a combination of answers they must look up
about the company and/or it's work process and fun items that they
can find around the office.) The more creative you are the more fun
it will be.
This is a great idea for National Customer Service Week or a good
activity for any customer service training.
Balloons
Balloons indicate something special is going to happen. Make
arrangements to get in before every one else (if that is possible)
and tie a balloon onto each persons chair. Watch their faces light
up as they come into work that day.
We sell a variety of balloons as a custom orders. Cute mylar shapes
and all colors of latex balloons that you can have imprinted. Custom
orders have minimum requirements. Let us know what your occasion is
and we'll do the rest!
Office Toys
Of course at Business FUNdamentals we think office toys should be a
part of everyone's life every day! If you're having fun, things
always seem to go a little smoother and life is more enjoyable
overall. Every time you laugh it makes you feel a little better. We
can help you select office toys that are just right for any
occasion. If you need assistance we're always here to help.
Hearts or M & M's
A cute icebreaker or energizer for meetings held around Valentine's
day. Get little boxes of heart candies.
Pass them around and ask
everyone to take a least one. Also tell them that they can take as
many as they like. When the package makes it back to you tell them
that they have to tell the group what each one says and they have to
say one thing about themselves for each heart they took. i.e. if you
take one heart you read it and tell the group one thing about
yourself. If you take 5 hearts you have to read each one and tell
the group 5 things about yourself. It's a funny icebreaker. Until
Valentine's day you can use M & M's!
Cookies
Here are two ways to liven up an afternoon at the office. Read
and/or Hand out excerpt from All I Ever Need to Know I Learned in
Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum at 3:00 and serve milk and cookies
one day of the week. Great activity for national customer service
week or do during any customer service training program.
Hand out little bags of cookies and The Cookie Thief Story to
demonstrate there is more way to look at things. Great addition to
use with the Three Views of Reality Card in Dealing A Winning
Service Hand our Customer Service Training Program.
Your Recipe For Creating PMCE's
(Positive Memorable Customer Experience - an
AchieveGlobal term used in their training programs.)
1 Heaping Cup of smiles
1 Pleasant Greeting
2 Generous Tablespoons of "How may I help you."
3 Cups of Prepared Questions
2 Firmly Packed Cups of Listening
1 Large Package of Warm Empathy
1/2 Dozen Options
1 Pleasant Closing
Set aside 2 tablespoons of smiles for garnishing. Take the remaining
cup of smiles and blend them with your pleasant greeting. Next,
gently pour in the "How may I help you's." Then, fold in your
prepared questions along with the listening. Delicately combine the
warm empathy along with the 1/2 dozen options. Mix well. Top off
with a pleasant closing and evenly sprinkle remaining smiles.
Serve to your customers and repeat.
Click here for a recipe that is ready to print.
We picked this card up at an AchieveGlobal conference a few years
ago. It came on a 5 X 7 recipe card typed up just like a recipe. It
says "Recipe from the kitchen of JDC" on the top. We're packrats and
save everything!
For all you AG facilitators this is for you!
Here are some suggestions how to frame some of our popular Office Toys
Bendeez
- Reminder to be flexible.
Puzzles - Thanks for helping us keep all the pieces together or you
are an important piece of our puzzle.
Slinkys of all kinds - To help
you spring back.
Smile Bubble Groan Hammers - To remind you to keep a smile on your
face.
Bendy to remind you that you can hear a smile in your voice.
Cake
Go to your local bakery and have them make a special sheet cake(s) for you. Most bakeries have balloons or confetti cake decorations that will fit nicely with any celebration. If you are using a theme have them write your theme on the cake.
Awards
When timing is right you can give out awards to your best customers and/or employees. We make all kinds of specialized little trophies customized with blue ribbons and award cards starting at $5.00 each. We also have trophies, plaques and ribbons and a variety of other promotional products to fit any need.Create PMCE Place Mats
PMCE - is AchieveGlobal term meaning Positive Memorable Customer
Experiences. It is a term they use in their Customer Service
Training Program.
Here is one to use as a guide. This PMCE place mat was developed by
Claire Winterton (An AchieveGlobal Master Certified Trainer). If you
select the images above you should be able to print a pdf version of
this placemat.
Splurge and order Pepperoni, Mushroom , Cheese and Everything Pizza
to serve on them.
Hold a Talent Show
Remember the talent shows when you were a kid? They are a lot of fun
and provide great entertainment. Announce the talent show and have
people sign up. Select a time - such as lunch where they will be
able to show their talent. This is a great way to see what other
talents your colleagues have. It's a lot of fun to get to see the
human side of the people we work with all day. Encourage management
to participate too.
