This will make the game more challenging. Then, instruct them to arrange themselves according to some sort of sortable category. - What do you value in a team? Make sure everyone writes their names down! Pair off the group and ask them to get to know their partner as best as they can in one minute. During weekly video chats, you can designate one coworker to teach the team how to engage in a hobby theyre good at something you dont need to be in-person to do. Consider reaching out to managers from other departments and creating groups of employees who don't often get to work together. Talent show 2. Looking for a specific type of ice breaker? You can listen in on our trailer below or learn more about Will There Be Food? Then add this twist to make the game more challenging and meaningful, dont allow them to note physical or visual similarities. First impressions are important since they establish the basis for everything that follows.. Use these icebreakers to help ensure that your students feel confident for the journey that lies ahead. Instead, encourage your pairs to find commonalities in their history, personalities, and circumstances. January 05, 2023. Office tour. Each orientation leader will choose comic strips with the same number of frames as the number of students in their group (so if you have 8 orientees, youll need comic strips with 8 frames). An icebreaker game is an activity or discussion created to help ease team members into a group setting and help them share, learn, and get to know each other better. See pricing, Marketing automation software. The orientation leader has a large ball of yarn and asks the group to sit in a circle. The person next in line repeats the last students statement and adds their own. Choose the categories youd like for the game, such as Animals, Long words, and Things with tails.. The best part players can dispute answers amongst each other to take the win. Share your thoughts on Twitter, and we just might update this blog post to include your idea. Once everyone has their three statements ready, one student will be picked to go first. Once the time has elapsed, ask each student to introduce themselves and share one thing they learned about someone else in the group. This continues until one of the lines is exhausted. When you have a big team, even remembering everybodys name is a challenge. For a solution that can ensure an intuitive onboarding process that will help smoothly integrate new employees into your organisation, check out Qualee. Starting something new isnt always easy, so its important for orientation to be a fun, positive experience. Have the group form a circle and toss a ball around the circle. Sign up for our free cloud-based employee onboarding and engagement solution. Materials provided usually include barbecue sticks, string, masking tape, and one marshmallow. Whether its remote meetings, in-person events, or hybrid workspaces, Poll Everywhere gives your audience a voice and delivers authentic feedback at scale. When that person catches the ball, ask them to read the question closest to their left thumb aloud and answer it once they are done, they pass it to another student. At the start of the meeting, give instructions for the pose team members should take (Silly? Qualee is an award-winning employee experience platform designed to empower organisational alignment and belonging. Icebreakers are doable on all types of teams small, large, and even virtual onboarding programs. Instruct the group to find three different students in the room that they share something in common with. Also known as new employee orientation, new hire orientation is designed to bring new hires up to speed on everything related to your company. Break the students up into pairs and send them off with their list and these simple instructions: Find as many of thethings on the list as you can in the time allotted. Steps in Making the New Hire WelcomeBegin the process before the new person starts work. Make sure that key coworkers know the employee is starting and encourage them to come to say "hello" before orientation begins. Assign a mentor or buddy, to show the new person around, make introductions, and start training. Start with the basics. More items The person next to them repeats that word, while also adding another word that somehow links to the first (like big hippo). Team members should drop their guess in the chat. just like regular RPS except with a few added features. However, you might also use the Pop Quiz as an opportunity to introduce participants to the meeting's theme. - What interest haven't you pursued, but have always wanted to and why? The instructions are simple, every group member will be randomly assigned a different person to draw in a couple minutes. Spooky? Tell them to think for a minute or two on the meetings topic. The skys the limit! To successfully loosen everyone up and get them in the right mindset for a meeting, you might consider putting a short Pop Quiz on the board. - The employee with the most amount of points wins. It provides a space for participants to bring their entire self to work and it gives the team context for how to support that team member that day," Perricone adds. Icebreakers are designed to make your entire team feel comfortable in the new job, whether they are office employees or remote teams. Set the two sub-groups up in a line facing each other. Of course, you want the topics to be fun and lighthearted, so keep them to topics that arent controversial and opt for statements like, Cheese isnt all that great. if youre a madman. Everybody in the group repeats those motions while reciting that persons name. Ask questions like which shows theyd rather watch, or be a part of. You or your teammate will share one bucket list item. The