HR and Recruitment Icebreakers and Energisers

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

Aims:
• To explore the link between skills, attitudes and behaviours.
• To help participants understand the importance of considering attitude as well as skills when recruiting staff.
• To introduce the idea that attitude and skills can be examined in behaviour-based interviews.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 15 participants.

You'll Need:
None, other than the handout provided.

Notes:
A great way to demonstrate the importance of focusing on attitude and behaviour, rather than skills alone when recruiting.

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

Aims:
• To introduce participants to the concept of Assessment Centres.
• To build awareness of the key features of assessment centres.

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

You'll Need:
• Yellow, blue and green card.
• Plenty of space for participants to move around.

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

Aims:
• To raise awareness of how quickly we draw conclusions about other people.
• Understand the impact unconscious bias has on our interactions with others.

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

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

Notes:
This exercise works best if your participants don’t know you very well.

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

Aims:
• To encourage participants to consider the importance of an effective recruitment strategy.
• To consider the importance of an important induction and training strategy.
• To help participants recognise the cost of getting it wrong.

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

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

Notes:
This exercise uses figures from the UK. Similar figures are likely to apply elsewhere but, if using the exercise in other countries, it will be more powerful if you can adapt the exercise with local information.

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 people to reflect on the assumptions we make and the labels we attach to people.
• To understand that there is more to people than what we see on the surface.

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

You'll Need:
• Nothing other than the materials provided. But for a more visual/engaging exercise, you could provide participants physical representations of the products listed in the activity to sort.

Notes:
This is a great icebreaker for any topic where it’s helpful for participants consider whether categorising people is fair, and the impact this can have on beliefs and behaviour.

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 let participants know who is who within the organisation in a fun way.
• To explore assumptions and stereotypes.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of almost any size. It is designed with induction in mind, so we'd expect group sizes to be relatively small.

Useful For:
New staff.

You'll Need:
This exercise needs a little preparation (please see Set Up in trainer's notes).

Notes:
We’d like to thank Sandra Walsh for the idea for this exercise and for giving us permission to include it in Trainers’ Library.