Julia Weeks
Mini-games are company games that are implemented and carried out about every month, company-wide or department specific. Typically, mini-games are most effective when designed in line with a quarterly or annual company goal.
If your small business is not partaking in mini-games in order to reach goals, I highly recommend that you consider making this implementation ASAP! You will see several positive outcomes when implementing min-games in your small business.
1. Create a Team Atmosphere
When you create games and team goals, you will see a change in your employees. They will begin to work together in order to achieve points or merits in order to achieve a goal.
In the past, I have implemented mini-games when managing a team of recruiters and I quickly noticed team members working together to help each other reach targets. They knew if they were able to help each other out, they would have a better chance at making goal.
2. Boost Employee Morale
When you create fun and engaging games for your employees, you will notice a boost in morale. You will see more smiles and enthusiasm as they are completing assignments and reaching targets.
When I implemented mini-games on my recruiting team, I noticed a surge of energy amongst the team. The excitement of the game itself, along with the reward waiting for them once the game target was achieved, was enough to create a fresh new enthusiasm when it came to everyday job tasks.
3. Help Employees Focus on the Goal
Most companies will have quarterly and / or annual goals to meet. By implementing mini-games, you are helping your employees to stay focused on the larger goal. Your mini-game goals should be a breakdown of the much larger goal. This helps you and your employees to stay focused and excited about meeting the larger goal by keeping things fresh.
Now what?
Ok, so you’ve decided that you are going to give mini-games a shot! What do you do now?
There are a few words of advice that I can offer to you, when implementing mini-games in your small business.
- Realistic Goals
When you are setting goals, ensure that they are realistic. I have seen situations in the past when goals were clearly unattainable for a company or department. Regardless of the type of mini-games or rewards you have in place, this will demotivate your employees quickly.
Make sure your annual goal is realistic first. Then, when you break down that goal in order to accommodate goals for mini-games, make sure you are considering things such as slower quarters. For instance, if you know that your business experiences a lull during first quarter, perhaps the games throughout the first quarter will have lower goals or targets than the rest of the year.
- Simple Games
When you are deciding the types of games you would like to implement, make sure they are not overly complicated. You want simple games that will not be difficult to track or keep up with while working. You want this to be fun, not another job to add to everyone’s already busy schedule.
One way to come up with mini-game ideas is to ask for your employees’input and ideas. Perhaps everyone contributes ideas for mini-games at the beginning of each year. You can take these and build on them, creating simple and fun games for the team as the year progresses.
- Rewards and Targets
Each mini-game must have targets and rewards. Perhaps you have a halfway target during mini-games. When the team reaches that halfway target, perhaps you surprise them with ribbons or stars outside their cubes or donuts one morning, celebrating that they are halfway there. Once they reach the end of the game and if they make target, maybe you have a pizza party for the team. Not only does this give the team something to look forward to, but you are still encouraging team activities that encourage team communication and enthusiasm.
Do you have any experience with mini-games? Please share your experiences and ideas below.
Image: monkeybusinessimages/BigStock.com
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