Category: Teambuilding

Phuket Old Town Offers Something Different for Corporate Team Building

Most MICE groups, when visiting Phuket, opt to stay somewhere on the west coast. It’s where the best beaches are, the most lively tourist areas, and the biggest selection of resorts. I think it’s fair to say that it’s the west coast that has made Phuket so famous.

So it was an unusual but very welcome request I had recently for a team building program in Phuket Town. Actually, it’s technically a city as it was upgraded quite a few years ago. Most people, including myself, still call it Phuket Town though.

Whatever one calls it, the conurbation is really looking good these days. Vibrant walking streets, night markets, street food, and museums housed in traditional Sino-Portuguese townhouses make the old part of town a cultural hotspot on the island. It’s really very cool.

Until fairly recently, there weren’t any international hotel brands here. Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town is one of the new arrivals and is located within easy walking distance of the best bits of old town.

I was excited for this race as it was a group of sales executives from a digital marketing firm. Sales teams are always full of energy and ultra competitive . I guess they need to be in their industry. These traits are also a perfect combination for an Amazing Race and it was a particularly memorable afternoon.

A Rainy Amazing Race

If you’re booking a trip to Phuket in September or October, be prepared for some rain. Actually, be prepared for a lot of rain. These are our wettest months and my team’s uniform is never dry!

Staying at Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach, this tech company managed to overcome their hangovers from the night before and bring their A-game to the event.

The wind was howling, the sea churning, and the rain steadily falling. But a little rain never stops us. Ponchos on and let the race commence!

Patong is a town that never really gets quiet. At any time of the day, there are tourists everywhere and, on this day, they were dragging their suitcases through the flooded streets and frequently losing their flip-flops, watching forlornly as these colourful slabs of rubber and plastic would catch a wave off the back of a passing car and surf off into the underworld.

I know this is supposed to be a team building blog post but I’m running out of things to say about our Amazing Race as I have posted about it so many times. Future posts may start to resemble a creative writing class from my school days.

A Tasty Team Cooking Challenge in Phuket

I always enjoy cooking-based team building challenges. Even though it’s a competition, there’s always a friendly, easygoing atmosphere. Cooking seems to have a calming effect for many people. I enjoy it myself. After a tough day, cooking a nice meal is relaxing and helps me chill out, kind of like watching snooker.

Some people may not agree of course. They may find cooking stressful. And they may find snooker incredibly boring. But not as boring as cricket, surely….

But with 62 pax cutting, boiling, stirring and, yes, burning their dishes, this team cooking experience was much more exciting than a game of cricket. Everyone was engaged and each nationality was represented on the plate. And while each team had one standout dish, it was the dumplings with ginger sauce that sealed the victory for the winning team.

I’m a bit of a dumpling fan but I did not allow any bias to creep in. Really. Trust me.

A Multi-Cultural Amazing Race Phuket

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a program review but it’s raining heavily today and I’ve got a bit of time on my hands this afternoon.

Speaking of rain, we’ve had a fair amount recently. Including every day leading up to this particular program and every day afterwards. Somehow, on the day itself though, it was hot and sunny.

I’m often asked what we do if it’s raining on event day. Is the event cancelled?

Absolutely not. Our contingency plan for an outdoor event consists of 3 levels so, depending on how bad the weather is, we are able to deal with it.

This particular Amazing Race Phuket was a large group of over 110 pax from an international food company. Participants came from China, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, USA…and a few other countries that I can’t remember. Hang on…the Philippines…that was another one.

How could I forget the Filipinos? Always singing. The Karaoke masters of the Universe.

Anyway, the Amazing Race is always a high-energy affair and with over 100 pax, even more so. A 0900 kick-off meant an early start for my setup team and I at Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort but I’m getting used to early mornings. My dogs have trained me well.

Team Building at Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit

There are a number of Marriott-branded hotels and residences in Bangkok and we’re often found running events in one of them or another. But this was our first time team building at this particular one. It’s an awesome location for an Amazing Race Bangkok as it’s right next to Thong Lor BTS station, allowing easy transportation to the rest of the city.

Our client was from the aviation industry and we welcomed 50 leaders from around the world after a recent merger between their two well-known brands.

Unusually, this event was held on a Sunday. In Bangkok, this a good thing. The traffic is so much better and it made things a lot easier than normal.

I’d also like to give a big shout-out to the Scot who I accidently called Irish. Apparently, they don’t like it very much – but he took it well. In fact, one could say he accepted it in a typically Irish easygoing manner.

I think I may owe you a Guinness.

Well, That Was a Long Day!

