How to Run an Office Cubicle Decoration Contest

Maybe you're an office supervisor and want to see your employees get the most out of their workplace environment, or maybe you're just an office minion appointed to rally pep among your colleagues. A cubicle decoration contest is just what your office needs. While the idea might be a bit corny to some, it might, at the very least, improve employees' attitudes about their work spaces and increase their level of comfort around co-workers.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Choose a theme for the contest. As a boss, the theme is up to you, but feel free to present the idea at a meeting and collaborate with your employees. The theme could be as specific as "the beach" or as vague as "express yourself." Halloween or April Fool's Day are fun occasions for creative decoration ideas.

2. Determine the incentives. Cash prizes will always get the crowd going, but other ideas for incentives include gift certificates, time off, tickets to sporting events, "sleep in" or "leave work early" passes, or use of the CEO's (or another special) parking space.

3. Announce the contest. Post flyers around the office displaying the theme, prizes and deadline, and encourage 100 percent participation. Send an email reminder to the company with the same information.

4. Drive participation. Send emails listing ideas of funny cubicle decorating ideas (there are tons of example photos online), and mention the contest in the break room every now and then. If you decide to make the contest an annual event, announce that the cubicle photos will go down in the company's history books (or on a prominently displayed wall). Indicate your flexibility and open-mindedness to personal taste.

5. Choose an unbiased judge or judges for the contest. The best judge will be a company employee who does not work within your department.

6. On the the day of the contest, allow for an extra long lunch period (or some other time during the day) during which employees can spend decorating and socializing.

7. Judge and award. The judging should take place after lunch or before the end of the workday, so allow for some flexibility in the workday. Prior to the contest, determine a scoring method, such as rating different qualities on a scale of one to 10. Measures may include creativity, neatness, feng shui or other factors according to theme. Award the top prize to the winner and other incentives to the runners up.

Resources

• Humorous cubicle prank photo
• Cubicle turned modern art by Post-Its
• Elaborate cubicle decoration contest examples

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