Category: <span>17 Terrific Tips</span>

17 Terrific Tips to Create Office Fun

Promote camaraderie, better communication, and a generous spirit by adding amusing activities, mental challenges, and charitable acts to your office routine. Here are 17 ideas to get things going in your office.

1. Name that tune, singer, movie, or commercial.  Pick a random time to play part of a song for the whole office for people to identify either the song name, who sings it, or what movie or commercial it comes from. First to respond by e-mail gets a prize.
2. Crossword or jigsaw puzzles. Hang a giant crossword puzzle in the breakroom or set up a table with a challenging jigsaw puzzle for people to work on during breaks.
3. Ping Pong ball toss. Line up some buckets at a challenging distance. Have teams or individuals try their skill at throwing ping pong balls in the buckets. Winners get prizes.
4. Win a day off. Sell raffle tickets to win a free vacation day. This is usually a big fund raiser!
5. Competitions for departments or individuals.  Holiday decorating, zany hat, or ugly sweater. Employees vote and prizes are awarded.
6. Character contest. Department teams compete for the best ensemble character costumes. Star Trek, Star Wars, The Flintstones, Beverly Hillbillies, Disney princesses – you get the idea.
7. Diversity Day. People bring in traditional foods for a luncheon. Ask folks to talk about their culture and traditions.
8. Bake-off.  Contestants bring in baked goods and employees pay a nominal fee to taste the goodies. Create different categories for cakes, cheesecakes, pies, and cookies.  Employees vote for the best in each category and prizes are awarded.
9. Hidden story or fact. Insert a weird story or fact in the text of an all-office e-mail. First person (or more depending on office size) to find it wins a prize.
10. Pancake breakfast. Owners and managers cook breakfast for everyone.
11. Hoops contest.  In a safe place, hang a nerf ball basketball hoop.  Schedule a time for a shooting contest.  Prizes awarded.
12. Silent auction.  Request donated items to be auctioned.  Employee-made arts and crafts, gift baskets, certificates donated by local businesses, and car washing by a coworker are some auction item ideas.  Place the items in an area where they can be viewed, usually two or three days. Suggested minimum bids should be set by the silent auction coordinator and posted on the bidding sheets. At the end of the auction time, the winners are announced, money is collected, and donated to a charity.
13. Easter egg hunt. Fill hollow plastic eggs with kooky prizes or money. Hide them all over the office. Set a start and finish time for employees to find the eggs.
14. Scavenger hunt. Teams are given lists of items to gather during a specified time period. First team who has collected all the items wins a prize.
15. Kooky course. Teams are given a list of weird stuff to do and asked to take pictures or videos as proof. Cackle like a chicken in front of a specified public place, anyone? Good outdoor activity.
16. Talent contest. Set up categories such as singing, musical instruments, Origami art creation, or dancing. Audience votes for winners.
17. Penny war.  Raise money by having the most positive number of pennies in a department penny-war box by the end of the day.  Here are the rules.  Cover small cardboard boxes and cut a coin slot in the top. Each department sets out their money box in the morning.  Employees put pennies in their own department box.  Employees from other departments drop silver coins into others’ department boxes.  The silver cancels out the pennies.  For example, a dime cancels out 10 pennies and a quarter cancels twenty-five pennies. If your box has a quarter and twenty-five pennies, your box total is zero. The department with the most positive pennies wins.  All money collected from the boxes goes to the department’s charity of choice.

Emily Huling, CIC, CMC, CSP helps the insurance industry create top-performing sales, service, and leadership organizations. She can be contacted at emily@sellingstrategies.com.

Emily is the author of Great Service Sells, Selling from the Inside, and Service Selling Supercharge. For information on learning materials and consulting services and to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, visit www.sellingstrategies.com.

by Emily Huling, CIC, CMC

The telephone remains the most effective communication means following face-to-face conversation. Through voice, we sense attitude, emotion, and interest. Here are some tips to help teach or remind us how to make the most of this tried and true communication tool.

1. Never e-mail negative news. Pick up the phone and call.
2. Utilize a frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers document to assure accuracy and consistency in responding to routine inquiries.
3. Respect customers’ time by preparing for outgoing calls. Create a list of questions or issues to discuss. Anticipate their questions or objections to be ready to respond knowledgeably and quickly.
4. Use “I” instead of “you” when requesting information. “I need this information” sounds better than “You need to give me this information.”
5. Take ownership of the call. Customers do not like to be transferred. If you do need to transfer a call, introduce the caller to your colleague. Do not place callers in voice mail without their knowledge.
6. Use phone conversations to build and personalize relationships. Inquire about the weather, family, vacations, or hobbies. Look to find common interests.
7. Be warm and cheerful in energy, words, and tone. “I’m so glad you called!” “We really appreciate your business.
8. Pick up the line quickly. The phone should ring no more than three times. If you are going to be away from your desk, program the phone to roll into voice mail or to an associate’s line.
9. Don’t sound like a recorded message. I called a person recently who answered the phone and identified herself. I hesitated a minute and said, “Oh, you’re alive!” She laughed and said many people mistakenly think she’s her voice mail message. That’s not a good thing! Answer the phone with enthusiasm.
10. Identify yourself confidently. If you’ve ever been greeted by someone who sounded as if they weren’t quite sure who they were, you know what I mean. Using first and last name is the most professional way to distinguish yourself.
11. Eliminate distractions immediately. Don’t try to finish something on the computer or read a report while you’re on the telephone. Half listening is rude and can create misunderstandings and extra work.
12. Outgoing voice mail messages need to be current. Callers want to hear an upbeat, informative, and brief message that expresses accountability. “This is Emily Huling. Today is __________. I’m in the office and will return your call shortly.” “This is Emily Huling. Today is ________. I’m away from the office and will (will not) be checking messages. I’ll return your call ________.” For immediate assistance, dial _______ to reach _________.” (Include coverage disclaimer as appropriate.)
13. Personalize the call. “What can I do to help you, Sally?” Calling people by name shows you are listening and makes them feel important.
14. Listen well. Take notes, repeat back what you’ve heard, ask questions, and summarize the conversation. Avoid confusion and errors with good listening skills.
15. Never leave the phone off the hook. You have no control over what your caller may hear. Always put a call on hold when you need to step away.
16. Let the caller end the conversation. A simple, “Is there anything else I can help you with?” allows the caller to close the call. Doing that prevents the caller from feeling dismissed.
17. Thank them for their business. People who do business with you want to know you appreciate their patronage. Tell them.

Emily Huling, CIC, CMC helps the insurance industry create top-performing sales, service, and leadership organizations. She is the author of Selling from the Inside, Great Service Sells, and Kick Your “But.” Visit www.sellingstrategies.com to learn how Emily’s programs and materials can benefit your organization.
Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc.
P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802
Mobile: 704-516-5114
www.sellingstrategies.com