Active Escapes
Author: Julie Keller
April 2008
Columns
It’s no secret that meetings can sometimes get a bit stale—eight hours in a stuffy conference room, no matter how interesting the topic, can be exhausting.
Breathe life into your next event by taking your attendees out of the meeting room for active team-building adventures. They will appreciate the change of scenery, and the bonding that takes place when people enjoy themselves and let their guards down can make huge strides in the success of your event.“Active events are usually more engaging and creative,” says Tori McLaughlin, west coast regional director of sales and marketing for Kimpton Hotels. “Activities are great icebreakers that let attendees relax and enjoy the company of their coworkers. These opportunities also provide bonding experiences between different departments and give attendees a more memorable experience to take home with them.”
The number of experiences available for such meetings, it seems, is limited only by your imagination. Some highlights include:
- American Outback Adventures and Canadian Outback Adventures create team-building sessions and morale events utilizing such concepts as CSI, The Amazing Race, Mission: Impossible, James Bond, The Iron Chef and more. They can create custom group adventures throughout the West Coast and Canada. Groups of 10 to 1,000 are divided into smaller teams of four to 10, and work at their “mission.” Typically, these events take three hours and have been designed to be implemented anywhere the group is meeting. “In today's workplace it is not uncommon to interact with colleagues only via e-mail,” says Murray Seward, general manager.” Our events serve to break down that barrier and allow participants to gain a true sense of camaraderie.”
- The Boulder Rock Club (Boulder, Colo.) is a full-service indoor climbing gym with room for several hundred climbers at once. According to Scott Rennak, director of sales and marketing, the club offers almost everything related to climbing for people with any level of interest and skill and can handle groups from two to 200 people. He says the most valuable lesson meeting-goers learn from the experience is trust. “Everyone belays (holds the rope), so folks learn to trust each other,” he says. “And climbing tends to be a social, informal group activity, so it provides a chance to get to know each other.”
- Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa (Sonoma, Calif.) will customize active, wine-themed events for groups ranging in size from two to 500. Options include a Grape Stomp, a relay where teams compete to see who can stomp grapes fast enough to fill a bottle of wine; yoga in the vineyards; and Sip n' Cycle, a bicycle tour through the back lanes of Sonoma that includes stops at some of the Sonoma Valley's signature wineries. Guided hikes are also available.
- Another fun option is an interactive cooking dinner, such as the one that was part of the October 2007 meeting of The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church at FireSky Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. Rebecca Storti, director of meetings and special events for the organization, says the group was divided into eight teams of 10 people who were posted at working stations and instructed to create a specific dish based on a recipe provided by the event organizer, Recipe For Success. While the group was cooking, the hotel staff butler passed hors d’oeuvres and refreshments. After the cooking extravaganza was complete, each team put its item on a buffet, and the 80 attendees enjoyed the dinner that they had just prepared. “Everyone loves a little competition, so group awards for presentation, taste, teamwork and spirit were given,” Storti says. “We even added a few joke awards for Kitchen Diva, Teacher’s Pet and Best Effort (But Please Stay Out of the Kitchen).”
If you do select an active option as part of your next meeting, there are a few things to keep in mind. McLaughlin says it is important to know your attendees, including their physical limitations, dietary restrictions and corporate personalities. “With these traits in mind, planners will be able to design activities that will accomplish the event’s goal without compromising safety or fun,” she says.
Storti says you should also be sure to set a time limit on the activity and not let it drag on so that attendees become bored and business goals are not accomplished. Seward also advises against surprising attendees with an active event, saying you should always let them know what is coming prior to their arrival. “Individuals will tend to enjoy and gain more benefits from an activity if they know what to expect, can get psyched up for it and can prepare themselves for it by dressing appropriately and being well-rested.”
With these stipulations in mind, no matter which option you may choose, you can be sure that your choice will lend to the success of your next meeting. “These events really put people in a good mood, and people in a good mood are much more productive than those who are stressed out,” Storti says. “There is a great deal of laughing and joking around at these team-bonding events, and it loosens people up and they become better acquainted. Anyone who has worked as part of a team knows it is so much easier to work with people you know and feel comfortable with. When people can play together, they can work better together and become more productive.”
Questions to Ask
Murray Seward, general manager of American Outback Adventures and Canadian Outback Adventures, says you can ensure the success and ease of adding an active element to your next meeting by asking the following questions.
1. Where will the event take place? Are you able to have it start and finish at a location convenient to us?
2. Are you able to customize the event to better match the theme of our meetings?
3. I'm worried about weather. Can you plan an event that will take place indoors?
4. Is this activity appropriate for someone with a medical condition?
5. What does my investment include? Is there anything we will have to pay for separately?
6. If my group size increases, are you able to adapt?
7. Do you have references from other clients you have worked with?
Resources:
American Outback Adventures & Canadian Outback Adventures
americanoutback.net; canadianoutback.com
Boulder Rock Club
totalclimbing.com
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
fairmont.com/sonoma
FireSky Resort & Spa
fireskyresort.com
Recipe For Success
recipeforsuccess.com
