So you’ve hired a slew of new employees. They’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and ready and willing to jump in and help the team. The only issue is they don’t really know the team.  How do you introduce these new-comers to your workforce? How do you ease their initiation into the company, in an enticing way that keeps your new talent interested and invested in your company? 

“The culture of an organization is increasingly important. Creating this unique culture doesn’t have to cost thousands, and can affect how team members interact with each other, build stronger relationships and, ideally, increase productivity.” – Will Housh, Contributor at Entrepreneur.

A unique culture within the workplace is essential when competing for talented new hires and it doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. In fact, it can be as simple as a unique icebreaker or two to get the ball rolling between your loyal workforce and the newest members of your work family.

Trivia Time: The new hire edition

What better way to find out potential talents your new employees have to offer than in an “on the spot” quiz? It can be about pop culture, the ins and outs of your industry, or a quiz on the office layout. Pit the new hires against established workers, or better yet, have newbies team up with your company veterans. Who knows? It could be the start of a mentorship. 

Play a little game called “10 Things in common”

This game forces your employees to find things in common in order to achieve their goals.

• Divvy up your new employees with your more experienced employees.
• Set a timer for 3 minutes, and instruct the teams to find at least 10 things in common.
• The team that comes up with either the most things in common, or the weirdest thing in  common wins!
• BONUS: Provide food!

This activity allows your workforce to get to know each other, creating a co-worker bond that can in the end improve your productivity.

Exceedingly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their employers than disengaged employees. If no one knows Phil, the new guy, used to be a rodeo clown, he might get a little disengaged.

Scavenger hunt-a-palooza

Send your employees on a scavenger throughout the company.

• Create teams and give them a list of items to find throughout the office, building or online.
• Send your employees on an information seeking scavenger hunt to find the answers or items.
• The team who finishes the scavenger hunt first wins! Gift cards or bragging rights are a great way to motivate your employees.
• Have your employees snap photos, or take videos of teammates in action (a great social media opportunity for the company’s employer brand.)

This exercise helps your employees bond as teammates, working for a common goal, and sharing information with each other that may not come up organically.

Caption writing contest

Have a weekly caption writing contest, to get a feel for your new employees sense of humor, and creative intel.

• Print out a picture of either a random photo, or a photo from around the office
• Leave a jar underneath where employees can put in their captions (decide whether you want it to be anonymous or not. Whichever is more intriguing to you.)
• At the end of the day announce the winner
• The winner can either be the weirdest caption writer, or the funniest, or the most endearing caption writer, let your employees vote!

This activity can gain your new employees street cred with your longtime employees, with mutual respect for humor, or enlightened thought. 

Athletic competition

Incorporating an athletic competition ranging from: “Not super serious” to “I’m jokingly pretending to be super serious about this competition” is a great way tocreate some excitement in the workplace.

• Have a ping pong tournament, create a bracket and a customized playlist to go along with the ping pong tourney and let er rip! (If you have a ping pong table of course)
• Obstacle course, set up an obstacle course in the workplace, divvy up some teams and watch the team encouragement fly!
• Virtual athletics, set up a gaming device for teams to compete with. 

Coming up with new ideas to excite new employees can be daunting, so many companies are upping the ante on innovative company culture practices. The key to harboring creative company culture is to implement new fun activities to excite your new hires. How can your company incorporate some fun icebreakers for new employees?

Bio: Christine Marino

Christine is the Chief Revenue Officer of Click Boarding, LLC, a company that offers employee onboarding software and solutions. She is responsible for the sales, marketing and business development strategies. Leveraging her 18+ years of experience in the Human Capital Management space, Christine drives company growth through strategic partner relationships as well new customer acquisitions across the small to large enterprise markets.