When people think about team building in Phuket, the beach is often the first thing that comes to mind. Indeed, it is perhaps what Phuket is most famous for. Put a group of colleagues on the beach, add a few team challenges and you’ve got what looks like an acceptable corporate team building event.
But the beach isn’t necessarily the best place to do team building.
Quite often, the beach is chosen because the company is in Phuket rather than because it is the right environment for the team building itself.
The beach looks great in the brochure
A photograph of 40 employees running along a tropical beach looks much more exciting than a photograph of 40 employees in a hotel meeting room.
This creates a temptation when planning corporate events in which the destination becomes part of the marketing and the beach becomes part of the experience.
And before long, the assumption becomes:
“We’re in Phuket, so we should do something on the beach.”
But a good team building program shouldn’t start with the location. It should start with (a) the objective and (b) the specifics of your group.
The answer should influence the activity and the location, not the other way around.
Phuket’s weather can be a problem
This is the obvious one. Phuket is tropical. That means hot, humid weather and a distinct rainy season. Even outside the rainy season, you can have a perfectly sunny morning followed by a sudden downpour.
For a tourist deciding whether to spend an afternoon on the beach, this isn’t necessarily a major problem but for a corporate group of 60 people with a carefully planned program, it can be.
Imagine you’ve booked:
- A beach location
- Equipment
- Transport
- Catering
- Staff
- A photographer
- Several team activities
And then it rains. Unfortunately, “everyone back onto the bus” isn’t always a particularly inspiring team building activity. Neither is “let’s move to the meeting room and play some silly games because we don’t have any equipment that we can set up indoors.”
A well-planned program should have a realistic contingency plan. Sometimes that means moving indoors from the very beginning.
Heat can affect participation
Phuket can get very hot. And while some people will happily spend several hours running around on a beach in tropical heat, others won’t.
That’s particularly relevant for international corporate groups. Participants may be arriving from countries with very different climates.
Some may be perfectly comfortable while others may be sweating before the first activity has even started.
Heat also affects the way people participate.
If participants are physically uncomfortable, tired or dehydrated, their attention is likely to move away from the activity and towards finding some shade and a cold drink.
It’s also a safety issue. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can come on very quickly, often without notice.
Not everyone wants to run around on a beach
Corporate groups are made up of lots of different people with varying ages, fitness levels, personalities, competitive spirit, and preferences.
Some participants would rather solve a problem or attempt a creative challenge than race across the sand.
I’m not saying that you should avoid physical activities. I just mean that you shouldn’t assume that physical activity = good team building.
Beaches can be inconvenient
There is a practical issue. Are there toilets, changing facilities, refreshments, shade, and storage for personal belongings?
Think how many participants have entered the sea with their phone in their pocket. Or lost their wedding ring somewhere in the sand. These sorts of things happen more often that you might think.
Sometimes the activity itself is unnecessary
Years ago, one group insisted to travel for 45 mins by speedboat to an island, play a game for around 30 mins, and then travel 45 mins back to their hotel. What was the point?
They could have had a far more enjoyable and engaging activity in their hotel grounds. Or, alternatively, they could have removed the team building game entirely, and enjoyed a 2-3 hour speedboat tour instead.
I’ve had other organisers ask for team building activities during cocktails on a very expensive luxury yacht. This may sound like a cool idea from the organiser. In reality though, the participants would most likely prefer to enjoy the champagne, chat with colleagues, appreciate the views, and have a swim.
I often recommend to clients who bring me these types of requests that they should choose one or the other. If you want to experience the amazing islands you should perhaps book a boat tour and experience them properly without trying to squeeze in games along the way.
If you want to take your group on a luxury yacht, take advantage of the yacht’s facilities and the stunning views. Preventing your colleagues from fully enjoying the yacht experience by organising a game of hula hoop relay is perhaps not a wise decision.
There’s most certainly a place for beach and island-based activities. A shared team bonding experience simply exploring the islands can be extremely effective. And, if you have a full-day available, it is certainly possible to design an awesome speedboat amazing race event (because you’ve got the time to do it properly and have the best of both worlds).
But always consider whether the beach environment is necessary or worthwhile if you’re looking for an engaging team building event.
You don’t need a beach to create energy
There is a common assumption that indoor team building must be dull. Hotel meeting room, tables, chairs, PowerPoint etc.
It doesn’t have to be like that.
A well-designed indoor team building program can be highly energetic and super fun. I’ve got several awesome indoor team building programs in my menu as well as loads of options that operate entirely within hotel grounds.
The energy comes from the experience, not necessarily from the scenery.
I’ve run activities where participants have been far more animated inside a meeting room than they would have been standing on a beach in the sun. And, in my experience, a lot of people express their relief when they discover that they are in the air-conditioning!
Indoor team building can actually offer more flexibility
There is another advantage to using a hotel or meeting venue. You have greater control.
You control the environment.
You can control the equipment.
You don’t have to worry about tides, weather or excessive heat.
You can move from one activity into a discussion without relocating the entire group.
You can use audio-visual equipment if necessary.
And if you need five minutes to debrief an activity, everyone can simply sit down.
This can make a significant difference when the program has a genuine team development objective.
So when is the beach a good idea?
I’m not suggesting that beach team building is always a bad idea.
Far from it.
A beach can be fantastic when the activity genuinely suits the environment.
For example, if you want a highly energetic, informal session with a strong social element, the beach can be ideal.
It can also work particularly well for activities involving:
- Physical challenges
- Team races
- Building or construction challenges
- Environmental activities
- Large-scale competitive games
And if the company’s main objective is simply to get everyone away from their desks and have some fun together, the beach may be exactly what they want.
The key is to be clear about the purpose.
Ask this question before booking a beach activity
Before choosing the beach, ask:
“Would we choose this activity if we weren’t in Phuket?”
If the answer is no, that’s worth thinking about.
Perhaps you’re choosing it because it looks impressive in photographs. Perhaps everyone assumes that a Phuket corporate event should involve the beach. Perhaps your hotel recommended it.
None of those are necessarily good reasons.
Instead, start with the team.
- What do you want people to experience?
- What behaviours do you want to develop?
- What kind of interaction do you want?
- What will make the participants actually engage?
Then choose the environment.
The best location is the one that fits the objective
Sometimes that will be a beach. Sometimes it will be a hotel garden. Sometimes it will be a conference room.
There is no prize for doing team building on sand. The purpose of team building isn’t to prove that your company has travelled to Phuket.
It’s to create an experience that helps people work better together and provide a memorable shared experience.
So when you’re planning team building in Phuket, don’t automatically ask:
“What can we do on the beach?”
Ask a more useful question:
“What kind of experience will be most valuable and be the best fit for this team?”
If the answer happens to be the beach, cool.
If it happens to be an air-conditioned meeting room or a hotel lawn, that’s fine too.
The palm trees don’t have to be involved.