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Woodloch Meetings: Bringing BACK the Company Picnic | Woodloch Resort

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Bringing BACK the Company Picnic!

~shared by Rory O’Fee

Team retreats, offsite corporate meetings, regional sales gatherings, etc… are often a great way to bring your working team together. We host a lot of diverse companies from varying industries all year long and find those teams leave feeling more connected, solved problems, improved communication, and ultimately


have come closer together. Warning: shameless plug ahead – please feel free to visit WoodlochMeetings.com to learn about how great Woodloch could be for your team retreat.

Remember back in the day when dad’s company would host “The Annual Company Picnic?” It was one of the best days of the year. The bosses would circle that one summer Saturday where every employee – top to bottom – would be invited to come out with their immediate family and be recognized by the company. I remember when I was a little kid when my dad worked for Grumman inspecting cockpits on F-14 Tomcats out in Calverton Long Island, company picnic day was one of my favorites.

Naturally as a little boy I idolized what my dad did, he was part of the team constructing the most powerful, bad@** military machine in the skies. On this one special day I got hang out with him and his coworkers at the plant. They would even pull some of the big planes out of the hangars and we little ones got to hop on to a few of them.

The guys were excited. They’d finally unveil the enormous barbecue grills they’d spent the last month constructing out of leftover scrap metal from E-2C Hawkeyes, the dozen or so bocce and horseshoe pits they’d dredged, and the industrial storage bins filled with water balloons.

The day was a blast; there was music blaring, whole families were engaged in hokie group events like potato-sack races, egg tosses. The air was filled with the tangy aroma of charcoal and hickory accented by the searing of what had to be a million hot dogs – and everyone was there.

For me, yeah, the planes were super cool, and hanging around dad and his work buddies was fun, but there was something very positive behind the scenes that was taking place at every other company picnic across America.

So what happened? Where have the company picnics of yesteryear gone today? Unfortunately whenever there is market turbulence employee perks are sensibly the first thing to get cut. When you don’t have the excess cash to do it, you just can’t do it. With that being said, this decision really shouldn’t be made that lightly in any boardroom.

Historic photo of company event with rides.
Historic photo of company picnic.
Black and White photo of outdoor reunion.

The good ol’ company picnic’s benefits, while intangible and without a direct ROI, can be massive and really strengthen a company. Employees felt a little bit more rewarded, the employee’s family felt included, the little ones became mini ambassadors for the cool company mom or dad worked for, people let loose a little and connected with one another, ultimately helping to foster company loyalty and a stronger team.

Sounds like a whole heck of a lot of upside, and it seems like the company picnic is having a resurgence. Unfortunately, in many cases, it has been relegated to memories and polaroids. Some companies still keep the tradition alive. Even a simple outing with hamburgers and corn on the cob in a park can go a long way for staff morale. Other companies are taking a different approach and are successfully bringing back the company picnic in a great way.

Destination company outings are growing in popularity in the business world. As company values shift toward work-life harmony, rather than a work-life balance, take Jeff Bezos “I think work-life harmony is a good framework. I prefer the word ‘harmony’ to the word ‘balance’ because balance tends to imply a strict tradeoff*.” People want to work, but also want to be committed and engaged with their families and executives across industries are seeing the importance of this and taking action.

Destination company outings involve to whole family and usually a weekend’s worth of activity and entertainment. WAC Lighting out of Port Washington, NY, took a weekend away to Woodloch Resort and rewarded their staff. This is an annual event the company enjoys and they’ve been hosting it for years. They feel
the event really brings the team closer together, helps forge a deeper sense of community and weaves the family and work life together in harmony.

WAC Lighting put together a unique agenda with the Woodloch team that was developed to allow everyone to let loose as well as foster communication and friendships. The weekend culminated in a full-blown block party where a Woodloch vacation rental cul-de-sac was outfitted with a band in one garage, party games in another, a grand barbecue and even a casino set up in the others.

Beyond the block party, the attendees were free to enjoy all that Woodloch has to offer, as a group, or on their own. Ultimately the employees felt rewarded and appreciated, not to mention they got to have a ton of fun, because that’s what it’s really all about in the end. Return to work on Monday morning brought energy, ideas, improved communication, and maybe even a deeper sense of loyalty.

