Lucy settling in quickly to the Fresh Tracks office

Arriving just days after my final exams at the University of Exeter, I was dreading the idea of sitting behind a desk and plodding my way through mind-numbing admin in a dull, quiet office. How very wrong I was. Fresh Tracks is an innovative company committed to developing better working environments. Through unique and original team building events that range from quad biking to chocolate-making, Fresh Tracks organises bespoke events for companies and teams that need a bit of help on developing their working relationships.

The Fresh Tracks focus is entirely on having fun at work – after all it’s where most of us are going to spend a lot of our time for a good few years! The office, based just outside of Ware in Hertfordshire, has a brilliant, relaxed atmosphere; I felt enormously welcome as soon as I arrived (due largely to the ‘birthday bakery run’ made by Wendy, the company accountant – the Fresh Tracks policy is ‘if you have a birthday, you buy the cakes’).

My experiences in the last fortnight have ranged from formatting a business plan for company owner Dan Collins, who is embarking on an ecological building development project in Hertfordshire, to writing blogs, reviewing and editing Dan’s new book, and packing up boxes for the next ‘Chocolate Challenge’ (see the website – www.freshtracks.co.uk – for details!).

Working in such a relaxed environment, where jeans and flip flops are uniform and the company fish swim happily around their tank made for an enjoyable two weeks, and definitely helped me to get work done efficiently instead of feeling stressed and nervous in a tense environment (we’ve all been in that situation where you’re so terrified to break the office silence that you keep any questions to yourself and try and plough on regardless). Dan requires a high level of commitment and self-motivation on his team; there is plenty of energy within the office, and communication is high on the agenda.

Fresh Tracks are looking for an energetic and engaging individual to come and join the team for a bit of work experience. Willingness to get really stuck in to areas in which you are not necessarily an expert is a must; if you get something wrong, somebody will let you know and you’ll have a laugh and then get on with it. Despite the amazingly relaxed atmosphere in the office (which is an old converted mill), Dan expects hard work and a commitment to getting jobs done on time and to a high standard – the Monday Morning Meeting helps to ensure that everyone understands the coming week’s tasks, and gives the team a chance to share with each other a bit about what they’ve been up to.

Fresh Tracks is committed to ethical, responsible business and trust is a word you’ll hear around the office a lot. Overall, Fresh Tracks practices what it preaches, encouraging staff and customers alike to reach their potential through building healthy relationships, developing trust, and having fun.

If you’re interested in getting involved in some work experience with Fresh Tracks, send an email to jane.mole@freshtracks.co.uk with a bit of information about you, and the reason why you feel you’d excel as part of this team, including answers to these questions…

What is your proudest achievement?
What are you most passionate about?
How have you significantly contributed to a team in the past?

Please try and keep your email to around 300 words.  We look forward to hearing from you!

If only BA Baracus had heard of webinars

After experiencing my first ‘webinar’ (which, after a small amount of research I discovered was not in fact a German composer, but actually an interactive live seminar on the web), I’ve been contemplating the enormous effect of the communications ‘revolution’ that has followed the development of the internet. Sitting in a small office in Farringdon with Dan Collins, founder of innovative team building company Fresh Tracks, and Martin Addison, Managing Director of Video Arts which provides engaging and memorable learning and training materials, I watched as the webcam was fired up in preparation for a webinar to launch Fresh Tracks’ brand new training film, Innocent Success.

Through a combination of live interview, preview clips and questions posted from online viewers, this interesting new mode of communication made for a fascinating 45 minutes. With relatively little stress and no technical hitches (due largely to the amazing IT skills of Sally, the head of marketing at Video Arts), Dan and Martin were able to broadcast to an audience of around 40 people around the world, giving insight into the ideas behind the film and responding to questions posed by those who had logged on. From where I was sitting (just out of webcam shot), it seemed that this webinar was only marginally different to seminars, presentations or discussions that take place face to face. The audience were able to respond, there were interesting visual aids available and the discussion that resulted from the viewers’ questions was lively and engaging.

