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12 Days of Cubemas #7: How to #BeAnAngel
On the seventh day of CUBEMAS, we focused on being extra kind to each other (not that we don’t do that anyway) by strengthening friendships and encouraging communication between team members. Be it grabbing them a coffee on your next run, taking them out for lunch or simply paying them a compliment when you next see them. Here's how to #BeAnAngel...
4 min read
Culture
Sharing the love at Christmas:
At a point where our agency is as large as it’s ever been, it’s important to strengthen friendships, encourage communication and ensure every single person feels like a part of the amazing team.
But this can be a challenge.
That’s why we’ve introduced this #BeAnAngel Christmas initiative. Being an angel means giving and receiving a surprise act of kindness every single day, getting to better know the colleagues you wouldn’t usually have a chance to interact with.
So how does it work?
Each day, every member of the team picks out a random name and number from the hat (or cereal bowl – we don’t have any hats).
The numbers range from 1-24 and correspond with our lovely advent calendar hanging up on the wall. There are suggestions behind each number, involving conversational topics and activities to get involved in.
It’s super simple!
From things like ‘find out their favourite food’ to ‘go get a coffee together’ or ‘tell them why they are valued at CUBE’ are a few of the suggestions.
One name. One number. One activity per day. Easy right?
Any issues?
Absolutely…
#1 – Slight confusion over the rules; names and number were being put back into the bowl, meaning some people were picked more than once per day. (Not a problem for them, but a problem for the people not getting chosen).
#2 – Not everyone remembered/had time to participate, leaving many names in the bowl. At the end of day two, some people hadn’t been picked on either day.
Could they be solved?
Of course…
#1 – Put the ‘hats’ and advent calendar in a much more accessible location.
#2 – Bribery – ‘come and grab a name… and a cookie’.
#3 – Going around the office encouraging the team to get involved if they hadn’t already done so that day (not ideal!).
The results? Honestly everything I'd hoped for:
Here’s one conversation I overheard between two people who don’t usually chat a lot in the office:
CUBE one: ‘Hey, you fancy going for a walk at lunch?’
CUBE two: ‘Ah I have an appointment today so I can’t, sorry!’
CUBE one: ‘Oh no that’s okay, do you want me to get you some lunch?’
CUBE two: ‘Aww that’s really sweet of you, thanks’
Another conversation that went from plain awkward to completely hilarious;
Recent Newbie: ‘You… look nice today’
Managing Director: ‘Oh… Thank you!?’
Recent Newbie: ‘You’re also a really kind person’
Managing Director: ‘??’
Recent Newbie: ‘And you brighten up my day. Just by being yourself”
Both: *Fits of laughter. Smiles all round*
Of course, there was some scepticism about the whole thing – but it turned into a positive.
CUBE one: ‘Have you had any nice conversations with anyone today?’
CUBE two: ‘Yeah I guess… but (CUBE 4) doesn’t really care what my favourite movie is, does he’
CUBE one: ‘Actually he has someone else today, he was just being nice!’
CUBE two: ‘Oh that’s so kind, I hope I get him tomorrow!’
"The best thing about Be An Angel is that every time someone does something nice for you, it makes you want to get involved and do the same thing."
It’s never easy to get 100% of your group to participate in activities, people are often on holiday/too busy/have a meeting/off ill (we could go on). But this was a great start in filling our office with positive energy and building a way closer, more CUBE team.
So that rounds off the seventh day of CUBEMAS.
Published on December 18, 2017, last updated on April 9, 2019