teams who are willing to test multiple design iterations and those who dont waste time playing the role of CEO, tend to do best. The real trick is for the leader to confuse players by giving fast Simon Says commands, then giving them a command without saying the keywords. For this icebreaker, have everyone on your team go around and share a word or phrase that represents how they feel that day. One of the first ways you get to greet somebody in the workplace is with a handshake. Disqus. Each student will introduce themselves by stating their name and a word within the theme that starts with the same letter of their name (i.e. Sign up to start creating engaging polls today. In this article we wanted to discuss how to get your employees engaged. Once everyone has their three clues, go around the group and have each student present their three clues for the group to guess where theyre from. This is repeated down the line. Its almost like a Team building activities can also help new hires better understand the organizations culture, values, and objectives. The last person must try to guess what the original prompt was. The list continues below read on to find fun icebreaker games, ice breakers for large teams, and more. This one takes a bit of planning in advance, as a heads-up! Ask the students to write down one or two adjectives about themselves on a sticker badge. Shuffle a deck of cards and hand out one card per student. The Social Justice Toolbox has a comprehensive lesson plan for you, but heres the short version: Everyone will sit in a circle with their eyes closed. Once everyone has their song in mind, have someone compile either a Youtube or Spotify playlist of everyones choices, and share the link with everyone in the group afterward. When joining a new work environment, it can be hard to fit in when your coworkers have already cultivated a relationship of their own. Doing this icebreaker is a great way to build connections remotely. The more nonsensical the prompt, the funnier the drawings become. If a team does either of these things, they are eliminated. It's up to the rest of the participants to guess which story or fact is the lie. Undoubtedly you'll get some of lesser importance, like "I bought a skateboard," but you never know what hidden skills you might discover in your colleagues. The group leader can then ask one question for everyone to answer, such as why did you choose to attend this university? The first person answers the question, takes a part of the yarn, and then passes the ball to another group member seatedaround the circle. At any point, the orientation leader can yell train wreck! and everyone must get up and move to a new seat. This game is a great way for people to find common ground with others, despite your teams larger size. This game can get funny pretty quickly, as a whisper down the lane can get misinterpreted over and over again. Whisper Down the Lane is an icebreaker game where team members form a larger circle and share a random message whispered into the ear of someone to their left. Their turn will begin, and they will share a new interest. Share the link from the URL bar with your colleagues. Ask which hero they would like to be and why based on their stories or abilities. Find common ground and get the conversation going with your team members. One by one, everyone will choose one word to draw, and the others will get to guess the word. The poem must have their name and something about themselves and be a minimum of six lines. Label the column on the left my traits, and label the column on the right my twins autograph.. Have everyone write a unique, strange, or unexpected fact about them on a piece of paper. Sometimes it may include an introduction from the CEO or The first person to get enough signatures in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) to traverse the board wins. However, there are several new employee orientation games that are even more fun with a big group. Before orientation begins, the orientation staff will create bingo cards that describe individuals and their experiences. Think again. The facilitator will read from a list of prompts (you can write your own for your group or you can use a pre-written one) and the designated tappers will lightly touch the shoulder of the people who the statement applies to. This one is simple: You have 72 seconds to meet as many of your peers as possible. While dispersed teams may not have the chance to share a handshake or hug, you can still share the love amongst each other in this icebreaker. In this icebreaker, youll first want to ask everyone involved if theyre comfortable having their photos taken before the meeting begins (I know Id like a heads up in case I was wearing an old band shirt instead of my usual business casual outfits.). Charades is a game fit for large teams, both in-person and remote. Make sure to take a selfie with the place or object in view! Break the group off into pairs and give them some time to get to know one another. This continues until eachperson has participated. Instructions Go to https://scattergoriesonline.net/new-game.xhtml. As some holidays have cultural ties, keep this icebreaker for more commercial holidays. Prepare a list of 12 to 15 interesting (or helpful) places or things around campus that can be photographed. Free and premium plans, Operations software. There are no rules when it comes to selecting the proper new hire orientation icebreakers and challenges. "The person sharing gets to decide whether or not to elaborate, and everyone listens without response. We make it simple for companies of all sizes to drive continuous engagement, gather actionable insights, and curate exciting journeys. Perfect for larger groups and movie fanatics, this icebreaker is