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How outbound training bonds people


Experiential training programmes can play a very significant role in bonding team members and getting rid of the “fear factor”, discovered Nikita Singh, when she took part in one such outbound training exercise

It was expected to be two days of fun and adventure at our outbound training camp. I was not the least aware of the tough task ahead—rapelling down a hill! When I looked down the slope it seemed an impossible feat. Normally an outspoken, effervescent person, tears stung my eyes, fear clung hard and out come the only words I knew—“I can’t do it.” From what seemed like miles below cheered a group of people, egging me to use my last ounce of courage, steel and resolve to labour on.

Ultimately, as I rappelled down the hillock, tied to ropes, watching my steps, what struck out was the support and team spirit of the motley group of colleagues perched on the edges of their seats down below, who clapped for every small step and gasped in unison each time I made the wrong move. It is this hidden potential, personality traits and team spirit that organisations look to foster when they send out individuals performing diverse roles from varied departments on experiential training programmes.

These activities help develop, sharpen and fine-tune the behavioural skills and qualities of an individual. They bring out latent facets of one’s personality. Interactive sessions, creative activities, nature trails, leadership and team-building exercises, treasure hunts, camp fires, etc, are appealing dimensions of these programmes—the perfect base for confidence building and the best platform for personality development and team building.

Built in the seemingly innocuous management games and adventure sports, are learnings that employees carry with them, from which emerge personal achievements and traits that would have been hitherto unknown and realisation of the importance of the roles carried out by others. More pertinent, how important it is for each member to work together towards the fulfillment of a larger objective to achieve the organisation’s mission.

Various outdoor sports and games are used to understand the corporate and organisation’s philosophy even better. They also help in self-evaluation.

Head of human resources at Aptech, Ajay Oberoi, who has organised many such outbound training programmes says, “Adventure sports helps members imbibe positive qualities on various factors such as team building, confidence building, risk taking, inter-personnel relationships, target achievement, etc, which boosts overall performance at the work place.”

Rajesh Arora, regional manager at TACK International, a soft skills training organisation, states, “The activities require a mix of stamina, strength, courage, control, concentration and brainpower. Every individual has a flair for adventure and attaining great heights or handling tough situations gives a sense of achievement to him/her. While sports such as rappelling and rock climbing help in breaking the ‘fear factor’, mind games help in pointing out the areas for improvement.”

“Though these might seem to be company sponsored picnics, the underlying meaning behind the experiential programmes help understand and explore the synergistic elements that contribute to effective team performance. For example, rappelling, albeit an adventure sport, helped us understand and move beyond individual paradigms and explore our latent potential. It also brought out the importance of team motivation with respect to individual performances,” adds Seema Saini, a member of Aptech, who took part in the outbound training camp.

I liked the quality of the outbound training modules,analysis by the trainer, the hospitality was good & quality of food . Overall it was a good experience with Zice outbound team. Pujan - Greenfield Online

Going by the feedback, such training programmes are here to stay. Organisations increasingly look to it as means to rejuvenate and train their employees on the finer nuances of organisational behaviour; and members seek to learn and foster better relations with colleagues—within their own teams and cross functional teams.

At the end of the day, as somebody said, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” So hop on the next trip to explore and expand your horizons.

Nikita Singh

Thats was nikita singh's view on Outbound Training.
teamACT a division of Zice Holidays specializes in Outbound Training Programs. Have conducted well remembered programs for organizations like ICICI, Metso Minerals, HCL Bpo, IBM and the likes.

Ravi Dabbiroo | Trainer Outbound Training Programas