Published Jul 8, 2022

Group-dynamic games are techniques used to improve coordination levels within a team, as well as to build its members’ problem solving and decision making skills.

Why should a company invest in motivating its employees? According to a report by international human resources consulting firm Korn Ferry, offices with “engaged” employees are as much as 43 percent more productive. But not only that: “Happier employees do better on all fronts, from day-to-day health to productivity to career advancement, and this consistently perks up the bottom line for the organization as a whole,” according to this article published in Berkley University’s ‘Greater Good Magazine’.

Group dynamic games have proven a very efficient tool to keep employees motivated and happy at the workplace, and therefore more productive. According to a report by Dayananda Sagar University (India), these practices, help organizations to:

• Identify the role and impact of leadership on the team.
• Understand how group members behave, their feelings, opinions and reactions.
• Make group-related decisions.
• Prevent conflict.

Creating a successful group-dynamic games

Creating successful group dynamic exercises requires carrying out a preliminary assessment process that entails analyzing the company’s situation, studying the profile of the workers that are going to be taking part in the game, determining the organization’s needs and defining the expected results.

These considerations will help to determine the type of game that is more appropriate to address your organizational needs. There are four basic types of group dynamic exercises:

Team building: they help to improve team cohesion and increase participation of all members in finding solutions.

Onboarding exercises: these activities help break the ice. They are particularly beneficial with new hires, and contribute to improving relationships within teams.

Innovation exercises: they are designed to harness team members’ creativity.

Fun games: these exercises are aimed at fostering engagement and improving a team’s skills while offering an opportunity for participants to have a good time.

Below are some examples of the most common group dynamic exercises used in the business world to achieve the defined goals: 

‘Escape Room’

This exercise has become a very popular choice for companies. In this game, a group of employees is placed in room that they can only escape from after solving a series of tests, puzzles and challenges in a limited amount of time. This activity helps foster collaboration and teamwork.

Riddles

These exercises help improve group integration. In this type of games, participants have to guess what another team is representing, and foster participation and interaction among employees. This game can be played in many different ways: from guessing the movie the other team is representing, to what another participant is drawing, to what character they are playing.

‘Brainstorming’

Brainstorming sessions are one of the most popular innovation exercises. Regardless of the format chosen, in this type of exercises, time is always a key element. Shorter brainstorming sessions are usually more dynamic and interesting when trying to find a solution to a problem. This exercise is widely used as it helps organizations come up with original ideas in a relaxed atmosphere, allowing employees to unleash their creativity.

‘Paintball’

Companies usually resort to this type of games to improve personal relationships among employees, foster camaraderie, and lower stress levels and encourage team work, as they require team members to collaborate to come up with a strategy to win the game.

BBVA Momentum, BBVA’s social entrepreneurship support program, uses group dynamic exercises to connect entrepreneurs and foster collaboration among them.

This year, for the first time, participants will be invited to take part in a new type of exercise dubbed “Dinámica 360” that aims to increase participation. These are group dynamic exercises where feedback and information regarding participants’ growth plans come into play,” explains Ángel Vilchez, Program Manager at Headspring Executive Development. Fostering interaction and collaboration among participants helps create new synergies that contribute to strengthening BBVA Momentum’s ecosystem with every edition and to increasing the positive impact of participating companies.

Original article: https://www.bbva.com/en/group-dynamic-games-what-are-they-and-how-they-contribute-to-motivate-employees/