Romina Puno-Romero has a passion for fun, games, and bringing people together. She builds team engagement and commitment with a sense of fun when celebrating individual and business success.

“I’m known for creating and hosting games at parties. I even have a game kit that I love using, to bring fun to people and teams. So, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to respond to feedback from my team.

Our team told us they wanted more information cascaded, so they could see how they contribute to IDP’s bigger picture. They also told us they wanted more frequent interaction and appreciation. The session was initiated and has been very well received. We use this session to provide more detailed business updates and to shine a light on our people’s contribution and achievements. But most of the time, it is a gathering of the community we have built together, to spend time together, and to build stronger relationships within our team.

We have created a sense of fun and community, a place to come together. When we are stressed, we don’t talk about numbers, we play a game instead. This mindset change allows people to have fun and destress. It helps us realise we all have the same feelings, and we are in this together. During sessions, I mix things up and run games every so often, especially when I know the team is feeling low and anxious. I don’t tell people which session the games will be played, and people join in the hope that games will be on! Either way, they get a business update and recognition.

We have introduced recognition themes such as the monthly Most Valuable Person award, and the 100 Club which recognises counsellors who have supported 100 or more students complete their applications. This one in particular, has become a sought-after award! This has allowed us to recognise lots of successes, that all contribute to our business. The acknowledgement provides a sense of achievement and motivation.

We’ve had days where the team get to create and imagine, do crafts, play bingo, and most often play competitive games. People are attending our update sessions because they love the interaction and fun, and they want to win the prizes! We’ve also started the year by letting the team decide and design the theme and inspiration for the whole year. The winning theme becomes our fighting cry for the year and the design is printed and becomes a highly sought after gift. In the movie ‘Happy Gilmore’ it’s all about winning the green jacket, for our team, if you meet your targets, you get the jacket. It’s a big thing, it is a sought-after item at the end of the year and people work hard to earn it.

The session has created a wave of mental health projects supported by the managers to look after our people’s wellbeing. There are offices that implement a 15-minute mental health walk each day to ensure they get out of the office environment. Some offices run monthly classes like Zumba or yoga, others have created a reading nook and quarterly game sessions during regular meetups while other offices have karaoke nights and have “Payday Pigouts” where they try a new restaurant together. It is wonderful to see people laughing and interacting.

I’ve been so pleased to see my counterparts implementing similar sessions, after seeing the success of ours. Looking after ourselves and our colleagues is so important, and sometimes a 30-minute game session can do the trick! "

Thank you, Romina, for bringing fun and building engagement, whilst showing us the IDP Values of Caring and Community.

#ItsUpToMe to create a sense of purpose and shared focus.