Wild Goose Chase ... our new ridiculous Smartphone Event!

Take a smartphone-powered scavenger hunt. Mix in some Fear Factor. What do you have? A Wild Goose Chase. Get out of your comfort zone, take on daring challenges, hilarious missions, fun times, and friendly competition!

Reward your team with a Wild Goose Chase

The Wild Goose Chase Event can be modified for a variety of environments and locations. The game can be played in a few hours, or over several days during a conference. We can provide custom challenges and tasks to match your location, theme, company or objectives of your meeting. All you need is a few smartphones and a group of willing participants! 

We recently ran this event for the 20,000 delegates at the Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver. It is a great networking and conference activity for large groups, plus it allows delegates to visit local attractions and see the city sights. 

Participants can easily download the mobile app and play the game as an ice-breaker or networking activity, during breaks or as part of evening social functions. It is a great way to interact with colleagues and collaborate on fun team challenges. Teams collect points and can monitor their progress and see the live leaderboard throughout the game. Plus, this event also works for those on a budget, for large groups it can be as little as $5-$10 per person! 

We also offer a city version open to the public! Do you want to experience your own Wild Goose Chase? Check out our Urban Goose Chase! We will be bringing the fun and excitement to a city near you this summer!

Team bonding in 30 minutes or less

Last week I gathered my team of 20 together for our annual 'Outback Summit', an opportunity for us to get together as a team and discuss a variety of topics important to our company and our people.

Our team is scattered geographically across the globe. Yes, Skype is a great tool for virtual meetings, and allows us all to see each other every week or so. But seeing each other in person is SO much better. It gives us all a chance to get to know each other far better.

This year we played the "About Us" game. Prior to the Summit we all submitted a list of "5 things you probably don't know about me" to one of the Summit organizers. She then compiled the lists and handed them out to all of us.

We then had 10 minutes to figure out who each person was. It was like speed dating at work! It was fascinating to me how little I really knew about many of my crew. Marybeth has been to Antarctica and gone for a swim there. Philip was a national level trampolinist in the UK. Jules has jumped off well-known bridges in the middle of the night. Who knew?

I walked away from this quick activity with a new appreciation for my team and who they are as individuals. At the office we're all guilty of forming opinions of colleagues based solely on interactions and outputs at work. This activity will break down those characterizations, and be a lot of fun too!

Regardless of your role in your workplace, take 5 minutes today to email your colleagues and ask them for their 'list'. Compile the lists, then at lunch on Friday play the game. Just like me, you'll be glad you did.

Team building on a budget

How to make the most of your money

According to the American Society of Training and Development, businesses in the US spent $125.9 billion on employee learning and development back in 2009. On average, this works out to around 2.2% of annual payroll budget.

But in recent years, many companies have slashed their budgets, in response to the ever challenging economic climate. So what are the options when it comes to team building on a budget?

Well, there are a number of simple but effective ways to get your team out of the office and interacting with each other. The key is to find an activity that meets your objectives in a fun and collaborative way that will not break the bank.However, successful companies are now recognizing the need to actually increase their investment in employee training and development. Focusing on maintain positive working relations is especially important during times of change and uncertainty.

Team building activities are an essential way to re-group and develop collaborative problem solving skills to help teams work more effectively. It’s important to look carefully at how much you need to invest in order to deliver a positive, measurable return on investment.

Here are some of the benefits that businesses are looking to achieve:

• Improved communications
• Increased sales, productivity and efficiency
• Greater understanding and appreciation
• Improved trust, energy and enthusiasm
• More productive working environment
• Less sickness, absence and turnover
• Less issues and conflicts
• More thinking outside the box

At Canadian and American Outback Adventures & Events, we have specialists experienced in providing solutions for companies of all shapes and sizes. We’ve got over ten years of expertise and an outstanding track record to go with it. So if you’re looking for the right solution, give us a call today on 1-800-565-8735 (Canada) 1-800-713-7238 (US), or visit our websites at

www.canadianoutback.com and www.americanoutback.net.