Today it’s time to tackle a tough issue related to planning incentive travel, business meetings, team building retreats, and corporate events in foreign countries.
Often, when one thinks of business etiquette, local dress codes, dining and protocol come to mind. Some hotels offer this information on their websites and through their concierges. Unfortunately, some groups haven’t even mastered the basics.
Due to complaints from leisure guests about the inappropriate behaviour of some corporate groups, some luxury resorts are declining the opportunity to submit proposals for group accommodation without a full buy-out the property.
Who can blame them? The reason that some properties have had no option but to take this step is that, when groups are away from the office at a foreign destination, there is a tendency to feel that it’s okay to just “let it all hang out”.
I have seen or heard of guests at foreign corporate events:
being rude and demanding when interacting with staff
disturbing other guests by being rowdy in the dining area or in the middle of the night
spitting
chewing tobacco
skinny dipping in the pool
relieving themselves in flower beds
groping female staff at dinner (and these were executives)
Scenario 1:I was once a leisure guest at a luxury Caribbean resort. At about 11 AM, there was a ruckus at one of the bars. Two security guards were seen escorting a drunken guest with his hands tied behind his back to his room. I was shocked. When they returned I spoke to one of the security guards and he told me that this happened every day.
All-inclusive doesn’t mean drinking to the point of being obnoxious.
Scenario 2:A young executive team stayed at an exclusive retreat in Europe. The number of changes the group made never stopped. It was very hard on the staff. After dinner the liquor kept flowing. A few of the executives started chewing tobacco. Another one went outside and mooned his colleagues through the window. Fortunately, it was a buy-out so no other guests were disturbed but the staff was shocked.
There really should be no need for this. After all, while the chances of running into an important client or prospect are minimal, you never know.
Consider these recent comments on Tripadvisor.
“Corporate retreats have ruined my favorite destination”
For the next one, I have edited the title to remove content that is not politically correct.
“Beware of Corporate Events & Rowdy Behavior
My husband and I returned from 11 day stay at ______ …. and were disappointed overall. . The problem was mostly with the corporate events held at the resort. Second week event was ________ from ________ very loud, obnoxious, pounding back the booze….Overall, the corporate events ruined the whole vibe of the trip for us and we won’t go back for that reason.”
(I have removed the company name and locations from the quotes but they were included in the Trip advisor review.)
When it’s a company event, all negative behavior has the potential to erode brand equity. With social media, news of inappropriate behavior can spread fast.
Perhaps the time has come for other companies to develop codes of conduct. It would appear that the time has come to include content about basic etiquette and protocol in company orientation, management and executive development programmes. Briefings about appropriate behavior and local etiquette would also be prudent for groups before they head overseas.
Incentive Travel: Asian August – Cooling off in Malaysia
During the summer, temperatures soar in South East Asia. Savvy CEOs in the region have discovered a number of cool and picturesques destinations in Asia to beat the heat and offer memorable sales incentive trips, executive retreats, and team building. Malaysia offers a number of places where your team will be cool and comfortable even in August.
Pahang
First let’s start with a virtual tour of Pahang where you’ll find the communities of where you’ll find Cameron Highlands, Berjaya Hills, Fraser’s Hills, and Genting Highlands.
Cameron Highlands: Temperature: 15°C – 32°C
I’ll never forget the first time I went to Cameron Highlands. On the way, we stopped at a beautiful waterfall. There was an area with stalls, arts, crafts, blow pipes and a variety of souvenirs. The people working at the stalls were pulling up on motorbikes and some were talking on cell phones.
When we continued our journey, I asked the guide about aboriginal peoples. I said “When I was in Kuching, there were aboriginal settlements nearby. Are there any aboriginal people in this area?
He replied “You just spent time with some Orang Asli. They were the people selling at the stalls”. I guess the blowpipes were a big hint. Never let motorbikes and cell phones throw you off.
