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Working
Creatively with Groups
February 19,
2007
MiGurus Meeting
Industry Gurus
By Betty
LeDoux-Morris, CMP
Group
Recreation/Team Building and Spa seem to be on the rise again for corporate
groups and associations. Unfortunately post 911, groups had to watch their
extra dollars and were essentially eliminating the “extras” from their
meetings. However, with the growing awareness of the true value that Group
Recreation/Team Building and Spa have to offer, more and more groups are now
arranging for their attendees to experience some recuperative time during
meetings…which is great news for me!!! I have often said and would
argue with anyone at Saddlebrook, that I have the best job at the Resort. As
Director of Group Activities and Spa Sales, I have the good fortune of helping
Planners schedule some fun time for their group…Director of Fun!!!
One of the
challenges most groups have is selecting an activity that fits their group.
This can be quite difficult when the dynamics of the group are so varied.
However, with some continued dialogue with the Planner and thinking out of the
box, a customized event can be planned that will ensure success of the event
and kudos for the planner. For example, we have customized our “regular” events
to meet the needs of the client by including two or three-day programs that
include a leadership aspect on our Executive Challenge Course (Teambuilding), a
more light-hearted event at our Sports Village followed by regenerative time in
our spa. Because this is considered a true “teambuilding” event with very
clear objectives, obtaining funding for such activities from the educational
budgets works very well. It is a legitimate expense for the company, the
attendees have a good time – while learning some valuable lessons and tools that
they take with them to the workplace – and they leave the meeting feeling that
they were able to truly experience the property all while accomplishing the
goals of the company. In times past, it was not uncommon for groups to come to
Saddlebrook and not allow their attendees to experience all the beautiful
amenities that we have to offer. Consequently, they would leave in a more
negative state of mind than when they arrived. Fortunately, companies are
getting away from this line of thinking and seeing the value in such exercises.
In my opinion, the
essential element that helps to make me successful in my role of planning with
the groups is the unique ability to work creatively - - basically because we
have such an option-rich property. I’m sure that many planners run into a
situation where the client wants to be on the beach. While we can not
miraculously create a beach for the group, we can certainly create a beach
atmosphere right in our sports village area with the lake, sand volleyball
courts. Add some tiki torches, hula hoops, beach balls along with the sand, and
you have created the atmosphere they were looking for. Of course, the key in my
area is to add the fun events – the tug-of-war in the sand, the super duper
sling shot event with the water balloons, limbo contests, etc., and a good time
is had by all.
More to
come…….Wednesday Spa / Friday Teambuilding
"Spa"
is the Word
February 22,
2007
MiGurus Meeting
Industry Gurus
By Betty
LeDoux-Morris, CMP
A growing favorite
in the group activity world is the Spa. While this certainly is not
considered a “Group” activity, it is a great alternative to those non-golfers
and non-tennis players and offers a great way to recover from the possible
stress from sitting in meeting rooms all day.
It is truly
difficult to ignore the benefits of a spa service. However, one of the
challenges I have faced with meeting planners selecting spa services for their
group is making sure that we can accommodate everyone. CEO’s and planners truly
have their groups interest at heart in allowing their attendees some “down”
time, but can’t afford to allow too much time as they must certainly cover the
material for which the meeting is held. So, the biggest challenge is to
schedule all the appointments within what becomes quite often, too little
time.
We recently had a
group inhouse that offered their attendees spa services and the response was
overwhelming – however, the time was not. We were asked to accommodate in
excess of 120 appointments in a four-hour time frame – the majority of which
were one hour massages. Not a problem if you have a spa that has 30
treatment rooms……however, most properties do not have that much space allotted
for their spa. But we were encouraged by the challenge and secured several of
our two bedroom suites to serve as a ‘remote’ spa. The bedrooms were stripped
of the furniture (stored in the adjoining third bedroom), the living room was
set up with fresh fruit, wine and candles, lights were dimmed and we created a
spa ambiance that was relaxing and did not compromise the experience they
sought to have.
This transition is
certainly not an easy one for most properties, but with proper planning, it can
be accomplished in a relatively short period of time (a couple of days) and the
guests leaving the property relaxed and appreciative of the effort and service
generally secures a return visit to the Resort.
Teambuilding:
An Essential Part of Meetings
February 23,
2007
MiGurus Meeting
Industry Gurus
By Betty
LeDoux-Morris, CMP
Teambuilding – a
term sometimes loosely used for what may be considered “down” time, while
others consider it in the true sense of the words - - building a team.
I look at it in all ways - - we are fortunate to have a five-acre
Executive Challenge Course on property, complete with Climbing Wall, two Leaps
of Faith (Pamper Pole), Zip lines, etc.; a creative “outward
bound” type set up for those groups wishing to step outside of their comfort
zone and travel across a wire 30 ft in the air, while team mates hold the
safety cords below.
I mentioned in my
first article how teambuilding and group activities are fast becoming an
essential part of meetings and that it is something that can generally be taken
from an educational budget provided that the right content is included.
Dr. Hall, our in-house Challenge Course facilitator, often
comments to groups how this is not only stepping out of the box or out of one’s
own comfort zone, but is also a great learning tool as any time there is an emotion
attached to an experience (in this case, a learning experience), – it
sticks. Much like everyone can remember where they were when the
planes hit the World Trade Center or on a positive side, details surrounding
events at the birth of a child are vividly recalled while one can’t remember a
home telephone number. The Executive Challenge Course
helps us to help groups provide the scenario for establishing that “foot print”
for the attendees. We often encourage groups to have a portion of
their meeting out in the woods at our Challenge Course and proceed right from
their meeting to either the high or low element exercises. If this
is not an option, we recommend that the group do their teambuilding first and
then proceed to the meeting (if only one time slot is allowed for the
teambuilding). This accomplishes the set up for the information that is
to be given to the attendee to stick, and also allows for the members of the
group to get to know one another on a very different level.
We have had many
groups who incorporate three days of our teambuilding program into their
meeting – which would include half days of activities at the Challenge Course,
Canoeing on the Hillsborough River, and a more light-hearted event at our
Sports Village. Dr. Hall includes a wrap-up or debriefing wherein he recaps to
the group what was learned over the last few days. Most of the time, we
make sure to capture these events on camera so that the group will have a DVD
of the event to take home with them, or at the very least a picture that can be
used for a mousepad or monitor screen saver. Seeing these pictures
instantly brings a recall to the events of the trip as well as the material
covered during the meeting sessions.
In the event the
group dynamic is such that the Executive Challenge Course is not a good fit,
similar activities can be arranged at our Sports Village. The low
elements of the Challenge Course can be reconstructed at the Sports Village
with portable equipment and the group can participate in those activities as
well as combining the ever-popular Build-A-Boat event. I think
many properties offer the Build-a-Boat activity, but we offer the event with
several “twist” options. For example, if working with a group that
is concentrating on building Leadership; we would interrupt
construction of the building process about half way through and ask all the
team leaders to come forward and get more equipment. At that time,
that group of Leaders would be told that they are forming yet another team and
have to start the construction process from the beginning. You can
imagine the temporary chaos that is created by this change. . . and another
lesson in Leadership and Change is learned.
Light-hearted events
poolside or at the Sports Village are also very worthwhile - - either just for
fun or with a “message” incorporated into the event. The
bottom line in all of teambuilding is – as I mentioned in my first message – is
to listen t o the client to understand what they are seeking to gain out of the
teambuilding event and be creative to make their message come through all while
providing a fun experience for the guests.
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