Cathy’s Blog

Spring is approaching fast – well, in my mind it is. Some people only see the wind, rain and occassional snow flurry. I see crocuses and the beginnings of blossom and daffodils and I even heard someone mowing a communal lawn this morning throwing up that undeniably fulfilling smell of cut grass. However, I digress. My point in this article is that Spring is definitely on its way and this will be the perfect time to plan your corporate event.

Why I hear you ask? Well I have this little sadistic streak that makes me revel in not making life too cushy for workers just to see them take advantage! However, I do beleive that corporate events are truly worthwhile in that they bring the team out of the office and in to an entirely different environment that is new to them all. Despite the hierarchy of work, this new situation puts everyone on an equal footing and can encourage those withdrawn at work to show another side to themselves and allows those in managerial positions to see the potential of those beneath them.

Take, for example, the type of corporate events that take people outdoors, into the wilds, and puts them into situations where problem solving is the order of teh day. We’ve all seen it at some time. It might be a camping session in the middle of a forest with minimal facilities or it could be an army designed assault course. All can be great fun if the team go at it with a positive attitude but they are hard work. They call for people thinking and acting as a team, making decisions and trying and testing various methods of problem solving.

They’ll get dirty, they’ll probably get wet and in teh Spring they will definitely get cold. But they’ll also get stronger. It gives them chance to gel together and build their characters. So what is the point?

Given an entirely new situation where staff do not feel they have something to live up to, no deadlines to meet, no boss breathing down their necks, they can come out of themselves – you get a glimpse of the person behind the suit. This can help them and you to realise different strengths and weaknesses in people and you can then utilise these new found character traits at work. You will get the best from your staff, they will get an event they can talk about for a long time to come and you might just find there is a shift in the way relationships at work act for the better.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 4:51 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.