Keeping staff ruddy-cheeked with enthusiasm should be second nature to C&I agencies – they deal, after all, in motivation – so it’s surprising that many overlook this in favour of more quantifiable pursuits. Not so Indeprod. The Buckinghamshire-based group recently eschewed incentive tools of the pub lunch and paintballing variety to come up with something altogether more life-enhancing: a four-day, all expenses paid trip to Finnish Lapland.

The concept of taking everyone to within a husky’s whisker of the Arctic Circle is a bold move, and considerably ups the ante as far as in-house programmes in the MICE industry are concerned. So what was the thinking? "We’re always telling our clients how great a motivator travel is, and we thought it was a good time to practise what we preach," explains creative business manager Simon Ashley. "People often complain that agencies rarely do internally what they sell externally, and this also gives the whole team the chance to see and understand what it is that our clients experience."

The programme, dubbed ‘The Big Chill’, was not the exclusive domain of senior staff or high-achievers. All 30 employees made the trip, from MD through to receptionist and handyman, opening the way for the company to reinforce its brand message and cement team spirit. Organisers were adamant staff should experience everything the company’s clients would receive on a similar incentive trip, meaning that even prior to the event itself the group were issued with designer snowboard jackets and backpacks, along with customised teaser mailshots and printed material.

On the day itself, individual airport transfers were arranged to Heathrow and VIP passes issued to an executive lounge. It was, by any standards, the full treatment. "We’ve known this has been the right thing to do for about 12 months," says managing director Barry Reading. "It was a matter of finding the right destination – we wanted somewhere different to inspire people. We looked at a number of other places but Kuusamo gave us a blank canvas where we could be free from interruptions. We knew we’d found somewhere different."

And how. Located an hour-and-a-half’s flight north of Helsinki, Kuusamo in late November boasts wow factor in sleigh-loads. The region is covered in a surreal Narnia-like landscape: snowbound, dense with pine trees and spectacularly hushed, with sunrise and sundown almost indeterminable in a perpetual dusk. The diminutive town of Ruka, a burgeoning destination for incentives with a wintry twist, acted as a base for the trip. Transported from the airport by skidoo, the group was whisked to a log cabin in the forest where vodka shots were downed upon arrival.

This welcome, along with an otherworldly ‘Lappish’ initiation ceremony, set a cultural precedent for the coming days. Further sustenance followed at a candlelit dinner (featuring sautéed reindeer, naturally), and, after each member received a personalised hand-carved tankard, the evening concluded in the comfort of the 180-room Hotel Rantasipi Rukahovi.

There can be fewer more invigorating ways of arriving at a conference than in a fleet of skidoos, but so it was the following morning when a nine-mile journey took the group cruising along woodland paths to a secluded lodge. Warmed by a champagne reception and roaring fire, they were addressed for an hour in an informal company briefing. The main reasons for the trip – to share and communicate a vision, to experience what clients experience and to have a lot of fun – were outlined, as were motivational corporate messages, not least that a happy workforce is a productive one.

IT systems analyst John Hart was among those who found the talk rewarding. "It inspired me," he says. "The setting was phenomenal. It really hit home that at a time when modern business tends to be about hiring and firing, Indeprod is moving into innovative areas but still retaining its traditional values. As an employee that’s a really positive sign."

The conference also relayed Indeprod’s vision of being more concerned with creativity and morale than bureaucracy and indoctrination, so it was fitting that the group headed as one back on to the skidoos for team-building on a vast frozen lake. After building fires and tucking into a cockle-warming lunch, the group split into four to tackle snow sculpting, shooting, tandem skiing and skidoo racing. Following much effort and general hilarity, winning team members were awarded the promise of dinner at a London restaurant with their partners.

The evening’s entertainment and dinner took place in a traditional dacha on the Russian border, where a natural smoke sauna, with birch whips and sub-zero plunge pools, took team-building to a dramatic new dimension.

Ashley, who had sourced the area on a fam trip several years previously, was delighted with the effect of the itinerary. "This is all about giving everyone the chance to experience something they would never usually experience," he says. "We’re highlighting the importance of personalities to the brand."

Having kept the celebratory spirit going into the wee hours, the group spent the next day making the most of the extensive activities on offer. Most chose to pass the morning driving teams of unfeasibly enthusiastic huskies across the countryside – an option that proved one of the definite highlights of the whole experience – or visiting a reindeer farm. The afternoon was given over to more physical pursuits, with floodlit snowboarding, skiing and snowshoe hiking the most popular choices. Ruka is one of Finland’s premier winter sports resorts so adrenaline seekers were well catered for.

Several hours on the piste later, a slap-up farewell dinner was held at a nearby bar, before Finnish chart-toppers The Mighty 44 played a rabble-rousing set to see the meal out with a bang. Local beers and spirits found considerable favour with the group, and the drinks voucher system that had been set up – ensuring no expense to the staff themselves – unsurprisingly saw its busiest night.

A final meeting over brunch the next morning offered a good opportunity for a number of speeches and presentations, before the group departed by coach on the snowy half-hour journey to Kuusamo airport.

Account manager Will Jackson felt that The Big Chill had done wonders for the company on a number of levels. "It’s been absolutely amazing," he says. "The planning has been fantastic throughout and Finland itself is stunning. It’s great to see people outside work letting their hair down, and it’s been like going away with your mates. I think we also really feel part of a vision now. I’d never been on an incentive trip before and it’s given me a much clearer understanding of what our clients experience."

As would be expected from taking 30 people to a spectacular winter getaway for four no-holds-barred days, the scope of investment in the trip was substantial. MD Reading, however, was convinced it had been worth every penny. "I’m absolutely thrilled," he affirmed. "It was fantastic to see people really rise to the challenges. We’re a mixed bag of different ages and backgrounds and it’s been wonderful to show people they can be what they want to be and learn new things. We’re going back as a stronger unit and yes, it’s been a big investment, but I would have paid double."

He hopes to make the experience something that will take place on a regular, perhaps annual, basis and is already looking into a similar excursion to East Africa. Indeprod has doubled in size over the past twelve months and is driving a number of forward-thinking corporate changes, but above all else it’s proving that looking inwards as well as outwards is a thoroughly sound policy.

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In-house motivation

Indeprod is not alone in its efforts to raise staff morale. More event agencies are seeking the unusual in an effort to motivate employees

Jack Morton

Jack Morton’s World Day 2004 was a massive internal branding event that involved every employee throughout the 16 offices and four continents it operates in. The day began with a rhythmic drumbeat being passed from country to country via video link, while each office was encouraged to deck out its workplace with new props, colours and lighting. Further activities included introductions to individual ‘e-pals’ in other continents, as well as mosaic-building and contributing to a World Day cookbook. A dedicated website featured video albums created by each office and real-time updates on activities in progress.

MJM

MJM has a relatively small UK set-up alongside its three US offices, but still takes prides on uniting staff. The European team was flown over to Mohonk on the outskirts of New York for an outdoor team-building and workshop exercise.

The agency also promotes its community service day, whereby staff spend a day out of the office cleaning and repainting different urban areas. In addition, it offers staff four paid days annually to volunteer for charitable organisations.

Links:

http://www.indeprod.com/

http://www.rukapalvelu.fi/



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