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2007-01-08
It is interesting to observe how words we use reflect facts of life. So do the words in the today widely used phrase ‘corporate holidays’, meaning that the life of many companies and organisations is far from being limited within the workplace and the 9-to-5 work schedule. Besides the fun enjoyed during holiday time, the popularity of corporate holidays also points to the realized importance of quality communication within a company and the multiple benefits related with internal communication corporate breaks can bring.
Internal company communication includes communication on the professional and personal level; ‘professional’ meaning sharing business related knowledge, experience and information, and ‘personal’ - informal non-business related interaction among co-workers. It is also important to note that any communicative act involves not only WHAT is communicated, but also HOW it is communicated. So what determines efficient communication among employees is not only sharing vital business-related information but also discussing personal non-business related experience; not only communicating a message but also the way it is communicated. Corporate holidays give more time to learn and practice those aspects of communication.
Corporate holidays are perfect for developing friendly relationships on the personal level and learning effective ways of co-operation. Holiday travel, outdoor team games, sports and other leisure activities such as paintball, regatta, and other team building activities provide informal setting, particular goals to be achieved and challenging tasks where good communicative and co-operative skills are required. The dynamics of non-office environment and an unusual setting help to reveal a wider spectrum of the participants’ personal qualities; whereas goal-oriented leisure activities encourage communication.
Corporate holidays are a fantastic opportunity, away from the workplace, to get to know your colleagues: just like we switch from one language code to another as the situation requires, so our behaviour differs in different settings. A non-formal holiday environment makes people feel relaxed and thus unconsciously disclose more diverse aspects of their character.
Meanwhile team building activities incorporated into a corporate holiday programme can help the team develop for everyone’s benefit back in the workplace: they help develop good teamwork skills while learning to evaluate your own as well as your colleagues’ abilities, motivate and encourage each other, appreciate each others’ different traits. Team activities bring out negotiating skills, help to recognize people’s strong and weak points and enable the group work better together.
More articles about team building and incentive travel:
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