The team building day that you organized went really well, everyone had a great time … but was it actually down to yourself? Here is the story from the point of view of the event manager.

I got out of bed at four thirty in the morning and was at the depot an hour later. The staff manning the different events arrived shortly after. I had already ordered the materials from the store so it was all ready to load into the two large vans. Whilst the 'old hands' started the loading process, I took time out to explain what would be happening to the new faces of the group. It is always a problem with larger events - all of the staff are casual self employed and so there are often many new faces at each big event. When that was done we all pitched in with the loading and by 6.40 am we were on the road ten minutes behind schedule. Happily, the event was only an hour and half drive away and it didn't get underway until 11.00 am. We arrived at the venue at eight twenty, now twenty minutes behind schedule. But we soon had at the first van unloaded and the walkie talkies handed out. Most of that first of van load was to be set up outside in the grounds of the country house hotel. While the team were setting up the gazebos, the benches and the tables for the outdoor activities, I located the duty manageress who showed me the rooms for the inside activities plus the large dining room where we would round off today with a picture slide show and presentations. We also sorted out the times for the breaks including lunch. So I went back to the vans to help complete the outside setting up. As each one was completed, the freed-up staff were dispatched to sort out the events inside the hotel.

So everything was finally set up by a just after a 10 am, a great effort by the team. We were now just a few minutes behind schedule and I started the final briefing at ten past ten. The client has provided us with the a list of teams three days before and so I had worked out the timing and rotation for the activities and talked everyone through, providing them them with a hand out so that they knew exactly what was going on. A final double check that the new faces and knew what they had to do, a check of the walkie talkies, all done. That gave everyone just a few minutes to grab a quick cuppa before we met the clients.

The morning went without a hitch but during the afternoon there were some equipment issues, however, since we always carry more than we need, it was a quick dash back to the vans to roll out the replacement items without disturbing the flow of the event. I also double as events photographer and need to ensure that everyone is photographed at some point during the event. The photos then need to be edited down to give around 40 of the best for the presentation.

After the final presentation, the team finished the clearing away and hit the road, getting back to the depot at 11pm. Needless to say, the vans were left for the stores guys to offload ... tomorrow was another day!