Thrills without any of the spills

What are the pros and cons of arranging an all-action, survivor-type weekend, rather than sticking to a more traditional day out? By James Luckhurst

Somewhere in the Welsh mountains a team of IT professionals are putting themselves through a cold, wet and uncomfortable day’s trek. Further north, in the late winter snow near Aviemore, half a dozen sales managers have hollowed out a hole in the snow and are getting ready to spend the night in temperatures of around -4C.

A generation ago these would have been experiences drawn straight from the misery of national service. Today people pay top dollar to take part. But what can they gain from this kind of experience? Is it really of so much potential benefit to future business success?

Libby Christie, head of operations at Unmissable, believes people have become far more adventurous in their approach to “experiences”. “A higher percentage of people in today’s society now fall into the category of ‘thrill seekers’, with a wish list of high-octane activities they want to experience that are different from the normal hum drum of daily work and life, and will create memories that last forever, as well as being a great talking point when out with their mates in the pub,” she says.

“The increased coverage of extreme sports via satellite TV has seen a dramatic rise in the popularity for certain activities such as kite surfing, abseiling, inline skating and extreme snowboarding with a professional. In addition to the growing number of stunt experiences and extreme sports available, there is also a growing opportunity to get back to nature with a number of exhilarating trips. Adrenalin-led experiences are not just defined by those incorporating some type of physical activity. The adrenalin rush felt from throwing yourself out of an aircraft at 3,000 feet can also be applied to less strenuous activities, such as trekking weekends or camping/survival weekends.”

For an employee incentive or team-building event, an experience offers real stand-out and can boost the company’s image as fun, exciting and challenging. If the company is office based it offers a unique change in environment and is bound to create great excitement. Choosing an activity that employees might not usually get a chance to experience will also provide a talking point in the office and a buzz among employees.

Letting off steam
Adrenalin experiences are increasing in popularity all the time. With the trend for working longer hours continuing and higher levels of stress in the office, an experience provides a great way for employees to let off steam. The opportunities are limitless and the boundaries to what is achievable are broadening all the time. Our biggest challenge is not to create all these amazing experiences, but to convince clients that what we provide really can be achieved.

that what we provide really can be achieved. Ewan Kassir, account manager with teambuilding specialists Bluehat UK, knows that a large percentage of people who see themselves as “thrill seekers” will see an opportunity to ride quad bikes or drive tanks as a really good way of bonding a team. “Through its very nature, a lot of team-building principles have come through formal forces training. Crossing rivers with planks and barrels can be exciting for some, but you can alienate others, especially in today’s world of diverse business culture,” he says.

“We also find that people are often not quite as adventurous as they claim they are when it comes to taking part on the day. There is a place for high-octane events, but this is inevitably going to be curtailed by the new Corporate Manslaughter Act, where the traditional disclaimer may not hold the water it used to.”

The answer, according to Kassir, is to ensure that as many people as possible are catered for and that the message of the day is understood and interpreted in the right way. “People come to us asking to have fun, but through finding out a little more we can help identify the serious messages. Putting a helmet on someone and sending them off at high speed may not be the best way of presenting those messages.”

Small wonder, then, that many are stepping away slightly from traditional team building and want a return on investment, so that they can justify a day out of the office. More structured team building seems to be what most clients are asking for.

Kassir says he gets most calls from people interested in organising survival style days, but without the full-on adventure of building a camp and staying overnight. “They want workshops where they learn the skills, build their own camp, learn what to eat and what not to eat,” he says. But they want to be back in the hotel by 6pm for a bath, drinks and a good dinner. I would say that fewer than 10% of our customers see the attraction of staying out all night.”

Growing scepticism
Cameron Day, business development director at Iris Experience, believes that traditional ways of retaining, motivating and incentivising employees are becoming less relevant and effective. “This can be put down to growing employee scepticism, increased opportunity and a lack of loyalty. The tired old formats of corporate events and days out are over-utilised, boring and dull and not in keeping with everything we know about how to communicate effectively with consumers in today’s world,” he says.

“The challenge now is to come up with activities that are innovative, engaging and tailored specifically to what you are trying to achieve – not off-the-shelf, pre-packaged event solutions. People respond to events and experiences that engage with them emotionally – why should our employees get any less than what we give to our consumers? In putting effort behind finding out what employees enjoy doing and then catering to that, we are on our way to a happier task force that feel invigorated by their career. And with the days of ‘a job for life’ well and truly behind us, this is the least we can strive for.”

Day has a point. The key message is to innovate, but don’t risk alienating those who have little appetite for extreme activity, or worse still, those who think they’ll adore a high-octane day, but end up miserable because they have ended up beyond their comfort zone.

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