Abbott Risk Consulting Summer Conference 2019
Abbott Risk Consulting’s last Summer Conference at Norton House Hotel took place in 2016, where Maximillion provided ARC with an extremely well received “It’s A Knockout” event for their all-staff group. For their 2019 Summer Conference, ARC were looking for ways to build on the success of the 2016 event with another outdoor team challenge that was as interactive, competitive and fun as their “Knockout” experience. The scope of our involvement widened over the 2019 Conference with the inclusion of some themed evening entertainment, as well as engaging staff with some individual and team-based development that could be linked back to the workplace.
Event Details
- Event Dates & Duration: 1st & 2nd July 2019.
- Where: Norton House Hotel, Edinburgh.
- Format: A combination of an afternoon and evening of fun, interactive team building and entertainment on day one with a facilitated full day of individual and team development day two.
- Group Size: 71 staff from ARC’s offices worldwide
Objectives
This 2-day programme, led by Operations Manager Ross Gardiner on day one, and Lead Facilitator Mike Tierney on day two, was designed around the following elements and objectives:
• Day one – to provide the group with fun, themed, afternoon team building and evening entertainment experiences that would also provide opportunities for interaction, participation and light-hearted cross-team competition.
• Day two – a facilitated development day, bringing a blend of theory, practice, and experiential learning to support team-based development. This comprised pre-event online profiling, supported by interactive, and experiential activities and workshop sessions during the day, which were designed to raise awareness of the impact of behaviours on team performance and effectiveness.
What We Did
On day one we engaged the whole group with our brilliant Pole Position team challenge, delivered under a canopy of sunshine and blue skies and around a specially designed track set out in the venue grounds. Pedal power ruled in this low octane – high adrenaline Grand Prix classic! The activity challenged teams over a three stage process where they had to design and construct their very own super kart before racing in a series of qualifiers and finishing with the grand finale. The event concluded with podium results, and a constructor’s prize. The event was selected to appeal to all on the day, be it those with the engineer mind-set, the artistic creatives, or the competitive ‘racing’ driver types keen to expend some energy.
The fun continued into the evening of day one over dinner, with table teams being challenged to identify ‘whodunnit’ in one of our interactive Cluedo-inspired Murder Mystery events. To fit with the nature and style of the Norton House venue we recommended a ‘classic fireside’ storyline – “The Cook Who Corked It” – which starred characters that were somewhat familiar from the board game.
For day two, the emphasis shifted to facilitated team development, initially comprising a BELBIN Team Roles workshop for the whole group in the morning. The session was delivered on the back of the online Team Role profiling administered to all staff in the run up to the Conference. This required everyone to complete a BELBIN Team Role online Self-Perception Inventory, then invite four Observer Assessments to add weight to their own SPI profile, and enable the production of a full, interpretive Team Role Report including 360° observer feedback. To bring to life the BELBIN knowledge and learning from the morning workshop in an interactive and engaging way, as well as providing a fun shared experience upon which to finish the Summer Conference, our unique Kinetic Connections cross-team, collaborative project was provided in the afternoon for the whole staff group.
Day two finished with a BBQ, along with the provision of a selection of Giant and Lawn Games.
Who Took Part
An all-staff group from ARC’s UK offices in Edinburgh, Bristol, Glasgow, London & Manchester, and their overseas offices in Australia (Perth, Sydney & Melbourne).
ARC is an Edinburgh-based safety, engineering and risk management consultancy with a global reputation for excellence in the nuclear, oil and gas, defence and rail sectors.
Its consultants operate throughout the world from a network of offices in the UK and Australia. Independent and employee owned, ARC is proud of its reputation as a top 20 Sunday Times Best Company to work for in the UK.
ARC’s values, driven by Managing Director John Abbott and his team, place people first – fostering a culture of understanding, teamwork, respect and enjoyment at work, rest and play. Sustaining and developing ARC’s ethos and values is where Maximillion came in.
What They Said
“Thanks for all the great feedback on this year’s conference especially those of you who have said it
was the best yet. I agree. I thoroughly enjoyed it and feel proud that I get to work with such brilliant people. The positive attitude and the enthusiasm shown by everyone was fantastic.”
“Thank you to Mike, Ross and Sandy from Maximillion for the team building in
the afternoon, murder mystery that evening, Belbin Team Roles next morning, a fantastic
team building session in the afternoon and, finally, a great barbecue that evening provided by Norton House.”
“Although some of us were a bit slow of the mark the second day, the same positive attitude and
enthusiasm from day one prevailed and I think we all got something out of it. It was clear to me that everyone was communicating and working together better by the end of the afternoon.”
John Abbott, MD