Fantastic Team Building Ideas to Do with your Call Center Team this Christmas

The holiday season gives contact center leaders an opportunity to strengthen relationships, recognize employees, and create positive experiences beyond daily performance goals. Team-building activities do not need to be complicated or expensive. The most effective ideas give employees an opportunity to connect, collaborate, have fun, and feel appreciated while maintaining the staffing and service levels required by the operation.

• 1. Organize a Community Giving Activity
• 2. Hold an Optional Gift Exchange
• 3. Decorate the Contact Center Together
• 4. Plan a Company or Team Outing
• 5. Organize an In-House Holiday Lunch
• 6. Hold a Friendly Holiday Contest
• 7. Offer a Creative Workshop
• Make Holiday Activities Inclusive
• Balance Team Building With Contact Center Operations

Contact center agents spend much of their workday focused on customer interactions, performance expectations, systems, and operational processes. Creating occasional opportunities for employees to interact outside those responsibilities can help teams build stronger relationships and a greater sense of connection.

Holiday activities can also become part of a broader Employee Experience and company culture strategy when they are combined with recognition, development, supportive leadership, and meaningful opportunities for employees to grow.

1. Organize a Community Giving Activity

Giving back to the community can bring employees together around a shared purpose.

Teams can organize voluntary collections or activities involving:

• Toys
• Food
• Clothing
• School supplies
• Personal-care items
• Monetary donations
• Volunteer time

Rather than simply collecting items, give employees an opportunity to participate in the planning. Teams can help select the organization, establish the goal, organize the collection, prepare donations, or participate in delivery when appropriate.

Community involvement has long been part of CCSI's culture. Holiday giving initiatives have included employees working together to collect donations for organizations supporting children and families in the communities where CCSI operates.

Make Participation Voluntary

Employees should never feel pressured to contribute money or purchase items. A community activity can still create a strong team experience when people are given different ways to participate according to their interests and circumstances.

Someone may contribute an item, another employee may help organize the event, and someone else may volunteer time.

2. Hold an Optional Gift Exchange

Secret Santa remains one of the simplest holiday team-building activities because it encourages coworkers to learn more about one another.

The activity can be organized by establishing:

• A voluntary sign-up
• A reasonable spending limit
• A gift-exchange date
• Simple preference lists
• Clear rules so everyone understands the activity

Preference lists can make the activity easier and prevent employees from feeling pressure to guess what another person would like.

Another option is to replace individual gifts with a team exchange, small appreciation notes, or a non-monetary activity.

Keep It Fun, Not Financially Stressful

The purpose is interaction and appreciation, not the value of the gift.

Set a modest spending limit and make participation optional so the activity remains positive for everyone.

3. Decorate the Contact Center Together

Decorating the workplace can turn an ordinary workday into a collaborative activity.

Rather than assigning one person to decorate the entire office, invite teams or departments to contribute ideas and personalize their spaces.

Possible activities include:

• Decorating common areas
• Creating themed team areas
• Decorating trees
• Creating handmade decorations
• Decorating break rooms
• Developing campaign-specific themes

Team participation is what makes the activity valuable. Employees work together on something unrelated to their normal responsibilities and continue to enjoy the result throughout the season.

Protect the Customer Environment

Decorations should never interfere with workstations, security equipment, emergency access, ventilation, cameras, computer equipment, or the professional environment required by the client.

Contact centers should also avoid decorations that create excessive noise or visual distractions during customer interactions.

4. Plan a Company or Team Outing

A team outing gives employees an opportunity to interact outside the normal work environment.

Activities can include:

• Lunch or dinner
• Bowling
• Games
• Outdoor activities
• Sporting events
• Group entertainment
• Community events

The best activity will depend on team size, schedules, budget, location, transportation, and employee interests.

Managers can involve employees in selecting the activity rather than assuming everyone enjoys the same type of event.

Team Building Does Not Have to Be Elaborate

A simple lunch or bowling event can be just as effective as an expensive celebration when employees have an opportunity to relax, communicate, and enjoy time together.

CCSI continues to incorporate team activities and employee engagement into its people-first company culture, alongside recognition, professional development, internal growth, and employee support.

5. Organize an In-House Holiday Lunch

A company outing may not be practical for a contact center that operates extended hours, multiple shifts, or high customer volumes.

An in-house catered lunch can provide many of the same social benefits while making participation easier.

