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.

Exhaustion-Free Team Building Events

"GO FIND US SOMETHING FUN TO DO THAT WON'T MAKE ME SWEAT!"

Non-physical activities are back in style, and better than ever.

With our aging workforce, coupled with many more senior management groups choosing to invest in fun team building events, the re-emergence of casual, non-strenuous activities really shouldn't have come as a surprise to us. Not everyone wants to take part in an event involving racing around the city. During the past 12 months more than 50% of the events we've run for groups have been non-physical, a significant increase over recent years.

More and more event planners are asking us for more laid back, easy going events everyone will enjoy, regardless of their physical abilitiies (or lack thereof). They want their group to enjoy an afternoon together, doing something unique, entertaining and non-strenuous, albeit with a little competition built in.

If this is what you're group is looking for, call us and be sure to let us know you need to find a great activity that won't make your boss sweat!

Our 3 most popular non-physical activities:

CI: Crime Scene Investigators will see your teams of investigators walk to various crime or evidence collection scenes where they must carefully search for clues, plus preserve and document evidence to solve each particular component of the case. Upon completion, the teams will hand in their evidence and receive lab results. Their final challenge will be to interpret the meaning of the clues and evidence, then attempt to solve the mystery: who has committed the crime?! This is one of our perennial top sellers for groups of all types and sizes.

The Apprentice is an incredibly popular indoor event everyone will enjoy, with the benefit going to your team and a local kids' charity. Your teams will build and decorate bikes, then create original and entertaining ad campaigns to sell their custom creations. After the applause has ended, the bikes will be donated to children in need to enjoy for years to come.

Cake Creators has proven to be popular and effective with many of our corporate clients wanting to enjoy a relaxing afternoon together. Can you imagine your accounting department decorating cakes? Can you picture your manager piping out frosting? This is a delicious culinary team building experience designed to bring diverse groups together in a competitive yet supportive environment.

We've been planning fun large group events all over the world for decades. Whether it's CI: Crime Scene Investigators, The Apprentice, Cake Creators, or one of other fully scalable fun activities, we'll have a great solution when you need a proposal for a relaxing event, right now.

Murray Seward
President

The Outback Group
American Outback | Canadian Outback | British Outback | Corporate Explorer Training

Dining in the Dark? Really?

You'll never forget this company dinner ...

I was in the dark about dining in the dark.

A number of years ago a colleague came back from a trip out east excited about the most fantastic dining experience he'd ever had. Rob loves good food, and has dined in many great restaurants around the world. But this experience was obviously different ... he had dined in the dark. Yes, pitch black, no light, complete blackness.

I'd never heard of dining in the dark. It sounded like a great time, so last year while in Toronto with my son I experienced it for myself. Wow! What an intense experience. Not only did the food taste amazing (I think it was beef), the ambiance was wonderful. We spent the entire time laughing about our struggles in the pitch black reaching for the water glass, trying to get butter on the buns, and banging our fork and knife against the dinnerware. Hilarious.

Use a meal with colleagues in total darkness to create stories you'll be telling (and laughing about) for years.

What I quickly realized was how exhilarating it was to try something new ... to step out of my comfort zone. As adults, we so rarely take a leap of faith that when we do, it's an amazing feeling. This is exactly why Dining in the Dark with colleagues is such a powerful activity to do as a group. Yes, turn your next boring meal with colleagues into something that is truly unique, memorable, fun, and will foster trust and reawaken a passion for life.

Dining in the Dark is one of the highest rated programs we offer. Consistently people rank it much higher than their initial expectations. The Dining in the Dark experience can be delivered at ANY meal in ANY location you may be getting together as a group.

Step out of your comfort zone, energize your staff, and help them create lasting memories and stories to tell for many years to come.

What to do when your golf course tells you "You're too big!"

Today we got a call from a manufacturing company that over the past few years has grown significantly. Years ago they started a tradition of hosting an annual golf tournament for all their staff including management, office staff, and all the guys on the shop floor. Golf worked well. They could simply book a local course and have the course event staff take care of the golf, a meal and drinks.

Everyone had a good time. People golfed (in some cases at least some resemblance of golf happened!). People ate. People drank. People had fun.

Their people loved to work for a company that would make an effort to thank them for all their hard work. Morale increased. People became more productive. The company grew.

Then it became apparent they were a victim of their own goodwill. One day the golf course called and said they'd grown too big to do golf. With 300 people now, golf just doesn't work. What to do?

They called us and asked about our fun large group events. "You mean for a similar per person budget I can get an activity everyone will love, and do a great social afterwards with food and drink?" Yes you can.

Corporate Castaways is a great solution for large groups. It's an absolute ton of fun, and allows you to mix teams up however you want. Anyone can do the challenges, and the way we set them up promotes lots of fun competition, laughter, fun trash talking between teams, and most of all, lots of stories to tell afterwards. We can set it up virtually anywhere, and following the challenges set up a great casual meal for everyone to enjoy.

The Amazing Chase works really well for groups in a city setting. Work during the morning, then after lunch, set everyone off on our race course throughout the city. Afterwards, meet back up at your preferred restaurant or watering hole for a great meal, some drinks, and a ton of storytelling.

We've been planning fun large group events all over the world for decades. Whether it's Corporate Castaways, The Amazing Chase, or one of other fully scalable fun activities, we'll have a great solution when your golf course tells you "you're too big".

Murray Seward
President

The Outback Group
American Outback | Canadian Outback | British Outback | Corporate Explorer Training

Morale Building in Companies

The only difference between an overworked employee who is an unproductive and disruptive influence in your business and an overworked employee who is hyper productive is ... MORALE.

Let's be honest. Everyone is overworked in todays business environment. Those who feel good about their work situation significantly add to the bottom line. Those who don't aren't simply unproductive, they infect coworkers around them.

Companies seeking to maximize profits engage in morale building exercises regularly.

5 Steps to a Corporate Culture Shift

The definition of Corporate Culture is "the collective values, attitudes, and behaviors of the organization's staff". Common sense will tell you (and it is borne out by countless studies on the issue) that if your company suffers from low morale, profitability is significantly lower than it could be. Trust me, it's costing you.

Quantifiable consequences include:
- Absenteeism
- Lack of productivity
- Turnover
- Poor customer service
- Sabotage

Have you ever sat beside a coworker who is unhappy in their job? Like a contagious disease, poor morale will spread from individual to individual unless steps are taken to inoculate against it.

In order to eliminate negativity in a corporate culture it is necessary to improve the values attitudes and behaviors of the individuals within the organization. This can be done in five simple steps:

1. Assess the extent and major causes of the problem through a formal cultural assessment survey as well as through an informal interview process.

2. Management must set the tone and lead by example. Progressive managers treat all employees with honesty, respect and dignity. Employees will follow the example.

3. Improve communication. Verbal, written, email, body language communication etc. must be respectful in tone. It is never appropriate to yell, use sarcasm, to condescend, to discipline in front of others.

4. Review employee performance honestly and fairly. Praise whenever warranted. Reward superior performance.

5. Hold regular staff social activities and employee development programs in order to build trust, camaraderie and as a demonstration that the company values their contributions.

A culture shift requires time, resources, and commitment. The return on investment, however, is substantial.

James Corbett
CEO