By Melanie Booher
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15 Jul, 2024
Do you wish your company culture was more cohesive, innovative, and engaging? Does your organization struggle with lackluster employee engagement, high turnover, or lack of innovation? These issues often come down to weak company culture. But culture can’t be forced - it's shaped by the collective daily habits, behaviors and unspoken norms across your team. But culture can be hard to get our arms around. That's why PEOPLEfirst offers our Cards for Culture game to provide organizations with a way to define and strengthen their culture. But let’s first talk about why games have a place in the workplace. 1. Foster team bonding Playing games together in the workplace may seem unproductive, but it serves an important purpose. When colleagues step away from their regular responsibilities and interact in a more open, unscripted way, it breaks down barriers and helps to build trust. Games allow colleagues to be human together, strengthening interpersonal bonds between team members, which then improves collaboration, communication and empathy. 2. Gain Fresh Perspective Games provide a constructive way to step back and see your team, your challenges, and yourself in a new light. Getting out of regular routines and thought patterns can reveal blind spots. Games prompt new information and unexpected interactions between colleagues. The insights gained encourage appreciation for diverse strengths and styles. This builds empathy, trust and cohesion. 3. Spark Inspiration We’ve seen time-and-again that the playful context of playing a game together lowers barriers to ideation. Games motivate teams to want to apply insights sparked to make positive changes. New ideas emerge to improve communication, collaboration, processes, and more. Intentional habits rooted in your cultural values are key to sustaining an engaging environment. While it can start with a game, be sure to make reflective practices a consistent habit. Examples include starting meetings with appreciation, sending weekly pulse surveys, or sharing wins regularly. PEOPLEfirst's Cards for Culture game which was designed for business professionals to help you craft an actionable plan to help improve your company's culture and make it more sustainable. Visit www.CardsForCultureGame.com to learn more and to purchase the game. What other ideas do you have for using games and habits to shape culture? Share with us below!