Answer:

What a great idea! As I was cooking up some ideas, I tried to think of things that not only wouldn’t be threatening, but would encourage individuals to get to know these newcomers before the meeting. Here are a few ideas for you to build on:

Announce to the staff that a contest will be held at the next all-staff meeting. Don’t reveal too much information, other than to say it has to do with the new employees hired since the last meeting.

Of course, you will want to clear this idea with the newcomers before pursuing it. Tell them the details of the contest but ask them to “play dumb” with the rest of the staff. The mystery will create a fun, little buzz of excitement and put the new employees on their co-workers’ radar screen. It will be a compelling reason to strike up a conversation (of course they will all act like they don’t know the details about the contest) and will pique everyone’s curiosity about the new employees.

During the meeting, announce the rules of the contest: The team that can list the most accurate facts (work or personal life) about the new employees wins a prize (lunch at a local restaurant, perhaps). The only ground rule is that any sensitive, personal information is off limits. Quickly huddle everyone in groups of four and give them five minutes to list everything they have learned about the new employees. The people who have made an effort to get to know the new employees will have a distinct advantage.

Bring the new employees up to the front and let them be the judges. Each group has one minute to recite their list. It should create a lot of laughs and highlight the new employees without making them present their own biography.

Another version, for a very large group, is to use a game show format during the meeting. Before the meeting, ask the new employees to list at least 20 facts (one per index card) about themselves, such as where they went to school, their hobbies, how many children they have, where they grew up, the most famous person they ever met, the wackiest experience they ever had, and so on. Each of these index cards is thrown into a hat.

During the meeting, the game show “Host” (pick someone with a great sense of humor) will bring up the new employees and ask for volunteer contestants from the audience. The host will create two teams of contestants with about four people per team. The rest of the staff is the “studio audience”.

Here’s how the game works: the host draws a fact from the hat and reads it to the first team of contestants. They have to guess which new employee matches the fact. If they guess correctly, they get one point. If they miss, the other team of contestants gets a chance to guess. If they are right, they get a point. Keep alternating teams for as many facts as you wish. The winning team can win a prize.

Besides getting a lot of laughs, the whole room will learn a lot about the new employees and it should stimulate a lot of stories and ongoing conversation long after the game is over.

I hope these ideas have sparked some other ideas for readers. There is no reason why regular staff meetings have to be dull. Why not play a similar game with some existing employees?

Have a scavenger hunt between two departments who need to work together. Play “Trivial Pursuit” built around company history. Let your imagination go!

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86 Creative Ideas for Having More Fun & Less Stress at Work, is packed with ideas for building employee satisfaction and work/life balance while reducing stress in your workplace.  Guaranteed to give you fresh ideas any company can implement in categories such as: Fun with a Purpose, Building a Family Atmosphere & a Sense of Community, Having Fun at Work for the Sake of Fun, Rewarding Great Performance & Stress Busters!Also available by return email, in PDF format!