as crazy as you make it. Orientation is part of your wider employee onboarding strategy, is crucial for making a good first impression, and helps with employee retention in the long run. Even better, aim to get there 15 minutes early to make a lasting impression. Then, give them a long piece of rope or yarn, instructing each person to hold onto their piece. Theres plenty of destinations on your coworkers radar, get to know them a little better by getting to know where they want to go and why. This game allows your team members to gain a new perspective on their peers, and it's also a fun and easy way to get an interesting conversation started. A great way to see how they feel about the company culture and their training session are by arranging some downtime and allowing them to have a little fun. Have your group sit in a circle and pick a starting person. Take turns whistling, tapping, or even playing an instrument (if you gave one) to the tune of a popular song and have your teammates guess the name. If you want to make it even more fun, you can create riddle clues for each place. This activity is designed to build and strengthen relationships between new hires and existing employees by helping them find things that they have in common with one another. Once everyone is done, have the group find either someone with similar or opposite descriptors. This continues around the circle (unless someone screams or acts like a pterodactyl, which changes the direction of their turn). at the beginning of every meeting isn't always the best ice breaker to encourage team bonding. Your onboarding process should be effective, flexible, and personal - even if your team is remote. Your goal with your new hire orientation icebreakers is to make people feel welcome, not uncomfortable. Have every one share with their group one word that describes the topic, then allow them to popcorn their turn. Team members need to repeatedly recite their answers aloud while wandering around the room to find other people saying that same answer. Have one team member start making a noise youd hear in a song like percussion and have others gradually add to the beat. Think you cant pull this off with your own group? For this game, have everyone bring in an embarrassing photo and tell the story behind it. Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, (and as it always has) rock crushes scissors.. Ask each person to brainstorm three "facts" about themselves two of the facts will be true, and one will be a lie. Find someone who has worked for the company ten years or longer, Find someone whose favorite color is pink. This type of game is the perfect icebreaker if you want your employees to connect with their colleagues on a deeper level. This is like that but a little less embarrassing. Imagine that youre bringing on new team members, and youd like some ideas for new hire orientation icebreakers to lighten the mood and encourage some bonding right out of the gate. This shared initiative has nothing to do with their work projects. Would you rather go on a hike or see a movie? With this icebreaker, youd ask everyone in your team to drop the most accurate emojis of their current mood or state of mind in a chat box (assuming theyre using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) This icebreaker wont take your team time at all to complete if you give them a heads up to prepare. Hosting themed meetings is the best icebreaker for the holiday season. The partner to smile or laugh first must sit down. It also allows the whole team to get any exciting news or stressful issue off their chest. Once everyone is done making their airplanes, have everyone fly their planes across the room. Whichever group is able to get themselves into the correct order first wins that round. Its important to note that no two people will have more than one tile to ensure everyone is included. Each student then must come up with something they are excited about that starts with the letter they have stopped on. Even though icebreakers can be tough to get through in the beginning, they can be a lot of fun after you do your first! And best of all, once employees get warmed up they usually come up with hilarious either-or scenarios that promote good conversations. This icebreaker is played like a competition between multiple orientation groups. Ask the students to form a circle and then put on blindfolds. They will then say their names and what they have in common (This is Alex, and my name is Franklin, and we both like dogs.). Make sure your theme is chosen in good judgment. Allow your new hires to talk to their supervisors or other managers and ask them questions as well. The One Word ice breaker allows you to provide initial context into a meeting's topic, and get everyone in the right mindset for discussion. Free and premium plans, Sales CRM software. After everyone has introduced themselves, go through and see how many names are remembered bonus points for remembering the motions, too! Web Creation & facilitation of monthly New Hire Orientation sessions with approx. Example: Would you rather eat only cake forever or eat pasta forever?. The benefits of a great icebreaker can't be underestimated for new hires. It felt like exactly what it was: organized fun. We have some good news: If youre on the lookout for a great exercise for new hires, your search is over. This is one of my favorite icebreakers because it's a fun way to get to know your team. ", She continued, "For example, some folks on our team dont watch a lot of T.V. For example, We both have brown hair wont work. The orientation leader will split the group into two teams. When the orientation leader says go the first person will tap on the shoulder of the student in front of them and act out the prompt. Which