On the way to Cameron Highlands, your group has the option of stopping at Kuala Woh Recreational Park for a short scavenger hunt that includes orienteering and a visit to by suspension bridge to the museum to answer trivia, a dip in the natural hot springs and light snacks.
Cameron Highlands was a real treat. We stopped for lunch at a boutique hotel. An impromptu site inspection and tour revealed spacious rooms and ample meeting room facilities. The Smokehouse Hotel, that has been providing hospitality since 1932, is a possible lunch (or dinner) venue for your group upon arrival in Cameron Highlands:
We headed off to visit a handicraft centre, gardens and nurseries. We toured at tea plantation and relaxed while we enjoyed tea, scones and an incredible view. I noted that to round an itinerary for your corporate group, in Cameron Highlands, golf, nature hikes, a visit to an Orang Asli (aboriginal) village, and jungle trekking are available.
Before heading back to Kuala Lumpur, we stopped and picked strawberries. It was my last day in Malaysia and I have a very late night flight. As soon as we were airborne, it was a treat to enjoy the fresh strawberries I had picked with whipped cream that had been provided to me at no charge by one of the restaurants in the airport’s departure area. It’s one of those moments in time that you wish you could freeze.
Berjaya Hills:
Formerly known as Bukit Tinggi (meaning “French Hill”), Berjaya Hills has a French themed resort, beautiful gardens, golf, paintball, horse riding, and a variety of options for team meetings and relaxation.
Great views – Narration in Arabic
There is even a Japanese garden complete with teahouse. Yes, you can experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the heart of Berjaya Hills.
Japanese Garden Walkthrough
Nearby, even in the summer, the weather will be comfortable enough to treat your team to a full jungle survival team building experience with overnight camping. The location is popular with local companies so it is imperative that you book your trip at least 4 – 6 months in advance if you want to include this unforgetable experience into your itinerary.
Fraser’s Hill:
1,524 metres about sea level, you’ll find Fraser’s Hill, a rainforest hamlet named after Louse James Fraser from Scotland who established a trading staion in the area and went missing in 1919, is a picturesque destination where the temperatures are cool enoug for for retreats, even in the summer.
It’s ideal for companies that are interested in providing an eco-tourism experience. It is one of Malaysia’s prime locations for bird wartching. Groups can also enjoy golf, horse riding, the Jeriau Waterfall.
Genting Highlands: Temperature 22°C – 32°C
Enjoy the unforgetable view as cable cars will carry you above the clouds to Genting Highlands, a playground complete with hotels, meeting facilities, a theme park and casino. Horse riding can be arranged nearby.
Sabah
Kinabalu Park
In Malaysian Borneo, Mount Kinabalu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Asia’s tallest peak, will give your team an opportunity to explore rocky mountain and the rainforest trails below the mountain. With one of the most diverse collections of fauna in the world, Kinabulu Park covers 4 climatic zones.
Even if your team is a mix of serious mountain cimbers and team members who would prefer to cool off under a waterfall, soak in the curative properties of an open air sulphuric bath, and explore tropical gardens, there will be no shortage of things to do and experiences to amaze.
Golf, and early morning horse riding are also located within easy distance.
Those who dare, can even walk The Torque, the highest via ferrata in the world.
Let Executive Oasis International Take You to Malaysia
In Malaysia, we can add facilitated business team building and recreational activities ranging from orienteering, jungle treks, and ziplining to mountain climbing and abseiling to your itinerary. No matter what area of Malaysia you select for your summer adventure, one thing is certain. There is so much to see and such a variety of habitats and adventures to explore, your first trip to Malaysia will not be your last.
