Team Building


Recreate Famous Artwork


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Description At the height of the pandemic, the J. Paul Getty Museum popularized this activity. It has continued to spark creativity ever since. The museum sent out a tweet asking people to recreate their favorite pieces of art using everyday household items. The images were shared via social media. Materials Common household itemsPrizes for 1st,…Full content with purchase

 

Find Your Perfect Match


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Description This fun on-site game is perfect for encouraging people to mingle and get to know each other while completing the challenge. Materials A small gift for all participants Directions A few days before Customer Service Week begins, create a list of perfect food pairings. Write each item on a separate sheet of paper. As…Full content with purchase

 

Minute to Win It


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Description Minute to Win It challenges are perfect for on-site teams. They are quick, fun to complete, fun to watch, and there are endless possibilities. As in the TV show, individuals or teams will complete challenges in under one minute. Materials Timers, watches, or phones with a stop-watch functionPrizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place…Full content with purchase

 

Packing Peanut Art


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Description When we ship Customer Service Week materials, we use a lot of packing peanuts. That's because we want to be sure that everything arrives in good condition. One of our long-time customers was looking for a fun and creative way to use the peanuts and shared this idea. Materials Packing peanuts WaterPrizes for 1st,…Full content with purchase

 

Meme Contest (Remote ready)


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Description A Meme contest lets individuals share their sense of humor and everyone share a good natured laugh. Materials See links listed below. Directions This activity is based on the Make Your Own Meme Contest at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. With a few simple steps, it will be a success in virtually any…Continue reading

 

Mad Tips or Service Mad Libs (Remote ready)

Description

Everyone knows and loves Mad Libs. Now you can play our customer service focused Mad Tips. They’re just as much fun but with a service twist. Use Mad Tips to start a training session, during an informal get together or anytime your group is ready for a good-humored laugh.

Materials

Mad Tip Sheet – New Team Member
Mad Tip Sheet – Customer Experience
A small gift for each participant to take away

Directions

This activity works best with teams of six to eight participants. Have each team arrange their chairs in a circle or around a conference table. Give one person the Mad Tips sheet and a pencil. This person is the team leader. Choosing an outgoing person for this role will add to the fun.

Next, the team leader will go around the circle and ask each person to fill in one of the blanks. The leader must not give any clues.

When the Mad Tip sheet has been completed the team leader will read the resulting service story aloud.

Remote Tip

Dispersed teams can easily complete this activity using a video conferencing tool such as Zoom, Webex, or Google Hangouts.

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Split Personality (Remote ready)

Description

This witty activity was developed by a customer service manager. Her goal was to help team members get to know each other while working from home.

This activity requires Zoom or another collaboration platform.

Materials

None

Directions

Select a date for the activity. Ask reps to dress with special care on that day. They should dress in appropriate office attire on the top and for a hobby or favorite activity on the bottom.

Next, call on each person individually to stand up and describe what they are wearing.

Reps will learn about each other’s interests and perhaps find some common ground. 

Discussion

Were you surprised by any of the split personalities in our group?

Has this sparked interest in trying a new activity yourself?

This activity suggests that we don’t have to be all business all of the time. How do you find balance between work and hobbies?

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Count Off (Remote ready)

Description

This activity was adapted from the classic activity book, The Big Book of Virtual Teambuilding Games.

In this activity, participants focus on communication skills and try to avoid talking over each other. The game can be played with local teams, remote teams, or hybrid teams via phone or collaboration platform.

As the group struggles to stop talking over each other, they may realize that they need a system, such as speaking in alphabetical order by last name.

Some groups will come to this realization and decide on a plan. Others will not.

Materials

None

Directions

The challenge is for the team to count up to the number of people on the team. For example, a team of 10 needs to count from one to 10. If two team members speak at the same time, the team starts from the beginning. When this happens, a different person must start the count-off.

Discussion

Questions for groups that choose to collaborate:
How did you come to the decision to collaborate?
What became possible once you made the decision to work together?

Questions for groups that do not collaborate:
Why did you choose not to collaborate?
Was it a conscious choice or did it not occur to you?
What would have been possible if you had decided to work together?

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Household Scavenger Hunt (Remote ready)

Description

In this scavenger hunt, remote staff will compete to collect all of the items, snap a photo, and share with the entire team. This fun activity is so quick and easy you can host a new scavenger hunt each day of Customer Service Week.

Materials

None

Directions

This activity can be used over the course of one to five days.

For a five day activity, compile five lists of items to be collected, or use the sample lists below. The lists should include items commonly found in the home along with one or two tricky items.

Distribute the daily list via email or a collaboration platform and ask reps to share photos showing all of the items that they collect.

Photos should be displayed online for all to see. The real fun comes when people realize what they have in common, “We have the same shirt” and what’s different, “Where did you find that rotary phone?”

The winner is the person to find the most items over the course of the scavenger hunt.

Sample

Here are two sets of sample scavenger hunt items:

Day 1
Elephant
Hawaiian style shirt
Seashell
Spice that starts with the letter M
Wedding photo
Day 1
Something in Customer Service Week blue
The softest thing you own
Something smaller than a penny
Something with two ears
Flowers or flour
Day 2
Cast iron skillet
Feather
Mercury thermometer
Ribbon
Rotary phone
Day 2
Something in Customer Service Week berry
The last book you read
Something round
Something with four feet
Knight or night
Day 3
House plant
Record or video tape
Salt shaker
Slippers
Train
Day 3
Something in Customer Service Week goldenrod
Something sharp
Something that makes you smile
Something with a tail
Mail or male
Day 4
Polka dots
Postage stamp
Red food
Shell
Six pins
Day 4
Something a little bit country
Something fuzzy
The sweetest thing you have
Something with polka dots
Pear or a pair
Day 5
Ball
Funny socks
Happy Birthday
Pantry item with a 2018 expiration date (or older!)
Rock
Day 5
Something a little bit rock and roll
Something hot
Something older than you are
Something plaid
Son or sun

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