We recently had a client who wanted two team building programs in Phuket – in one day! A beach sports program in the morning and an Amazing Race in the afternoon. My first question was: “Are you sure?”

A full day of team building is extremely tiring for participants (and me!). Especially when you’re doing it in early April in Thailand, the hottest and most humid time of the year. However, I was assured by the organiser that all the participants were young, fit, competitive….and slightly stubborn (her words).

So, off we went to Pullman Phuket Arcadia at Naithon Beach for a big day out.

The organiser was right. They were young, fit and competitive and didn’t calm down all day. It was one of the most high energy events I have ever done. Their enthusiasm was insane! My team and I were riding on a wave of adrenaline all day as we facilitated the activities. It was such a pleasure to work with these guys.

The client was from from the financial industry. Fintech, I think. Something to do with blockchain and digital currencies. I still didn’t understand it after several people tried explaining it to me. I’m not sure they fully understood it themselves.

I guess it’s a competitive market though.

After several hours on the beach, a quick lunch, and then several more hours travelling around Phuket in a high-energy Amazing Race, they were still not done. It was then on to a pre-arranged basketball match in town. Not with me thankfully. By this time, I was at home in my Batman pyjamas with a cup of warm cocoa before bed.

A Cooking Team Building Challenge in Phuket

Team building programs involving cooking have been around as long as I’ve been doing this job. However, while Masterchef is certainly a classic and traditional program, it remains one of the very best options for small to medium-sized groups.

A professional kitchen is a great example of teamwork. Under the leadership of an executive chef, the sous chefs, chefs de partie and commis chefs need to work in harmony to get quality food out on time. The environment is fast-paced and goal-driven with clear responsibilities for everyone involved.

Our team building version is no different. Everyone has a role to play as teams battle it out to present the very best dishes.

This particular event for 70 pax was held at Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach, a beautiful resort on the rocks overlooking the somewhat secluded Naithon beach.

Taking over the hotel restaurant for the afternoon, our guests produced some stunning dishes – yes, really! I’m not just being nice. Well-balanced and tasty dishes that sublimely showcased Thai flavours.

Some teams (*cough* team 4) also produced some absolute rubbish. It was claimed that several dishes had been passed down through generations. Grannie would have been most disappointed.

Masterchef is one of my favourite team building programs in Phuket. It’s highly creative, keeps everyone engaged and, as a non-physical program, is suitable for all. There’s a nice, easygoing environment and this informal atmosphere allows people to easily get to know one another.

There’s one big problem though – washing up afterwards….

High Season vs. Low Season

Back in the day, Phuket was a prime destination for tourists between November and April. The traditional “high season”. We then had a “low season” for the rest of the year. It’s during the low season that we get more rain – which, of course, explains why this time of year was named the low season. What tourist wants to come to a tropical island with some of the best beaches around and sit in their hotel room waiting for the rain to stop?

For a few years now, hoteliers have been trying to rebrand the low season as the “green season”. I’m not sure how successful that campaign has been. Apart from hoteliers, everyone else still calls it the low season.

This pattern of high season and low season is very evident in the FIT tourism market. But, to be honest, I’ve never really noticed much difference in seasons for the MICE market. In some years, my busiest month has been January (high season) while in other years it’s been July (low season). I’ve never studied it in great detail so I’m only reporting my own subjective experience. There’s probably some data on it somewhere.

High Season

Yes, the weather will likely be better. More sun, less rain. If you want an outdoor gala dinner during this time of the year, there’ll be less chance of it getting rained off and having to be moved into a function room. But hotel rates will probably be higher, especially in peak season in December and January.

Low Season

Cheaper flights and room rates might tempt you to visit during low season. Airports will be less congested and the island tends to have a more relaxed vibe. But, keep in mind that the chance of bad weather is high. Outdoor dinners are often called off, ocean speedboat tours may be postponed, and all your photos might have a grey sky to rival that of London.

In addition, dangerous sea conditions during the worst of the weather may make swimming and beach time impossible.

So, What’s the Best Time to Arrange a Team Offsite in Phuket?

If you have a busy schedule of meetings and conferences which will be held indoors, then the possible bad weather won’t really matter. I recently ran a workshop for a fintech company in July (the middle of low season) and the meeting room flooded after 2 days of torrential rain. It didn’t really matter though. We just moved our chairs and carried on with soggy notebooks.

In cases like this where you have a primarily indoor-based itinerary, you could consider low season and save some money on flights and accommodation. With regard to team building, we have plenty of indoor programs on offer as well as outdoor team building options that can safely operate rain or shine.

