Incentive trip in the spectacular southern Sardinian coastline
Exciting team-building activity for 650 guests on emerald Island
Client’s expectations:
Our client, one of the world's leading consultancy and auditing firms, contacted us to organise a memorable and exciting team building activity for 650 people in Sardinia.
It was their annual incentive trip, and the first time on the Italian island with such large numbers (for them).
The company required a team building experience that could strengthen collaboration and support in breaking down communication silos, with the emphasis on being fun and light-hearted whilst emphasising the feeling of belonging with the hope of building further loyalty. An important factor for them was that the activity must involve all participants simultaneously, ruling out the normal contenders such as “Beach Olympics”.
In addition to this, the company has always fostered sustainability, and so they specifically required an experience that had minimum impact on the environment and the local community.
The health and safety of delegates in attendance are important elements in any event, but when dealing with 650 people all at once on a beach, they become the top priority.
So, everything needed to be carefully analysed, from various perspectives, leaving nothing to chance.
Our solution to execute the record-breaking team building:
Thanks to our team's creativity and expertise and our incredibly professional partners, we managed to create a record-breaking cardboard boat regatta.
Before the activity, we planned a briefing for all the attendees in the resort’s conference room, ensuring that they could all clearly understand the workgroup they were assigned to and the team building course.
To avoid queues and crowding, we scheduled scattered departures to the resort’s beach, which we had negotiated private use of for the duration of the activity.
On the beautiful golden beach of the Sardinian coast, we installed sixty-five ‘construction’ stations, one for each group. Each station was equipped with biodegradable materials to create a seaworthy cardboard boat. The area was supervised by lifeguards, medical staff, divers, and masters of ceremony who coordinated and animated the scene.
To ensure that everyone was involved in the activity, we also had motivational support throughout the session who guided and entertained the participants throughout the day, encouraging groups to communicate and knowledge share emphasising that individual success meant group success.
How we worked behind the scenes to meet the client’s objectives:
Timing, weather, and the number of participants were our biggest challenges here. The team conducted multiple site inspections, analysing every detail. Just a couple of weeks before the event, a strong storm hit the Sardinian coasts, eroding its beaches. The area for our team building was heavily damaged, but, thanks to our team’s preparedness and expertise, we soon managed to reorganise the activity and get everything ready on time. Weather changes were quite frequent at the time, so we decided to rehearse plan B during the final site inspection, involving all the teams and suppliers and ensuring that nothing was left to contingency.
Client’s feedback:
We created an experience that engaged and stimulated all participants, everyone had a role to play and whilst split into 65 teams we ensured that every team interacted, planting tips, tricks, and knowledge that must be shared by all. The programme embodied the company’s culture and values and created an intense connection and sense of belonging between all the employees and managers. Together, all groups worked very hard to build their cardboard boats and sail the sea. Watching the participants enjoying the regatta onboard their cardboard boats has been incredibly satisfying for all of us. Despite the complexity of managing so many people in a restricted area, we successfully created a memorable and record-breaking team building activity. Our client referred to this trip as an exceptional, stimulating, and unforgettable experience. The satisfaction with the overall result was so high that they re-booked for the next year.
