Eco Day

    "Eco Day"

    Crowe Associates were commissioned by a large NHS organisation to plan and deliver an Away Day.  The theme was "ECO", the venue was a Zoo, and the focus was on team building, creative thinking and fun! 

    Feedback ranged from "wicked!" to "the quality of the final ideas were … inventive, hugely enjoyable and thoughtful". The task took the team members away from their normal working environment and work content. The task itself was challenging in that there were a lot of parts to the task, requiring different skill sets. All the teams created a group identity and  approached the day with vigour, humour, creativity and discipline.

    Background and objectives

    The client commissioned the Away Day in acknowledgment of the recent growth of the team, and changes to office locations reducing opportunities for team members to get together.

    The objectives for the Away Day concerned building relationships, and participating together in a range of activities and exercises.  Team members were encouraged to communicate/interact and undertake group tasks, in a fun environment.  Creativity and reflection, with the development of an ‘esprit de corps’, was critical to the success of the day.

    Themes, structure and task for the day

    The day was divided into four main parts:

    1. Getting to know each other, and small group development
    2. Planning and delivering an ‘eco’ task - bringing an 'Eco Product' to market.
    3. Presenting the results of the task to a judge, and the rest of the team
    4. De-briefing from the task and the group and giving some feedback on the day

    Each group was based on a ‘tree family’; forest, orchard and arboretum. Selection to the groups was predetermined by the facilitators, who used a tool based on birth dates, enabling  random selection to groups, with enough of a mix to enable relationships to develop.

    Groups were asked to share their individual tree types, and think about their attributes and skills in the context of nature, and how these could be best utilised for the task to come.

    Example : the "Forest" groupEco Scissors

    This group firstly established the attributes of the different members of the group, they then outlined their skills and allocated team roles on that basis, such as project manager, developing a marketing strategy.  They planned out their day based on the schedule they had been given, and ensured that they had review sessions throughout the day to feed back on progress.

    Their product was "Eco-office" - a wrap around service, combining consultancy and Eco products to make the office more ecologically friendly.  They created a beautiful 3D model of an office, using the kit and junk provided, to show all of the attributes of an Eco-office.

    Their marketing team came up with a promotional concept based on "a day in the life of" a person working in an Eco-office.  The finance team considered grant funding and attracting venture capital, as well as a business model including cash flow and profit forecasts.

    Judging and Feedback

    After each of the presentations, our guest judge gave her feedback and asked questions for clarification.  She then awarded the prize for the best team and commended all of them on their originality, enthusiasm and attention to detail of the task.

     Feedback on the day included;

    "Promoted good team working"
    "Creative team working"
    "Teams are good at getting things organised"
    "For those that are not so creative there was plenty of tasks to do"
    "Teams talents were used"
    "People are funnier that we had previously thought"
    "Opportunity to be a bit theatrical"
    "Found out about each other a lot more"
    "I like to get involved and I feel ready to go back and build a good structure for my new job"
    "A really fun and enjoyable day."


    Click here for more information on Crowe Associates' Facilitation work