Particularly in light of the recent chaos caused to businesses all over the world by the ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull (the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano), it is perhaps time to consider the possibilities of internet training as an increasingly efficient alternative to the huge levels of air travel employed every year. Why travel miles when you can broadcast from your office and create an almost identical scenario? From my experience with Fresh Tracks yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised if the webinar’s popularity soars higher than a Boeing 747 in an ash-clear sky.

To watch the three minute preview of innocent success, click here. For a 30 minute recording of the webinar, click here (software download needed).

By Lucy Maule, Fresh Tracks Intern

What can we learn from Moroccan builders?

I’ve been visiting a relief project in Morocco that is building new homes for widows and the very poor following the earthquake in 2004.  Incredibly over 5 years after 12,000 homes were destroyed an enormous number of people are still trying to survive without a home in the hills around Al Hoceima.

A core team of local builders and labourers work throughout the year rebuilding simple single story earthquake resistant homes.  Due to the remote position, all of the work is done by hand without machinery.

Volunteer teams from Northern Ireland and the USA travel to Al Hoceima for a week at a time throughout the summer to help clear rubble, dig foundations and mix cement.

Despite tough working conditions, a torturous journey and no pay, many teams return year after year because they get such a kick out of being part of a team with such a tangible mission.

While they work they get to meet the widows, orphans and subsistance farmers that will be living in the home that they are building, which really helps to clarify the purpose of their efforts.

It is interesting to contrast how a group of people can become so motivated simply by working to a clear goal and meeting the end user.  Now there’s something western managers could learn from Moroccan builders.

We're back on Channel 4 with Paul O'Grady on 22nd Sept

This time we have created an exercise that will have X Factor runners up JLS competing against Paul & Co to see which group can perform best as a team under pressure.  In a matter of minutes the two teams will have to first understand the task, before coming up with a plan that will utilise their strengths and earn them maximum points.

Being an entertainment show today’s challenge will involve lots of water and a fair amount of chaos but the essence is the same as in any other sports or business team – Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Do tune in to Channel 4 at 5pm tonight but if you can’t get to a television do come back to the blog in a couple of days or follow us using your RSS feed because we’ll upload a video of the team building activity!

Sir, I'm afraid your are over your weight limit.

Trying to explain to the curious staff at the Virgin check-in desk quite why we needed two aluminium pyramids, 65 hoola-hoops and 140 white baseball caps was the easy part…… Managing to make 200 lengths of rope, 35 pencil cases,  staff uniforms,  assorted event equipment and a bundle of paperwork meet the strict baggage restrictions was not so easy.

The look on the honeymooners’  and holiday makers’  faces as we struggled across the terminal with our  peculiar luggage was priceless at 5am in the morning. Little did we know what lay ahead; we faced a 9 hour flight sitting  with the Barmy Army England cricket supporters also on their way to the Caribbean . Let’s just say we got no sleep whatsoever!

The venue itself was a former  sugar  plantation that is steeped in history. Whilst a group of us were setting up the afternoon ‘s activities in the orchard area, it dawned on us that none of us knew whether Barbados had lethal creatures such as snakes or spiders. Being able to wear shorts on an event suddenly lost its  appeal. Fortunately, the only close encounter we had was with a curious monkey that obviously wasn’t familiar with Fresh Tracks outdoor team activities.

The actual event for the client went incredibly well. They were fun-loving and competitive by nature, and had an infectious work hard/play hard attitude that made the Fresh Tracks programme, focusing on having fun in the work place, memorable for all of the right reasons. My lasting memory will be the winning team jumping up and down, chanting on stage, with medals around their necks, smiling from ear to ear, holding aloft an inflatable trophy. A job well done.