For more information the adventures that you can enjoy in Malaysia during the summer and throughout the year, please visit our website:
In April 2009, when the AIG effect was in full force ( http://bit.ly/aigeffect2 ), Texas Roadhouse CEO G.J. Hart stood up to a CNBC reporter’s scathing criticism and ridicule of his decision to proceed with the company’s annual retreat in the midst of a recession:
Please note, all videos have short commercials before the interviews:
Here, G.J. Hart discussed his decision, defended the bottom line value of incentives & retreats and stressed the importance of building opportunities for giving back to the community into the itinerary:
G.J Hart’s stand earned him a lot of press coverage and, eventually, media respect and positive coverage. An ad campaign giving the same extent of exposure and coverage would have cost a small fortune.
A year later, the company is enjoying even stronger corporate performance:
“Amid the frenzy that enveloped the meetings industry early last year…..Texas Roadhouse CEO G.J. Hart unwittingly became one of the lone voices to articulate the business value of meetings, events and incentives.”
At the time of writing, Texas Roadhouse is holding the company’s annual Managing Partner Conference for 1,100 managers and their guests in New York City. Giving back to the community is always an important part of the company’s retreats and incentive trips:
His efforts seem to be paying off. Here is a video interview with G.J. Hart this week about the explosive growth of the company and its strong stock market performance.
Tough economic times are not slowing down the expansion of restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse
CNBC seems to have warmed up to G.J. Hart. The company’s business strategies are clearly paying off and they are exploring the possibility of international expansion.
The Texas Roadhouse experience highlights the fact that the right business strategy supported by strategic team building and incentives to reward top performance can pay-off with a stronger bottom line.
“When it comes to meetings, travel and entertainment, America is in a temporary state of gridlock. Headlines condemning corporate entertainment next to headlines about ponzi schemes and secret bonuses have caused public outrage and boardroom paralysis. This panic may be understandable based on the events of the past few months; but, the panic itself has dire consequences for the economy.
What questions should we be asking?
Now more than ever, corporate leaders, elected officials, regulators, industry associations, small business owners and salespeople nationwide are struggling to understand what is and is not appropriate when it comes to client entertainment and employee perks. When is it appropriate to spend money to recruit, educate or incent employees? A question that is not getting as much press, but that I would like to see on the table, is when, if ever can public companies allow employees to engage in entertainment practices that implicitly or explicitly condone gender bias?
Marie, I decided to take a stab at answering your questions and accept your challenge but my response became too long for the comments section.
Before we begin, here is the White House’s position on business travel and meetings:
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was not discouraging travel when he said last month that businesses receiving federal bailout money should not be taking junkets.
“The president believes it’s important to have a strong tourism industry and that it’s important that, as the president said earlier … that we shouldn’t retrench,” Gibbs said. “He would encourage people to travel.”
Gibbs said Thursday that the president was referring specifically to companies “that are getting large amounts of public funding.”
“The President does have great concern with public money being used for that,” he said. Gibbs added that the president’s comment was “very clear,” and passed on a chance to express regret.
So, here is my take on your questions. I encourage other management consultants, meeting and business travel professionals to respond to your challenge and answer your questions in their blogs. Since I am based in Toronto, I’ll be giving some Toronto examples but they can be applied at other locations.
How to Reward Your Team Even During Turbulent Times
What meetings and events do you feel should be green-lighted immediately and why?
When companies are in trouble, they should be spending THOUSANDS of dollars to bring in management and business team building consultants to help them resolve their problems instead of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars on junkets and luxury events. Either through on-site meetings or off-site retreats at AFFORDABLE local venues such as community centres and conservation areas, consultants can steer organizations through a structured brainstorming process to identify:
cost saving measures and strategies
new target markets
new sources of revenue
strategies for improving efficiency
Depending on your location, here are a couple of ideas. These sessions can be offered at luxury resorts when the good times roll and conservation areas when times are tough. The content remains the same, the recreational components are the only things that change:
Visexecutaries - loosely based on the Apprentice, this session can be delivered at a luxury resort or a local community centre. When times are tough, the “task” can consist of developing a strategy to address some specific business challenge your organization is facing
Save the lavish celebrations for when your company is back on track. In North America, we seem to want to party all the time. Unfortunately, all too, often the emphasis seems to be on strictly recreational events that organizations try to pass off as team building. Definitely we get far more calls for recreation and entertainment than consulting. This is quite surprising during a recession. People seem to forget that they are running businesses not social or country clubs. This bandaid approach is merely offering placebos instead of getting to the root of organizational problems and generating solutions.
