Well, that was a wet one!
July 30, 2012 : General Team Building
Alex Sharp, our intern, writes:
We have just experienced the wettest June since records began, with 145 mm of rain falling – more than twice as much as normal! I’d wager around half of that collected in the teams’ boots setting up an ambitious Fun Day in Heaton Park on the day that Manchester had a month’s rain in a single day and severe weather warning had been issued.
Our socks were damp but the teams’ spirits certainly weren’t and our hardy event staff battled on to deliver some of the biggest and best events of the year! Whether it was a city centre treasure hunt, two hugely ambitious festival-style fun days, a complex charity challenge or a bespoke medieval knight themed event, the team defied Mother Nature and brought a ray of sunshine to our clients.
The weather can have a big impact on events, throwing up many different challenges during set up, the event itself or de-kit. However, as John our MD says, “There are no problems, only solutions”. So whether it was finding a tractor to pull a lorry out of a field, geeing up soaking guests or even moving an entire marquee, the Maximillion event team made sure our events ran as smoothly as possible through these adverse conditions.
We built make-shift bridges over streams that formed on our event sites, made friends with ducks who were swimming in our “It’s a Knockout” arena and cleared drains to relieve a submerged car park! All sorts of whacky solutions to even whackier problems were devised during June; we’re now waiting for job offers from the Environment Agency to come flooding in!
More challenges faced the team back at the office and warehouse. As you can imagine, our kit got just as wet as our feet. As such, it was all hands on deck in between events drying and cleaning kit, vehicles and uniform. Manny worked on overdrive with occasional help from Rob (and frequent help from myself) and a sterling effort from all ensured our kit was clean, dry and safe for the next event.
As always, the old adage “the best laid plan never survives first contact with the enemy” proved correct and it was this which gave the team a chance to showcase the incredible flexibility and resourcefulness they have. It also gave us a chance to learn some new things along the way and I will share some of these lessons with you now:
- ALWAYS take spare socks
- Take spare shoes and clothes
- Remember there is always a solution
- Small things make a BIG difference
- A smile and a laugh will always help
- Face painters are awesome!
- Have a tractor on stand-by
- A BBQ will be enjoyed whatever the weather
- Don’t panic – stop and have a think
- ALWAYS take spare socks!!!
If you are interested in team building, conferences, event management or team development in the wet throughout Scotland and the UK (we also love doing events in the dry!) then why not call us on 0845 901 1422 or make an enquiry.