Call us now on 01920 822 220

 Most organisations are now accessible online 24:7, and many individuals are contactable by email outside regular office hours.  Here at Fresh Tracks we don’t have any hard and fast rules about who should be available  at specific hours, but we want to offer as good a customer service as we can to both existing and new clients. As a result we’ve been trialling various options to deal with phone enquiries out of hours and wondered if anyone had any views, research information or comments?

In general we resort to the good old answerphone for any out of hours queries, with details of  emergency or urgent contact details given in our answerphone message. Does anyone have an opionion (or research) on what business might be lost if someone, calling say at 10pm on a Friday night, gets an answerphone and refuses to leave a message?

As an alternative we’re trialling out of office phone answering by senior event managers, so currently someone can call at any time of the day (or night) to speak to Fresh Tracks about team building, conferences or any of our other training programmes. We don’t have huge numbers of out of hours calls and haven’t (yet) noticed a significant increase in enquiries as a result of this policy. And whatever benefits there may be need to be weighed against the fact that by their very nature, these calls can be unexpected, possibly disruptive to family or home life and callers may not always get a standard office-style response. 

So we  may just go back to the answerphone. In the meantime it would be interesting to find out what other organisations do, and if they’ve seen any results from out-of-hours answering services.

A great team performing under the pressure of live TV

Today I spent the afternoon on the set of a live TV show.  With just two hours to air the production team managed to deal with numerous unforeseen crises calmly and confidently.

Much has been written about stress and its impact on individuals but this afternoon’s experience got me thinking about team stress.

It’s surprising how often we allow anxiety to build from within our teams, limiting productivity, stifling creativity and eradicating the fun from work.

The TV production team today demonstrated excellent performance under pressure by:

- Having clearly defined roles.
- Being empowered by their leaders to do what they do best without interference.
- Listening to suggestions from all team members regardless of hierarchy sharing the load when something had to be fixed quickly.
- Pride in the show they were producing.
- Maintaining a sense of fun throughout.

And finally after 60 minutes of prime time live broadcast we all gathered for a well deserved drink in the Green Room to celebrate a job well done.

Maybe we could learn a thing or two about teamwork from the luvvies in the entertainment industry.

Have a go running a live TV show with your team with our ‘Television Experience’ event.

Dan is live on Paul's programme on 4th March

As you all know, at Fresh Tracks we are passionate about how teams work and improving motivation, whether in business or socially. Therefore when we had a request from Paul O’Grady to appear live on his Channel 4 show today (Wednesday 4th March 2009) to talk about the importance of having fun at work and how to get the best out of a team, we jumped at the chance.

So if you would like to see Dan Collins run Paul and some of his production team through a team building exercise please tune into Channel 4 at 5pm today and then post a comment below and let us know what you thought.

This would not be classed as a successful event!

 Here are some handy hints to make sure you get the best out of your event:

1. Be clear about your objectives
Before you even start thinking about content, the venue or even a date, you need to establish what it is you’re holding the event for. Is it to communicate a particular message,  to announce a new initiative,  to motivate staff, or purely as a social and fun occasion? In particular, ask yourself what would a sucessful event look like? The rest of the planning – style, content and delivery – should then refer back to these objectives.

2. Allow plenty of time
There will always be something that needs to take place yesterday, but if at all possible, allow as much time as possible to plan your event – many organisations spend a year or more planning their annual conference.

3. Planning
Set a timetable for planning your event with deadline dates and assigned actions. Anticipate any risks and make sure you have contingencies in place to allow additional time to get things done, or to bring in alternative speakers, support or equipment wherever necessary. In planning the timetable for your event, build in extra time to allow sessions to run over or to cope with any technical hitches on the day. Above all, plan ahead and don’t leave anything till the last minute.

 4. Get help
You might think you can do it on your own but most people try to squeeze in organising a major event alongside their day-to-day job, which means that neither gets done as they should. Work with colleagues to create a planning group then assign responsibility for various elements of the project, for example for researching the venue and looking at catering options; for putting together the programme, researching speakers or other content providers; for organising any entertainment or extra curricular activities; and for looking at transport and accommodation.  Better still, contact a professional events management organisation who can take the whole thing off your hands. Most are paid commission by venues, so shouldn’t charge a huge fee for the basic admin and arranging venues.

