Employee Orientation Games

Employee orientation does not have to be a series of meetings where employees are told the company's policies and where to find the resources they need. Make it fun for the employee and turn it into a game instead of a lecture. The type of games you play during employee orientation depend on the size of the orientation group, space available, and amount of information the employees must learn.

Instead of guiding your employees page by page through your company's employee handbook, turn it into a game. Have new employees team up in pairs, and present each pair with the same list of questions. Give the teams between 10 and 30 minutes to scan the employee handbook and find the information the questions request. Some examples of questions could be information on dress code, vacation time earned, sick days, reimbursement for travel and privacy policies regarding company information. The team that gets the most questions correct is the winner. If there is a tie, whichever team involved in the tie that submitted their entry first wins. Award a prize such as a gift certificate for a nearby restaurant for lunch.

Instead of having each new employee stand in front of the group and introduce himself, allow employees to learn about each other playing a game. Ask each employee to write down one or two unusual facts about himself on an index card. Tape these index cards to the wall and number them. Have each employee fill out a piece of paper guessing which of the other employees filled out each card. After everyone has completed their answers, reveal the employees that gave each answer. The individual with the most correct answers is the winner. Present multiple prizes in the case of a tie.

Challenge the new employees to locate company resources located throughout the office with a murder mystery game. Divide into teams and provide each team a clue as to where to find the next clue. This clue should guide the team to a resource they will use in the office such as the fax machine, copier, library, office manager's office and other locations. At each location a new clue labeled with that team's number will be available leading to the next location. The team that finishes the last clue first solves the murder mystery and wins the game. These clues should be themed such as "the weapon used was found in the office manager's office, please locate her office for your next clue." Provide the winning team with a gift certificate for lunch.

Find out how well your new employees researched the company by conducting a company trivia game. Create a list of questions about the company that employees can answer if they researched the company online or based on information provided in interviews or orientation packets. The trivia game can be a game where each employee competes against the others, or teams can be formed. Present a gift certificate or item for the employee's desk to the winners of the contest.