However, if you’re planning more of an incentive trip and intend to take delegates on a speedboat trip to Phi Phi with a beachside gala dinner in the evening, you might want to stick to high season to reduce the likelihood that your grand plans will be rained off.

Of course, when discussing weather, you never really know. You could come in high season and experience a massive storm. Alternatively, you may visit in the month with the highest recorded rainfall (September) and enjoy several days of beautiful sun and beach weather. In fact, as I write this now in September 2022, it’s hot and sunny outside even though the government weather department said to “brace for storms”. Predicting the weather is rather like predicting earthquakes – in that we’re not very good at it.

I had been building up to this event since March. The organiser was indeed very organised! As Thailand only loosened its Covid-19 restrictions fully on July 1st, since then it’s been an avalanche of last-minute bookings as companies waited until things got back to normal before committing. This particular tech company took a gamble and started planning way back in March and it made a pleasant change to have time to plan.

Not just one program. But two team building events plus a team dinner.

The Kimpton Maa-Lai was the location for all of this. A pet-friendly, five-star hotel with dogs and cats wandering around the lobby and cafe. Well, I say wandering around but what I actually mean is that the dogs were sitting in the cafe impeccably dressed and perfectly behaved while the cats chilled in their prams. Meanwhile, unruly children ran around screaming and touching things. The dogs were so mature. At one point, one of the golden retrievers retrieved a copy of Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ from his parent’s Louis Vuitton bag, crossed his legs, put his glasses on and enjoyed a good read.

While the other animals engaged in a spot of people-watching, my team and I led 35 pax through two days of fun and adventure around Bangkok. A team dinner with my signature games and naughty humour (naughtier than usual?) ended the week on a high but it’s best that we don’t talk about what went on during the dinner…..that shall remain between us.

What a wonderful group of people to work with. As I write this, I still haven’t quite recovered.

Photo: Part of our popular Amazing Race Phuket. A slight detour for the teams as they headed to a secret beach.

It was a bad week weather-wise but we were lucky enough to be given a 5-hour window in which the skies cleared, the torrential rain paused, and the sun even came out. As soon as we finished the event, the storms returned. Welcome to Phuket in rainy season 🙂

What a fun little group this was. 19 participants from the regional offices of a global medical company descended on Phuket at a time when they still had to have RT-PCR tests for covid and run the risk of quarantine. Well done to the organiser for managing the process smoothly and efficiently.

I had been asked to facilitate the session in order to reinforce the new operating principles and leadership values that were being rolled out to their worldwide offices. While I can’t reveal the details of these principles in public, I was very impressed with them. I felt the company had written these leadership guidelines with care and that they were highly relevant to the modern business world.

A team challenge in the morning helped the group reflect on how these new leadership behaviours could help mould the current and future generations of leaders within the organisation and, ultimately, how this would determine business success. It was great to see such high levels of engagement in the group discussion and reflection.

A little later, we stepped it up a gear with a typically fun and high energy scavenger hunt around the grounds of Pullman Phuket Arcadia at Naithon beach – a wonderful venue for team building events. It was a short but fiery hour of challenges that turned all participants into competition beasts – despite what several of them had told me earlier about ‘not being too competitive.’

As soon as the starting gun fired, they shot out of the meeting room like bats out of hell.

You Can Always Rely On The Classics

Rafting is one of the oldest and most well-known team building activities in the world. Teams have been building and racing rafts (and falling off them) for decades. Fortunately, the warm waters of Phuket make falling off rather pleasurable. I wouldn’t like to run this activity on a lake in Scotland, in winter, during a cold snap.

We were working with one of the world’s biggest tech companies – a brand familiar to businesses and households worldwide. Surprisingly, they weren’t all geeks and nerds – a stereotype that others (not me though!) perpetuate. In fact, they were very cool and, while I have no doubt that they’d be able to code in Python, Ruby and Swift while blindfolded, they were also pretty adept at tying knots.

Really, I’m not one for stereotypes.

In fact, the rafting was the ending to a wonderful Amazing Race, starting from the Hyatt Regency in Kamala. The client wanted plenty of beach team building and water-based activities. I thought rafting would be a great fit so we dusted off the life jackets and went paddling. After 3 hours in ridiculously hot and humid conditions, it was an activity that we were all looking forward to.

Rafting is a great team building activity as it forces teams to collaborate very quickly. In this case, more quickly than it would normally. As soon as we arrived at the beach, Phuket’s famous rain clouds appeared from behind the hills. They gave us just enough time to finish building our rafts and paddle to victory.

With the upcoming monsoon season, it might be the last bit of rafting we do for a while.