Corporate icebreakers are steps taken by the management to ensure that employees within an organization do not feel neglected, have a good idea about who their colleagues are and also have a healthy working atmosphere. Some examples are mentioned here.
Corporate icebreakers sometimes become necessary in organizations that have new employees. They help to make the new employees feel welcomed and also help the old employees to get to know them better.
There are various things that can be done to ensure that there is no or minimal tension between employees of an organization. After all, it is this workforce which is responsible for the final output and the profit of the organization.
Hence, it becomes the responsibility of the management and the human resources department to ensure that there is no friction between employees. This is done by conducting activities and workshops that emphasize the importance of a co-operative and efficient workforce. Here are some corporate icebreakers that do not involve long slide shows or presentations.
Make a Friend
The need for corporate icebreakers arises because people within an organization either don't know each other very well, because they're new to the organization, or simply because they can't seem to get along with each other. Here's an activity that you can conduct within your organization, to make the 'knowing' each other process a little simpler.
Write down the names of all the employees on chits. Keep different departments separate. Have everyone pick out one name. The employee must find that person, and spend one hour every day with that person, getting to know him or her better.
Simple things like hobbies, talents, tastes in food, music, books, etc. can be discovered and by the end of the exercise (you can give any time period), everyone would have made a new friend.
Build a Team
Corporate team building activities are another great way to break the ice between new employees or different departments within an organization.
You can plan out tasks, games, assignments, etc. by making teams of people from different departments. Try and put maximum people who don't know each other together in a team.
This way, when you give them tasks, they'll have to communicate with each other and get to know each other, and collectively come up with the final results. They'll not only get well acquainted with each other, they'll also learn a lot about team spirit and team management.
Play Games
What could be more fun to get people mingling with each other than playing some good old games! Involve everyone from the organization and play some games which will help to get to know everyone a little better. Here's one example.
You can have everyone introduce themselves one by one with their name, and by saying two sentences about themselves. One of these sentences must be a lie ad the other must be a truth.
The people in the crowd should guess which of the two sentences is the truth and which one is the lie. It'll be a fun game and you'll have people laughing and getting to know things about each other that they never thought were possible.
Have a Party
Here's another tried and tested way to ensure that there is some healthy mingling of employees with each other. Announce a party for the entire organization. Have it at a venue outside the office and make it a theme party if you like.
Ask everyone to dress up according to the theme. Ask them all to introduce themselves and what they're dressed up as. Have some music and dance, some great food and then announce the winner of a 'best dressed male and female' that you had 'secretly' scheduled. You'll find that people will begin to relax, enjoy and also make new friends.
Use any or all of these icebreakers from time to time and your employees will not only get to meet new people, they'll also be reassured that the management is taking proactive measures to make sure that the employees are comfortable and have a favorable work environment.