According to surveys, building relationships is one of the major hurdles facing recent graduates when they enter the workforce for the first time. Indeed, relationships in the workplace are much different from those you used to build in college. Most importantly, relationships in college evolve naturally during in-class interactions. But positive relationships in the office are fostered through effort and team building. And this is something you have to be ready for in advance.
If you are currently in your final year of studies, now is the best time to start preparing for entering the workforce. We know that you might have plenty of other things to take care of, namely, your intense academic load. Services like WritePaper.com can help you take off some of that load with the help of professionals who take care of your assignments and bring you the highest grades. In the saved time, you can read this guide and discover some of the most effective team-building activities to help you as a fresh graduate fit into a new office.
In-Office Scavenger Hunt
An in-office scavenger hunt is probably the best activity for onboarding new staff members. The idea is simple – players must find certain things and complete different challenges throughout the day in the office. For example, employees can be tasked to find hidden clues and signs inside the office and fulfill tasks like taking a picture with the CEO, etc. The winning player or team can receive an award.
This activity has a wide range of benefits. First of all, it’s very entertaining and helps build up the spirit. Also, when played in groups, it encourages collaboration and boosts motivation. And for fresh grads new to the office, this activity will help them meet and get to know their colleagues while also exploring the office space.
Team Pursuit
The next technique is popular because it’s low-cost and available anywhere, any time, and for teams of all sizes. The idea is pretty simple too. This activity requires employees to tackle a series of physical, mental, skill, and mystery challenges, earning points for every successfully completed task. The challenges can be very different. You can easily find lots of fun ideas on the web.
The biggest benefit of this activity is that it lets staff members become better acquainted and helps them recognize their unique strengths and leverage them for completing challenges. As a result, the whole team can re-energize, learn to collaborate, hone their creative problem-solving, and have lots of fun. For newcomers, it is a chance to express themselves and make good connections with their colleagues.
Museum Scavenger Hunts
As you already know, scavenger hunts have always been popular in terms of team building. Such activities are super interactive and fun. Most importantly, such hunts help teams foster a collaborative culture and learn to play in a team effectively. Now, museum scavenger hunts are a whole new level of team building. This interactive and fun team-building activity enables you to go on an exciting trip to a museum, discover it from a new perspective, receive top-level education, and have lots of fun. During the event, you and your colleagues will solve tricky riddles, complete challenges, create photos imitating statues, and do lots of other fun things that will boost your team spirit!
Corporate Castaways
While in-office activities can help new staff members get better used to the new environment and explore the office area, outdoor activities are much more effective for revealing every employee’s hidden traits and strengths. Basically, corporate castaways are inspired by the popular TV show “Survivor.” The entire workforce is taken to an outdoor venue and divided into smaller tribes. Then, tribes compete with each other, completing different mental and physical tasks. The winner is the tribe who scores the most points.
This team-building activity is very competitive and requires a lot of energy and creativity. Therefore, it will let fresh grads prove themselves other than professionally. This is good because many graduates will lack professional experience, which can affect how the team perceives them.
Team-building Trivia Games
One thing you need to know about trivia games is that no one can have all the answers to every question. Every player can be well-versed in a particular topic. So, when played as a group, team-building trivia games require players to join forces and figure out who knows the answer to every question.
Trivia games can consist of questions related to your business or not related to it at all. In any case, this activity will help new team members prove their worth, build a better bond with colleagues, and learn to work in collaboration with others. Besides, such events can be incredibly motivating and fun.
21 Questions
When fresh graduates join a company, they want to get to know their colleagues. And other staff members also want to know more about the newcomer. The best way to do this is to use different “get to know” team-building activities, and the 21 Questions game is a good option. Basically, this team puts a newcomer at the center of everything and requires other staff members to split into small groups. Then, groups take turns and ask one question at a time to ask the newbie about something they want to know. The questions can vary significantly. They can be specific and personal, professional, and even psychological.
At the end of the game, everyone in the office will know more about their fresh colleague. This will simplify the onboarding process and make it easier for a graduate to establish a connection with colleagues in a laid-back and natural way.
Top Five
There is no secret that the food we eat, the hobbies we have, and other picks we make every day can tell others a lot about our personalities. Due to this reason, many young people ask questions about other favorite things when getting acquainted in schools and colleges. This fact takes us to the last activity on our list, which will make fresh graduates feel more comfortable and confident in the office and, at the same time, will help others find out more information about them.
The game is very simple. A group of people asks each other about their top five picks of something. The categories can include Animals, Hobbies, Books, Foods, Movies, Travel destinations, Cars, etc.
First, this game will help all staff members get to know each other better. And secondly, it will help you find common interests with other staff members.
Being a fresh graduate in a new office is a real challenge. With no work experience and no skills in building professional relationships, young people find it very hard to fit in, make friends, or switch attention from work. This will harm their job satisfaction and the team’s overall spirit.
Luckily, different team-building activities can solve the problem. Now, you have these ideas for games and other activities to help grads become a part of the team. Be sure to try these ideas!
