TEAM BUILDING - Team Building Activities in Cubicles

by Tara Duggan, Demand Media

Team building activities prepare employees to function more effectively. When team members sit near each other in cubicles, a successful facilitator conducts team building exercises that promote cooperation, sharing and collaboration using the cubicle space. When a company hires a large group of new employees, reorganizes or acquires another company, team building activities that encourage participants to visit other employees’ cubicles help promote team work on the job.

Treasure Hunt

A facilitator conducts a treasure hunt in an office setting with cubicles by hiding items in the cubes in advance. Then, he creates instruction sheets that provide clues to finding the items. Items can include office supplies, company products or ingredients to make a snack, such as trail mix, which can be assembled at the end of the day. At the beginning of the day, the facilitator divides the participants into teams and distributes the instruction sheets. The teams meet to develop a strategy for finding the items throughout the day. At the end of the day, a facilitator announces the first team to find all the items on their list.

Decorating Contest

Cubicles provide a sterile, uniform environment. To make it more exciting, successful managers motivate their teams and encourage their employees to decorate their space. Establish rules for safe, tasteful and appropriate decoration. By running contests, managers establish a competition that encourages teams to work together to come up with innovative decorating solutions that surpass other team’s decor. Each quarter, set up a new theme. For example, challenge teams to decorate their cubicles with phrases commonly used at meetings, such as “Push the envelope” or “Let’s touch base.”

Crazy Shirt Day

Even if a company has a dress code, reserve one day a year for a team-building activity. Every cubicle occupant gets to wear a crazy shirt on that day. Take pictures of the event and display them on the company’s website. Provide prizes for the craziest shirt, the most colorful shirt or the oldest shirt. Everyone gets to walk around and see their neighbors. They get to laugh a little in a cubicle environment not necessarily conducive for meeting other employees.

Cubicle Swap

Allowing employees on one side of the building to exchange cubicle space with another employee on a different side of the building or another floor offers these employees a chance to work in a different space and meet the people in that area. This promotes team collaboration and team members have fun commenting on the pictures, coffee mugs and other items assembled in their temporary cube space.