Internal Customer Care Icebreakers and Energisers

Time:
This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 15 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To demonstrate that our perspective on a situation might be very different to someone else’s and that this does not necessarily mean one party is ‘right’ and one is ‘wrong’.

Group Size:
Can be used with groups of up to 25 participants.

Useful For:
Anyone.

You'll Need:
• Copies of the house pictures provided.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To energise a group.
• To test participants’ abilities to work together quickly to solve a simple problem.
• To introduce the concept of continuous improvement.

Group Size:
This module can be used with groups of up to 25 participants.

Useful For:
All participants.

You'll Need:
• Nothing other than the materials provided.

Notes:
This simple activity is one you can return to several times in your training to demonstrate the principles of continuous improvement.

Provided you have more than one team, this activity adds an extra dimension to the remote delivery module, ‘Hands up, Line up!’ by encouraging participants to reflect on how a silo mentality might impact continuous improvement.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
The Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library is called ‘Hands up, Line up!’.

Time:
This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 30 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To explore the kind of behaviours that are needed to be an effective contributor to online meetings or conference calls.

Group Size:
Can be used with groups of up to 25 participants.

Useful For:
Anyone.

You'll Need:
• Flipchart, pens and sticky notes for all participants.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 25 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 30 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To welcome the participants.
• To introduce the facilitator(s) and participants to each other.
• To introduce the facilities.
• To agree the course objectives and timetable.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of almost any size.

You'll Need:
Nothing, other than the materials provided.

Time:
This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To allow participants to articulate their own ideas about their strengths and what they can bring to the group.
• To understand how others in the group think of themselves and their strengths.

Group Size:
Suitable for use with groups of almost any size.

You'll Need:
• A box of random items – enough to give every participant a choice.

Notes:
This is a great exercise to use where you want to encourage participants to think creatively.

Time:
This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To encourage participants to consider their experiences as a customer.
• To identify ways in which poor customer service could have been improved.
• To briefly consider the impact of poor customer service.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 20 participants.

You'll Need:
• A series of cards (or pieces of paper); some need to be marked with a cross, others with a tick and the rest with a dash (-). You will need one card for each participant.

Time:
This exercise will take about 10 minutes to run. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To consider the impact poor customer service can have on an organisation's reputation.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 20 participants.

You'll Need:
Flipchart paper and pens.

Time:
This exercise will take about 20 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 30 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To explore the difference between optimistic and pessimistic behaviour.
• To understand the kind of actions to take in order to be more optimistic.

Group Size:
Can be used with groups of up to 25 participants.

Useful For:
Staff at all levels.

You'll Need:
• Nothing other than the materials provided.

Notes:
This activity can be run on its own or as a follow on to The Charity Challenge.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 25 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To demonstrate the importance of asking the right questions when trying to understand another’s perspective.

Group Size:
This module can be used with groups of almost any size.

Useful For:
Anyone.

You'll Need:
• Drawing equipment for your participants.

Time:
The exercise in this module can be completed in about 30 minutes. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing about 40 minutes for this module.

Aims:
• To help participants understand the impact of their behaviours on others and the part they can play in developing and improving difficult relationships at work.

Group Size:
This module can be used with groups of up to 25 participants.

Useful For:
Everyone who interacts with others at work.

You'll Need:
• 2 different colour pens for each participant (to complete the handout).

Notes:
A great exercise to demonstrate our role in conflict with others. It’s designed to help anyone reflect on how to improve their workplace relationships, not just those who are in conflict. It is also a useful addition to Emotional Intelligence training.

We do recommend that you practice reading Flenda’s Tale aloud a couple of times before using this exercise.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 25 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 30 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To encourage participants to share information about themselves.
• To build rapport among participants.
• To start to identify core communication skills.
• To explore the use of the communication loop.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 25 participants.

You'll Need:
• You might find it useful to pre-prepare a flipchart with the questions participants will be answering written on it.

Notes:
This exercise takes longer to run with larger groups.

Time:
This exercise will take about 20 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 30 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To explore how participants perceive their role in the team and if they adopt a similar approach away from work.
• To explore how their colleagues perceive their own roles in the team and if this differs away from work.
• To understand the importance of diversity of skills and abilities within a successful team.

Group Size:
Suitable for use with pre-existing teams of up to 15 team members.

You'll Need:
• One set of My Role Cards per 8 participants, blu tack and flipchart.

Notes:
This exercise is designed for pre-existing teams, especially if they need to work more effectively together.

Time:
This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To encourage participants to share information about themselves.
• To test participant's knowledge of each other.
• To encourage participants to see beyond their existing perceptions of others.

Group Size:
This module can be used with groups of up to 25 participants.

Useful For:
Staff at all levels.

You'll Need:
• A pen and post-it notes for each participant.

Notes:
For a similar activity, with a different approach, you might like to look at True Lies.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To explore what participants believe needs to happen when there is conflict between colleagues.
• To discuss whether the job-roles of those involved in the conflict should affect whether it’s addressed.

Group Size:
This module can be used with groups of up to 24 participants.

Useful For:
Anyone.

You'll Need:
• Nothing other than the materials provided.

Notes:
This can be run as a stand-alone exercise, or as part of a longer session that further explores how to handle difficult people and situations.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 5 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 15 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To explore how participants see their role in the team.
• To allow participants to share what they think they personally contribute to the team.
• To understand the importance of diversity within a successful team.

Group Size:
Can be used with groups of up to 24 participants.

Useful For:
Pre-existing teams.

You'll Need:
• Flipchart paper and pens for each participant.

Notes:
This exercise is designed for pre-existing teams, and especially those that may need to work more effectively together.

If you have more than 10 participants, you may need to allow extra time for this activity.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 5 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 15 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To explore what it feels like when a colleague adopts a pessimistic attitude.
• To understand how pessimism can impact the likelihood of success.

Group Size:
Can be used with groups of up to 25 participants.

Useful For:
Teams.

You'll Need:
• Flipchart paper and a pen.

Notes:
This icebreaker is really only suitable for use when running in-house training with an established team. To make it more credible, we suggest running this activity immediately after a break (and make sure you’re absent from the learners for part of that break). It works best when it is followed up with Describing Your Glass - Optimism vs Pessimism, as that module focuses on the positive steps that can be taken to develop optimism as a skill.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To demonstrate the importance of teamwork.
• To show how, by working together, we have the potential to achieve more.
• To encourage participants to consider the dangers of an overly competitive workplace culture.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 25 participants.

You'll Need:
• 1 game board, 1 die and 1 counter per team (with up to 8 participants in each team).
• Prizes of wrapped sweets/chocolates.

Notes:
This exercise can be followed by The Wheel - The Importance of Teamwork (Review), found in the Review Activities section of Trainers' Library.

Time:
This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 25 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To reflect on how effective communication relies on more than words.

Group Size:
This module can be used with groups of almost any size.

Useful For:
Anyone.

You'll Need:
• A flipchart and a set of coloured flipchart pens (see the image in the Handout for the required colours to include in the set of pens).

Time:
This exercise will take about 5 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 15 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To define what bullying and harassment are and to explore their impact in the workplace.

Group Size:
This module can be used with groups of almost any size.

Useful For:
Anyone.

You'll Need:
• To prepare flipcharts containing ACAS’ definitions of bullying and of harassment if you don’t wish to use the PowerPoint slides provided.

Time:
This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 30 minutes for completion.

Aims:
• To encourage the team to think about the team's strengths and weaknesses.
• To identify behaviour that the team needs to change.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 20 participants.

You'll Need:
• Nothing other than the materials provided.

Notes:
This exercise is designed for teams that normally work together.