Paper Bag Dramatics
Materials needed: Lunch size paper bags. (You can find these at the
grocery store in packages.) Feathers, colored paper, sequins, roll
around eyes, pipe cleaners - just a variety of stuff they can use to
decorate the Paper Bag. Instruct the individuals or teams to
construct the best paper bag puppet. Have them give it a name and
provide a venue for them to be displayed. You can combine this with
the skit and hold a Customer Service Puppet Show.
Ice Cream Social
Hold an Ice Cream Social. If large companies have cafeterias that
serve ice cream you can coordinate this with them. If not, catering
and vending companies provide this service. Have it in the middle of
the afternoon and try to keep it a secret so it's really a surprise!
Hold a Mr. or Ms. Customer Service Contest
Have employees nominate people for Mr. or Ms. Customer Service,
other categories can include: Most Reliable, Most Helpful, or
whatever best suits your work place. Give Certificates as a reward.
We can custom design them for you with a minimum of 25 total
certificates.
Confetti
Go ahead, make every one think your a little crazy! We have a
variety of different types of confetti available through our
promotional products division. An important note: Be sure to get the
okay from management before proceeding. Have all the supervisors or
managers decide on a time to go through the unit spreading confetti
(this should make the cleaning crew very happy too). Come up with a
slogan or what you will say. Go ahead be bold - skip through the
aisles showering everyone with confetti and playing the song
"Celebrate good times, come on . . . "
This is a fun way to start a meeting too!
Hats
We have your standard ball caps and beach caps but what about pirate
hats, sailor hats, cowboy hats, feather hats, psychedelic wigs,
rainbow spikes, halos, clowns & jesters, top hats, animal hats, hats
with hair. We can special order them all for you.
Standard ball caps
are priced according to options. Some of the fancy hats do have
minimums. Call us at 1-877-681-2410 or send email. Let us know what
you're interested in and we can provide price quotes.
Streamers
Use paper streamers to throw when awarding prizes for the best skit,
collage, paper bag puppet show, etc.
Design Your Own Tee Shirt
We have hundreds of different makes of clothing in our promotional
products section. Click here now to see a sample. Let us custom make
T-Shirts, Polo Shirts, Ball Caps, Bags, Jean Shirts, Jackets, you
name it we can do it! Imprinted clothing does have minimum order
requirements.
The price varies by item so please contact us for details. We can
assist with art development too!
Beach Balls
Beach balls are fun and fairly safe to bounce around the office. You
can have contests with them to see who can keep it floating the
longest. These are a great gift for any summer conference. We can
have them imprinted for you too. Or you can use our Beach ball
Squeezie.
Bubbles
We carry smiley bubble pens as a standard stock item. We have
bubbles that we can imprint your slogan or logo on the label too and
we have many bubble pens available as a custom order. Send email if
you're interested.
Fresh Cut Flowers
Make arrangements with a local florist to have one flower delivered
for each person in the office. Then you can have management
distribute a carnation or, if you really want to spring for it, give
a rose to each person in honor of special occasions.
Halloween Howl
Have a Call Center Masquerade Party. Have everyone dress up in
costume. You can pick a theme and give small office toys prizes for
the best costume, the most scary, the best interpretation of your
theme, etc. Serve fun Halloween Treats Click here now for Halloween
recipes and ideas. Give out word puzzles: Here's one:
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/events/HalloweenFind.asp
Thanksgiving Ideas
Q: Why did the Pilgrims want to sail to America in the spring?
A: Because April showers bring May flowers!
Curious about the history of Thanksgiving? Here's a good summary of
the Pilgrim's first feast as well as the actual year the annual
celebration began.
Click here now to go there. You will find the
history of several holidays here.
Curious about Thanksgiving Recipes? There are a ton of them on the
Internet however we're Food TV fans so we go there.
Click here now.
Interested in trivia to use in your next customer service training
program? Try our Trivia Games or make up your own! Do you want more?
Here's a site with all kinds of trivia.
Click here now.
Mouse Pads and other Promotional
Products
We have a variety of mouse pads and other promotional products
available. Call and let us know what you are looking for. This is a
great way to remind employees about key learning concepts all year
through. Hide all the items around the office then pass out the
hints and have individuals or teams go around an find everything. If
you are prepared and don't go overboard with number of items in the
hunt, the whole activity from beginning to end should take about 20
minutes. Scavenger hunts are a fun way for individuals in training
to find out where things are in the office. You can add items such
as: a signature from a manager, supplies they may need in a regular
day, a fact about the companies history, a definition they have to
look up, a fact off your Intranet, etc. They can learn while having
fun!
Most of all, always have FUN!
Use paper streamers to throw when awarding prizes for the best skit,
collage, paper bag puppet show, etc.
Design Your Own Tee Shirt
We have hundreds of different makes of clothing in our promotional
products section. Click here now to see a sample. Let us custom make
T-Shirts, Polo Shirts, Ball Caps, Bags, Jean Shirts, Jackets, you
name it we can do it! Imprinted clothing does have minimum order
requirements.