A successful holiday meal can include:

• Food options for different dietary needs
• Multiple serving times for different shifts
• Recognition of team achievements
• A brief message from leadership
• Games or employee activities
• Time for employees to interact away from their workstations

Scheduling is particularly important. Employees should be able to participate without creating unnecessary customer wait times or placing additional pressure on coworkers who remain on the floor.

Use the Opportunity to Say Thank You

A holiday lunch can also be an appropriate time for managers and company leaders to recognize the team's contribution throughout the year.

Recognition does not always need to be formal. A sincere thank-you from leadership can reinforce that employees' work is noticed and valued.

6. Hold a Friendly Holiday Contest

Friendly competitions can encourage creativity and interaction among teams.

Holiday contest ideas include:

• Ugly sweater contest
• Workspace decorating contest
• Holiday trivia
• Gingerbread house competition
• Tree-decorating competition
• Holiday photo contest
• Team decoration challenge

Team-based contests can create more collaboration than individual competitions because employees need to plan, divide responsibilities, and create something together.

Keep Competition Friendly

Team-building contests should not become another source of workplace pressure.

The objective is participation and enjoyment rather than intense competition. Consider multiple categories or small recognition awards so the activity celebrates creativity rather than focusing only on one winner.

Activities should also remain separate from important performance metrics unless there is a clear business reason to connect them.

7. Offer a Creative Workshop

Creative workshops give employees an opportunity to learn something unrelated to their daily contact center responsibilities.

Possible holiday workshops include:

• Making wreaths or decorations
• Gift wrapping
• Holiday cooking
• Baking
• Crafts
• Photography
• Drawing or painting

Employees may also have skills or hobbies they would enjoy sharing with coworkers.

Allowing an employee to lead a simple activity can create another form of recognition while encouraging coworkers to interact in a different environment.

Learning Together Builds Different Relationships

During a creative activity, employees who may not normally work closely together can help one another, share ideas, and discover common interests.

Those relationships can continue when employees return to the operations floor.

Make Holiday Activities Inclusive

Holiday celebrations should create connection rather than make employees feel excluded.

Contact center teams may include people from different cultures, religions, backgrounds, and personal circumstances. Managers should create activities that allow employees to participate comfortably without requiring them to observe a particular tradition.

Practical approaches include:

• Keeping most activities voluntary
• Offering non-religious alternatives when appropriate
• Avoiding pressure to spend money
• Considering dietary requirements
• Including different shifts and departments
• Asking employees which activities interest them
• Respecting employees who choose not to participate

The objective is to strengthen relationships across the team.

Balance Team Building With Contact Center Operations

The holiday season can also be one of the most demanding periods for Customer Service operations.

Contact center leaders therefore need to balance employee activities with:

• Forecasted customer demand
• Agent schedules
• Service Level requirements
• Employee time off
• Absenteeism
• Shift coverage
• Customer wait times

A well-planned activity should improve the Employee Experience without creating additional stress for the employees who still need to manage customer interactions.

Organizations with multiple shifts can repeat activities at different times or spread them across several days so more employees have an opportunity to participate.

Team Building Should Continue Beyond the Holidays

Holiday events can create memorable moments, but strong teamwork is built throughout the year.

A healthy contact center culture also requires:

• Consistent recognition
• Supportive leadership
• Employee feedback
• Continuous training
• Professional development
• Clear communication
• Fair performance expectations
• Opportunities for internal growth
• A professional work environment

Team-building activities work best when they complement these fundamentals rather than replace them.

CCSI's Culture Advantage combines Work Environment & Motivation, Recognition, Real Growth, and Development to support stable and engaged teams throughout the year.

Strong Teams Create Stronger Customer Experiences

Team building has greater value when it supports a broader culture of collaboration.

Experienced employees who communicate effectively with coworkers and supervisors are better positioned to share knowledge, ask for assistance, support new agents, and work together when customer situations become complex.

For clients, this can contribute to teams with stronger operational continuity and deeper knowledge of the brand, systems, processes, and customers they support.

CCSI develops professional bilingual and bicultural contact center teams in Mexico supported by recruiting, continuous training, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Quality Assurance, employee development, and local leadership.

Historical note: First published in 2018, this seasonal article has been reviewed and updated while preserving its seven team-building ideas: community giving, gift exchanges, workplace decorating, team outings, catered lunches, friendly contests, and creative workshops.

Originally published: December 14, 2018
Last reviewed and updated: July 26, 2026