How can we stay positive during the Covid 19 lock down?
As you can imagine there aren’t very many good scenarios around at the moment so this is a valid issue to address. To take my own situation as an example. One of the first challenges for me, was that by the second week of March all of my work for March April and May was postponed. This situation was made worse, because as a director in my own company and no longer receiving a salary (I am over 65 and so receive my state pension) I am unable to benefit from any of the government’s schemes which means I am having to finance this period of business inactivity by using savings, for...
Read MoreThey say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Last week I went to a wedding of a friend – Mark and I have known each other for over twenty five years and keep in touch every now and then, so it was fantastic to catch up with him and also with so many others from the past. We used to attend the same circus skills workshop and along with another friend, Mike we formed a circus act called “The Flying Frick Circus Company” which we performed at local fetes and events. Mike had flown in with Paivi his wife, from Jordan to be there and it was so good to catch up face to face rather than on Skype or Messenger. The rapport was still there...
Read MoreHow do I organise a team building away day for our surgery?
Before making any arrangements, there are some questions that need answering such as “What are the reasons we are doing this”. Is it something that is done every year and is therefore expected by the staff? Are there specific issues that need to be discussed? Is this something to lift morale within the surgery? Equally important to ask is “What are our desired outcomes and how are we going to measure them” The answer to these questions will most likely depend upon the type of intervention you choose. For example a meal out for the team or say a trip to a local ten pin bowling club...
Read MoreHow important is the venue to a team building away day?
For most organisations the price of the venue or the day delegate rate will be the biggest cost to the day, so getting the venue right is very important. Probably the more important question to be asked is, “How much value will the choice of venue add to the overall experience” or “Will the venue enhance the opportunity to deliver on our required outcomes”. Over the seventeen years we have been delivering our unique motivational away days for clients, we have had some interesting experiences in respect to the venue selected by the client. When asked, we prefer a well lit room clear of...
Read MoreDo team building away days work?
I suppose as someone who designs and delivers team building away days I should answer “ Of course they do, just sign the contract here and here please” (Actually we don’t ask you to sign a contract, an email confirmation and a deposit to secure the date in our diary will do) Being realistic though, it really does depend upon the expectations you had about the outcomes. For example if the team has issues with the way the way communicate with each other, how work well they work together as a team (rather than a collection of individuals) or perhaps there are some personality clashes, the...
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