The price varies by item so please contact us for details. We can
assist with art development too!
Beach Balls
Beach balls are fun and fairly safe to bounce around the office. You
can have contests with them to see who can keep it floating the
longest. These are a great gift for any summer conference. We can
have them imprinted for you too. Or you can use our Beach ball
Squeezie.
Bubbles
We carry smiley bubble pens as a standard stock item. We have
bubbles that we can imprint your slogan or logo on the label too and
we have many bubble pens available as a custom order. Send email if
you're interested.
Fresh Cut Flowers
Make arrangements with a local florist to have one flower delivered
for each person in the office. Then you can have management
distribute a carnation or, if you really want to spring for it, give
a rose to each person in honor of special occasions.
Halloween Howl
Have a Call Center Masquerade Party. Have everyone dress up in
costume. You can pick a theme and give small office toys prizes for
the best costume, the most scary, the best interpretation of your
theme, etc. Serve fun Halloween Treats Click here now for Halloween
recipes and ideas. Give out word puzzles: Here's one:
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/events/HalloweenFind.asp
Thanksgiving Ideas
Q: Why did the Pilgrims want to sail to America in the spring?
A: Because April showers bring May flowers!
Curious about the history of Thanksgiving? Here's a good summary of
the Pilgrim's first feast as well as the actual year the annual
celebration began.
Click here now to go there. You will find the
history of several holidays here.
Curious about Thanksgiving Recipes? There are a ton of them on the
Internet however we're Food TV fans so we go there.
Click here now.
Interested in trivia to use in your next customer service training
program? Try our Trivia Games or make up your own! Do you want more?
Here's a site with all kinds of trivia.
Click here now.
Mouse Pads and other Promotional
Products
We have a variety of mouse pads and other promotional products
available. Call and let us know what you are looking for. This is a
great way to remind employees about key learning concepts all year
through. Hide all the items around the office then pass out the
hints and have individuals or teams go around an find everything. If
you are prepared and don't go overboard with number of items in the
hunt, the whole activity from beginning to end should take about 20
minutes. Scavenger hunts are a fun way for individuals in training
to find out where things are in the office. You can add items such
as: a signature from a manager, supplies they may need in a regular
day, a fact about the companies history, a definition they have to
look up, a fact off your Intranet, etc. They can learn while having
fun!
Most of all, always have FUN!
We have hundreds of different makes of clothing in our promotional products section. Click here now to see a sample. Let us custom make T-Shirts, Polo Shirts, Ball Caps, Bags, Jean Shirts, Jackets, you name it we can do it! Imprinted clothing does have minimum order requirements.
The price varies by item so please contact us for details. We can assist with art development too!
Beach balls are fun and fairly safe to bounce around the office. You can have contests with them to see who can keep it floating the longest. These are a great gift for any summer conference. We can have them imprinted for you too. Or you can use our Beach ball Squeezie.
We carry smiley bubble pens as a standard stock item. We have bubbles that we can imprint your slogan or logo on the label too and we have many bubble pens available as a custom order. Send email if you're interested.
Fresh Cut FlowersMake arrangements with a local florist to have one flower delivered for each person in the office. Then you can have management distribute a carnation or, if you really want to spring for it, give a rose to each person in honor of special occasions.
Have a Call Center Masquerade Party. Have everyone dress up in costume. You can pick a theme and give small office toys prizes for the best costume, the most scary, the best interpretation of your theme, etc. Serve fun Halloween Treats Click here now for Halloween recipes and ideas. Give out word puzzles: Here's one: http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/events/HalloweenFind.asp
A: Because April showers bring May flowers!
Curious about the history of Thanksgiving? Here's a good summary of the Pilgrim's first feast as well as the actual year the annual celebration began. Click here now to go there. You will find the history of several holidays here.
Curious about Thanksgiving Recipes? There are a ton of them on the Internet however we're Food TV fans so we go there. Click here now.
Interested in trivia to use in your next customer service training program? Try our Trivia Games or make up your own! Do you want more? Here's a site with all kinds of trivia. Click here now.
Mouse Pads and other Promotional Products
We have a variety of mouse pads and other promotional products
available. Call and let us know what you are looking for. This is a
great way to remind employees about key learning concepts all year
through. Hide all the items around the office then pass out the
hints and have individuals or teams go around an find everything. If
you are prepared and don't go overboard with number of items in the
hunt, the whole activity from beginning to end should take about 20
minutes. Scavenger hunts are a fun way for individuals in training
to find out where things are in the office. You can add items such
as: a signature from a manager, supplies they may need in a regular
day, a fact about the companies history, a definition they have to
look up, a fact off your Intranet, etc. They can learn while having
fun!
Most of all, always have FUN!