5. Know your budget
Make sure you know how much money is available for the various elements of your event – for transport and accommodation, for the venue and catering, and for any external activities or presentations – before you start. Otherwise you could be wasting your time researching all sorts of exciting possibilities, when the budget will only stretch to a half day session at a modest venue. Make sure you include a contingency and update the budget regularly.

6. Venue
Once you know the type of the event you’re planning, look for a venue that will compliment the nature of the event – don’t try to adapt the event to fit a particular venue, but make sure that the venue can accommodate all of your needs. Draw up a shortlist of possibilities, then – most importantly – visit them to look at the facilities and meet the events staff on site before you make a final decision. A friendly and efficient contact at your chosen venue can make all the difference. In addition to any formal tour offered by the venue, have a wander round on your own, check the public areas (particularly the toilets and dining areas) and ask to see bedrooms if your event involves overnight accommodation. Also check parking facilities and public transport access to your venue.

7. Catering
Feedback from events nearly always mentions the food – particularly when it’s bad. So make sure you know what your venue or caterer can and can’t do – if possible sample the food well before the event before you decide on the final menu. Make sure that your menu accommodates any potential special dietary requirements and that your caterers are flexible enough to deal with any unexpected requests, or changes to the timetable, on the day.

 8. AV
Identify what audio-visual equipment your event will require – for a small group it could be a simple as a data projector and screen. For larger groups you’ll need a full PA set with hand-held or lapel microphones; for larger events still, you may need specialised staging and sets with overhead rigs and lighting. Don’t assume that your chosen venue will have it all ready for you on the day; you may have to hire in additional equipment and help. Check with the venue that the room can accommodate your AV needs, and that should you need vehicular or overnight access to the room to set up, this won’t be a problem.

9. Communicate
Once your date is fixed and your event is starting to come together, let everyone know what’s going on. Get the date in everyone’s diary as soon as possible to ensure high turnout and make sure you communicate positive messages about the event on a regular basis. Manage expectations – you don’t necessarily need to give full details of the programme (it may often be best to keep some items a surprise on the day) but make sure everyone knows what type of event it is, why they are being invited, and what is and isn’t expected of them. For example, will there be transport to the event?; is lunch or dinner provided for all?; will they need to bring anything with them?; what will (and will not) be expected of them on the day? This can also reassure those who might never have taken part in this sort of event before and may not know, or fear, what might be expected of them.

10. On the day
On the day, make sure you’re there early, with extra of pairs of hands to help. Your planning should ensure that everyone knows where they should be and who’s responsible for what, but you’ll always need a couple of people on hand to cope with unexpected changes to the programme or sudden requests. Finally, try to enjoy it. If all your planning has paid off, the event will be a success and you should take the credit!

Team building in Europe is only 24 hours away.

Below me a truck full of team building equipment is hopefully well secured to the deck.  Despite the high seas I’m excited to be part of a new chapter in the life of Fresh Tracks as we increase our overseas team building offering.  On many occasions in the past we’ve jumped on planes to deliver keynote talks and team building sessions at conferences and on occasions we’ve freighted equipment ahead of us.

Now times have changed with much easier road travel throughout Europe.  Ferries can transport vehicles overnight. Laden with team building games not just to France but also the Netherlands (just a couple of hours from the German border) and even as far as Norway, Spain and Ireland.  Most European capital cities can be reached in under 24 hours by road from our Hertfordshire base. This has increased our immediate operating area from being UK wide to being Europe wide for 90% of our activities and worldwide for around 50%, where the kit and equipment can be loaded on a plane.

Clients are delighted that they no longer need to risk using unskilled local team building suppliers that are not familiar with their corporate culture, values and strategy.  They now have access to the same people, equipment and innovation that they use in the UK right around the world.