What gender-related entertainment practices should be discontinued?
Strip clubs, male only golf clubs, etc. are highly inappropriate and they have NEVER had a place in a corporate setting PERIOD!! Ditto for bringing porno movies to coroporate retreats and skinny dipping on the corporate dime. Grow up. You’re running a business not a fraternity house.
While we’re at it, it’s time to cut back on alcohol consumption and the open bars at corporate events for a while. This will save a bundle.
What constitutes lavish entertaining?
When companies are in trouble, they should postpone expensive events and partying until performance has improved. Focus instead on resolving business problems.
If everyone has worked hard and you’ve had a successful year, pull out all the stops. Lavish entertainment to reward employees and express appreciation to clients is perfectly in order when you’ve earned it. Depending on your location, some ideas might include:
Even when a company is facing a challenging year, it’s important to reward top performers, build skills and boost morale. The key is to gear the spending to organizational performance.
Hint: When a company is in trouble, more money should be spent on resolving business issues than on entertainment and recreation. Far too often, it’s the reverse.
How should recruits be entertained?
Again it depend on whether or not the company is performing well. If the company is facing challenges, you can still entertain recruits but choose a cost effective strategy such as:
an on-site barbeque and get executives to flip the burgers
a reasonably priced catered lunch as part of your orientation
a corporate tent or paddock at Polo for Heart or a local charity polo tournament
These are perfectly in order when a company is doing well.
If you’re located in the Middle East, a desert safari would be perfect. If you’re in the Caribbean perhaps a beach barbeque would work.
What other questions should we be asking?
I posted these suggestions on Marie Hunter’s blog. I’ll take a stab at anwering them now.
What can companies that are having financial difficulties difficulty do to reward their people?
Companies can reward top performers and top performing teams and still provide a meaningful experience for hundreds of dollars instead of thousands of dollars. There is no need for gift cerfiticates starting at $1,000 per employee. People seem to be lacking imagination.
Under $250 per person
Give top performers gift certificates for spa TREATMENTS or a local Day at the Spa rather than spending a weekend away for a spa retreat.
An overnight stay at a nice local inn with dinner and breakfast for top performers and their spouses.
Get a corporate table at Polo for Heart or a similar event and invite top performers and their spouses.
Dog sledding afternoon and lunch at a local inn or resort.
Morning of horse riding and lunch at a local inn or resort.
A day at Canada’s Wonderland for top performers and their families.
Seasons passes to Canada’s Wonderland for a family of 4.
A day at the zoo for the top performers and their families.
Under $100 Per Person
Dinner at a nice restaurant
Afternoon Tea
Movie passes for teams that have gone above and beyond the call.
Theatre tickets.
Concert tickets.
Take a group of top performers and their spouses to the Royal Winter Fair including the horse show and dinner at the upscale restaurant that is on site every year.
Get a table at the gala for tournament of champions.
Tickets to local hockey, baseball or basketball games.
How should companies that are experiencing financial difficulty entertain their staff?
Picnics at a local conservation area
Christmas party – for heaven’s sake, don’t cancel the Christmas party. Insted, do it at a venue in the suburbs instead of a costly downtown venue. Consider using a community centre with an ice rink to save money and keep everyone entertained.
An evening at a comedy or improv club.
Anne Thornley-Brown is the President of Executive Oasis International, a Toronto based firm that regularly organizes incentive travel and executive retreats in Dubai, Oman, Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore, and Canada. They provide one stop shopping service with a personalized approach to incentive travel for corporate groups of up to 40. Customized itineraries include travel, transfers, hotel, tours, team activities, and special events.