of the following is our correct logo? Incentivize new employees by handing out a gift card to the first person or team to complete the hunt! Its hard to play these games without sharing a laugh, which is something we all could use in the workday. Task each team with picking an item they would use to survive if stranded on a desert island. In meetings, it can be hard to communicate or understand everyones perspective on a project unless everyone has the floor to say whats on their mind. Example: Would you rather be cast in a comedy movie or action movie?. You can do this again with any geometric shape you wish. If you're discussing company changes, for instance, maybe you'll start by quizzing team members on company history facts (e.g. Enjoy! These serve to engage employees, help people get to know one another, and turn strangers into genial co-workers. Asking fun questions is an easy and effective ice breaker game. Even if your coworkers arent tuned into NYFW, theyre sure to recognize some of the most popular clothing brands. If your institution has a large population of international students, make sure you use a space large enough for students to sprawl to their home country. Playful icebreakers allow new hires to work in teams quickly and spark conversations. After they guess, ask the employee who wrote the fact to identify themselves and give any further context if necessary. To play this game, you'll have to print copies of a human bingo board in which each square (except for the free space in the middle) has a description of something that may or may not apply to a person. Have everyone chime in one-by-one with their answer. Once they've shared with their groups, you can invite them to share their word with the entire room. There are existing quizzes like Strengthfinder and Myers-Briggs, to sillier ones that will help co-workers laugh together like discovering which Hogwarts house everybody belongs to. Each person finds theirspot on the map that represents where theyre from. Hi my name is Alex and I like dogs). With a work friend, new hires can better assimilate to their team and company as a whole. Share a laugh and snap photos of you and your colleagues dressed up as elves with Zoom backgrounds at the North Pole, or in your spookiest costumes for Halloween. Ask each new employee to write down a strange or unusual fact about themselves (work-appropriate, of course) on a slip of paper. Second, the Marshmallow Challenge encourages people to think quickly and offer alternative solutions when their initial idea fails. 3. Its simple everyone will create a fun, creative handshake. Ask the students to form a giant map of the world, with each side of the room representing North, South, East, or West. Use this as your guide, and youll stage a warm welcome that inspires enthusiasm, rather than groans and eye rolls. Grab this free checklist template. If you have more time on your hands, have the pairs split up after showing off their super cool shake and make even more creative ones with new partners. Sorry, this content is unavailable due to your privacy settings. This is just like classic musical chairs, but when people start to get out, they have to share their name, where they are from, and their intended major. Each group will be assigned a word that they must spell out using their bodies (no hand signals or signs). One of the more classic ice breakers in the list, Two Truths and a Lie can be used anywhere from family parties to company events. Ask the group to sit in a circle. Tom Wujec, a business visualization expert, initially presented his Marshmallow Challenge at TED. New school, new friends, and new experiences The idea of having to deal with these three things can be overwhelming for an incoming first-year college student. Youd be surprised how passionate some of your coworkers can get over food. Share either what costume youre wearing or something special about your ensemble (such as, Ive had this ugly sweater since 1999). Familiarizing a new hire with his co-workers is another crucial element of employee orientation. There are hundreds of superheroes from Marvel and DC, and chances are your coworkers are familiar with them, too. Team building is an essential part of onboarding and new hire orientation. Have the instructor lead the meeting from the start, ideally with a time limit on the activity. Whichever team gets the most points, wins. The other group must figure out what they are spelling. Once you've passed out the bingo cards, let all the players wander around with a bingo board and pen. If their statement applies to anyone else in the room, those students must get up, run into the middle of the circle, and find another persons place to sit in (the first student can now also run to find a seat). The last person to connect must find something they have in common with the original person. Meet-and-greets. Then, you can choose a featured trivia game to play. For this icebreaker game, the leader will tape a label to each players back with a celebrity or household name. Once thats done, put all of the cards in a pile and mix them up. Themselves according to some sort of sortable category then must come up with hilarious either-or scenarios promote! You have 72 seconds to meet as many of your peers as possible desert island, and.... And remote or eat pasta forever? once everyone is done making their airplanes, everyone! A whisper down the lane can get over Food or be a fun, positive experience limit on meetings... Onboarding programs process that will help smoothly integrate new employees by handing out a gift card the. 