13 Call Center Games to Play in Your Center!

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Think about how productive unhappy employees are—not very, right?  At expiviausa.com, we work hard to bring as much fun to our reps as possible, while still being productive. We have tried to build a culture that brings fun into the center to keep our reps happily engaged in not only their own work but with their teammates, as well.  

Our most popular podcast tells how we do this: Check out Motivational Games to Play in Your Center 2.0 as well.  Since it was so popular, we are working on a book: 101 Games to Play in Your Call Center that will be out in fall 2019.

For version 3.0, we have some of our reps’ favorite games for you.  To earn the right to play each game, the reps have to make their sales or otherwise hit their KPIs first. Prizes vary for each game.  They can range from cash, a cup, candy, a lottery ticket, extra break time, or even going home early with pay!   

Punch out

Pin 20-25 Solo cups to a corkboard, and then fill some of the cups with small prizes: lottery tickets, cash, or wrapped candy. Leave a few cups empty, but also fill some shaving cream for laughs. Then, cover the cup with a tissue, using a rubber band to hold it in place.  When a rep hits their goal, they come up to the table and pick a cup to literally punch out and keep whatever they find.

Find the Joker

Tape an entire deck of cards (with the Joker included) face down on a whiteboard. As reps hit their goals, they get to sign their name on a card.  Once all cards are signed, they are pulled down one-by-one. Whoever got the Joker is that day’s prize winner!

Target Practice

Reps are broken into teams. When a team member gets to play, they roll a die to see how many beanbags they get to throw.  Each target gets a different point value based upon the location and difficulty level–we use a cornhole board, a Nerf basketball hoop, and a wastebasket. The first team to hit a certain number of points wins a prize such as extra break time or going home early with pay.

Horse Racing

We use the 12-inch square carpet tiles on the floor in our center as “spaces” for several games. Teams get to decorate their “horse” game piece. Supervisors create a racetrack around the call center and then each time a team member is eligible, they get to roll a die and move their horse that many squares forward. The team that gets to the finish line first wins.

Human Board Game

Before the beginning of a shift, a supervisor labels carpet tiles with different board game spaces: lose a turn, go back three spaces, swap places, roll again, etc.  Each rep then creates their own game piece. They roll the die each time they hit their goal or make a sale. This game is really interactive because the reps can see where everyone else is and what the need to do to win.

Water Pong

Beer Pong at work would be frowned upon lol, so we play Water Pong instead.  We draw names and pair people into a team of two; then, using a March Madness type of bracket with every team listed, matches are played at a set time.  Reps love this time away from their phones to play! A tournament goes on all week. The championship round is held at end of the day on Friday, when the final match is played.  We play it outside when we can so everyone can gather around and cheer for their friends, without disrupting the people still working. The tournament winners get a nice prize. 

Bubble Race

You may have to steal your kid’s bubble mix for this one. When a rep earns the right to participate, they blow a bubble and must help it float down the carpet “track” as far as the can by blowing on it.  When the bubble hits the floor, they put their team’s marker down. The next person on their team starts from where they ended.  All members of the team that crosses the finish line first get a small prize. 

Guess the Temperature

When a rep earns their turn, they guess the current outdoor temperature from the supervisor, who has just looked it up. They learn if they are too high or too low and get to guess again during their next eligible turn. That day’s prize goes to the winner.  Stupid yet affective…lol

Jeopardy

We set up a dry erase board as a Jeopardy board and break the reps into three teams. Supervisors have questions written out for the dollar amounts in each category. Categories relate to the program that they are running, company-related issues, company history, supervisors, or other things within their job. When one member from each team is eligible, they all go up for the question. Correct answers earn points, but wrong answers lose points for the team. This is great for reinforcing the culture you want to have in your center by gently reminding them what is expected.

Box It Up

Sometimes called Dots (or Dots and Boxes), a supervisor will put 200 or so dots on the whiteboard. As team members are eligible, they come up and draw a single straight line from one dot to a neighboring dot, with the goal being to create a box.  When a team makes a box, they mark it as theirs. The winning team is the one with the most boxes.

State Bingo

If you get calls from all over the country, this is a great game. Create a table with state names in the cells. This game is played within teams (not against other teams). As each rep is on with a caller, they have to see where the caller is from and mark it on their board–increasing awareness of where all the calls come from. The first team member to get a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal Bingo wins! 

Pyramid

Our reps actually practice this game because it is more talent-based than luck-based. When eligible, a rep comes to the table and gets a stack of Solo cups to create a pyramid. They must do it and then take it back down, in a given time. This is kind of like those minute-to-win-it games.  When someone does it, they get a small prize–and a couple of minutes away from their phone.

Create the Mascot

Teams get a small whiteboard.  As team members are eligible, they go to the board and add one feature to the mascot: the head, an eye, a hat, etc. This game really lets the creative and artistic people shine and brings about some interesting creations. At the end of the day, a manager, or someone outside of the call center, looks at each team’s board and chooses the coolest daily mascot. This could also be set up as a fun Facebook poll.

We hope this inspires you to have more fun in your center!

Want more call center operations content? Head over to our weekly call center operations podcast “Advice from a Call Center Geek!” at expiviausa.com/call-center-geek-podcast/ Advice from a Call Center Geek is a weekly podcast with a focus on all things call center and contact center. We discuss topics such as call center operations, hiring, culture, technology, and training and have fun doing it! #callcenter #contactcenter #CX #custserv #callcentergeek
Thomas Laird
Founder and CEO of award-winning Expivia Interaction Marketing Group. Expivia is a USA BPO omnichannel contact center located in Pennsylvania. I have 25 years of experience in all facets of contact center operations. I have the honor of being a member of the NICE inContact ICVC Board. The iCVC is a select group of inContact customers selected to join as trusted advisors to help InContact validate ideas for new products and features and plans for future innovations. I am also the author of "Advice from a Call Center Geek" and host of the podcast of the same name. podcast.callcentergeek.com

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