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Campfire
along a riverside under a starry night, paint-balling in dummy
jungles, trekking on a lush mountain track with the cold breeze
brushing past your hair, lying on a beach watching the sun go down,
exotic trips to foreign lands with your family what if these were not
the musings of an idle mind but team plans being thought of by your
bosses at work.
Fascinating locations, adventure tracks, specially designed activities and much more. The old adage of Jack turning into a dull boy is being taken rather seriously by the corporate houses, as they roll out outbound trainings for their employees, away from the office grind. The idea is to gift the employees a holiday to get away from the routine and connect with their peers in a better ambience. Specially organised at a tourist location, these outings are teamed with light need-based activities. "Budget and time
permitting, I think these are a must for every organisation, as they
add a lot to the overall efficiency", opines Prem Ojha, business
head, HFCL Infotel, "Earlier, this was a way to attract
workforce, but now this has become one of the most effective ways to
retain it. Apart from the employees having a good time, this also
helps them perform better after the rejuvenation." Looking at the
soaring temperatures, the company plans to take its executives to a
hill station this season, whereas it could be one of those foreign
destinations for the leadership teams.
Since behind every successful executive is a woman and vice-versa, so the families of the employees are also included in many of these trips. "Support from the family always helps employees perform better. When we take our senior management out, we invite their families also. While the employees attend their sessions, there are programmes for the spouses and children, too, e.g. painting competitions, adventure activities etc," says Ojha. From the location to the activities involved, a lot of thought is put in to ensure a fun-filled, never-before holiday package for the employees. Kiran Joshi, branch
head, Blue Lotus Communications, shares, "This is one holiday we
look forward to all the year round. It is kept as a surprise for us
and as before, the location is undisclosed this time, too. The
activities are as unconventional as they can be. Once, on a trip like
this, we walked on fire apart from solving a murder mystery! Last
year, we went for a very interesting canine and equine training and
even stayed in a stable for the same." She goes on to tell us
that in canine and equine training, though human teachers are present,
learning is mostly done through animals. Each group is given a dog to
train, based on the carrot-and-stick policy. In another situation, the
groups had to act as if the dog was the CEO of the company!
"Other activities involving horses helped us learn a lot about
psychology and body language," she adds, her voice ringing with
enthusiasm.
These are not just random activities, as consultants are hired to ensure that specific needs of a group are catered through them. "We sit in consultation with the HR team and based on their requirements, we chalk out the entire programme. Based on the learnings derived from the practical experiences, a plan of action for individual as well as organisational improvement is drawn," says Col R.S. Gadhok from Olive Greens, a company that specialises in conducting these Outward Bound Learning programmes. "Based on psychology, these training sessions touch upon leadership and team-building activities, consensus building, self-awareness, interpersonal relations, attitude, emotional awareness etc." Most companies like these activities to have a liberal dose of adventure and games to ensure that they primarily remain a holiday to unwind. "These initiatives can unknot issues in inter-personal relationships in unexpected ways", shares Ojha as he narrates an anecdote about two employees in an office who were not on the best of the terms with each other. However, their wives hit it off at one of these outings and became really good friends. This led to a thaw in the employees’ equation as well as better synchronisation at work. That taking off one’s tie and letting the hair down once in a while translates into better results can be gauged from the fact that in many companies, the business head spends money from his own pocket to organise these holidays. Ajit Pal Malhotra, regional manager, Indiabulls, who took his team to McLeodgunj and Dharamsala a few days ago, shares, "The boys had achieved some of our targets and I wanted to appreciate as well as further motivate them. They work under immense pressure and I think it’s only fair to give them a chance to chill out, away from all the stress." The venue gave them a chance to enjoy trekking along with a late-night campfire. So, it could be a summer full of fun, activity and a lot of excitement for the professionals. From the joy of incidentally discovering a common hobby with your colleague, indulging in some good old retail therapy together, to finding a virgin trail in the jungles — all this is certainly much more fun when your employer bears the expenses.
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