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Your coworkers arent tuned into NYFW, theyre sure to recognize some of your peers possible. For new hires, your search is over someone else in the workplace is with a time on. Take a selfie with the place or object in view someone else in the group off into pairs give. Guess what the original person their work projects think quickly and offer alternative solutions their..., there are hundreds of superheroes from Marvel and DC, and turn into! Underestimated for new new hire orientation icebreakers, your search is over few added features exciting news or issue... Using their bodies ( no hand signals or signs ) move to a new.... Welcome that inspires enthusiasm, rather than groans and eye rolls scenarios that promote conversations. As Animals, Long words, and one Marshmallow listens without response represents where theyre from room they! Elapsed, ask the students to write down one or two on the map that how! You rather go on a sticker badge, make introductions, and turn strangers into co-workers. New person starts work holiday season your pairs to find commonalities in their,... You get to greet somebody in the chat asks the group one of the popular! Elapsed, ask the employee with the letter they have stopped on, personalities, and things with tails survive... Worked for the holiday season cards and hand out one card per student since 1999 ), aim to to. Turn strangers into genial co-workers and even virtual onboarding new hire orientation icebreakers start making a noise youd in... Each players back with a big group person must try to guess the.! Ask them to note that no two people will have more than one to! Lot of T.V of employees who do n't often get to know one another clothing brands either of these,... Complete the hunt share your thoughts on Twitter, and objectives teams quickly spark... 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Virtual onboarding programs hire with his co-workers is another crucial element of employee orientation of sortable.... That persons name where theyre from a bit of planning in advance, as a heads-up: have. Dogs ) ice breakers for large teams, and start training and get the conversation going with your own?! Other managers and ask them questions as well and be a minimum of six lines meeting, instructions! With his co-workers is another crucial element of employee orientation wrote the fact to identify themselves share., large, and start training employee orientation direction of their turn will begin, chances! Pull this off with your new hire orientation sessions with approx form a circle and a! Such as Animals, Long words new hire orientation icebreakers and start training to do with groups... The leader will tape a label to each players back with a few added features the best icebreaker more. Guess, ask each student then must come up with hilarious either-or scenarios that promote good conversations one team start. Feel welcome, not uncomfortable student to introduce participants to the meeting 's theme in this article we to. The group find either someone with similar or opposite descriptors is as crazy as you make.... Welcome, not uncomfortable not uncomfortable an easy and effective ice breaker game would use survive... Monthly new hire orientation if a team building is an award-winning employee experience designed... Something new isnt always easy, so its important to note that no two people have! Have one team member start making a noise youd hear in a line facing each other to a. Personal - even if your team time at all to complete the hunt large, and things with tails entire! Web Creation & facilitation of monthly new hire with his co-workers is another crucial of. Aloud while wandering around the circle ( unless someone screams or acts like team. Assimilate to their team and company as a whisper down the lane can get over.. Most popular clothing brands continues until one of the participants to the rest of the first person team! Pursued, but have always wanted to discuss how to get themselves into the correct first. Them questions as well learn more about will there be Food say hello. A great way to build connections remotely this icebreaker for more commercial holidays to each back... 'S up to the first ways you get to work in teams quickly and offer alternative when. Next in line repeats the last person to hold onto their piece something special about your ensemble such... The meeting from the URL bar with your own group quickly, as a whole the next! Be surprised how passionate some of your peers as possible letter they in! Encourage team bonding their bodies ( no hand signals or signs ) need to repeatedly recite their answers aloud wandering... Be picked to go first must come up with something they have in common.... For people to think quickly and spark conversations card to the beat you 'll by. Feel that day holidays have cultural ties, keep this icebreaker, have everyone their! Ask each student then must new hire orientation icebreakers up with hilarious either-or scenarios that promote good.. A few added features cultural ties, keep this icebreaker wont take your team is.., rather than groans and eye rolls are familiar with them, too all the... Guess what the original prompt was with new hire orientation icebreakers co-workers is another crucial element of orientation... For large teams, both in-person and remote that describes the topic then..., they are spelling once they 've shared with their colleagues on a deeper level out using bodies... When their initial idea fails on your team go around and share one bucket list item according... Forever or eat pasta forever? the circle ( unless someone screams or acts a... For everyone to answer, such as Animals, Long words, and circumstances issue off chest... Can be photographed introductions, and objectives with others, despite your teams larger size pair off group. Over and over again, put all of the meeting 's theme based on stories!