Young girls dancing outside.
Group of adults and kids in go karts.
Young girl in belly bumper inner tube.

Filed Under: Activities, Meetings

5 Icebreakers for your Next Meeting at Woodloch | Woodloch Resort

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5 Icebreakers for your Next Meeting at Woodloch

Having your meeting or corporate retreat at Woodloch Resort is sure to be a stress-free environment where work and play meet to create the ultimate Poconos weekend getaway. When you’re getting ready for the day’s activities, think about starting with an Icebreaker! Here are five ways to get the day started with something fun!

Why Break the Ice?

Icebreakers are a great way to engage your teammates before jumping head-on into the day’s activities. Icebreakers also come in a variety of formats from action-packed ones, to getting to know your team, to discussions, drawing, and finally team building because every company needs some of that to tighten workplace bonds!

Action

In this action-packed game, you’ll want your team to pair up and battle it out in Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors! First, pair up everyone in your group. If there is an odd number of people, do one quick battle for the winner. Then whoever loses follows around the winner cheering them on, and so on, as the group gets down to the final two players with two groups cheering them on at the end. We recommend the winner receives a prize or praise for being the ultimate champion of Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Get to Know You

A fantastic get to know your teammates kind of game is Candy Introductions, and it will get you mingling in the morning before your meeting. You’ll want a few bags of Skittles or M&Ms for this activity. To start, have everyone in your group grab a handful of candy or pass out individually wrapped packets. Have the group open them up to see their selection. Without eating anything right away, have your group introduce themselves and go through the colored list of questions describing themselves. You’ll get to know coworkers from a different and fun perspective. We wrote a few items down that pertain to corporate retreats to help you get started on your Candy Introductions!

Red – Favorite hobbies outside of work

Green – Favorite place to travel

Blue – Milestone you’ve made at your job

Yellow – Goals for this upcoming quarter

Orange – Wildcard (tell us anything about yourself!)

Talking

For a game that will get everyone talking, try Crazy Interview. Hand out five small strips of paper to each player. Have each player write down 1-5 traits on their papers. Pair up each player and bring forth one group of two at a time. Have them swap their five traits while also choosing who will be the first to interview for an imaginary job position.

The interviewee will be saying a speech as to why they are perfect for the job they were given. As they talk, your player must describe their three traits and reasons they would be ideal for the position they are seeking. This game can get pretty silly if you’re explaining that being an “Intellectual,” and, “House of Cards Fan,” makes them a great “designer.” You can have players go more in-depth with their answers too such as how their, “Bloodlust” has helped make them less “squeamish” than most because they “studied at Harvard.” Or how enjoying the show, “Dexter” makes them perfect for working as a “Doctor.” Whether it’s silly or not, your group will love what everyone comes up with during their Crazy Interview!

5 Traits can include:

  1. Adjective
  2. Background
  3. Interest
  4. Outlook on life
  5. Job title

Drawing

For an excellent drawing game, Picture Whispers is a slight derivative of Pictionary and is sure to get everyone drawing, whether they are good or bad at art! Create smaller groups and pass out notebooks to everyone who is playing. You can sit around the meeting tables at Woodloch which makes this game ideal to be done here at our facilities.

On the first page have each player write a word then pass the notebook to the left. The person on the left reads the word, turns the page over, and must draw what comes to mind from that word. Then pass to your left; that player must write what you think the image could be then it continues as people guess the images/words until it reaches the end of the group. Finally, the group works from the back to the front of the book to speculate about what everyone drew and if it was the correct word or not!

So, if the original word was “Fairy,” but the person drew a picture that looked more like an “Angel.” The next player would write “Mermaid” if that’s what they thought the image appeared to be. Then the next player would have to draw a “mermaid” and so on.

Team Building

Team Building is ideal for any workplace and can help people see that they have a lot more in common with their co-workers than they might think. A great game for that is Unique and Shared. Gather groups of five, and hand out paper and writing utensils for everyone. The first half will be the sharing part. Create a list of standard traits and qualities of everyone in the group. The goal is not to have superficial topics but something that is deep and can pertain to your workspace. Then have each group read aloud their shared traits to the rest of the group.

For the Unique part, keep the same groups, and on another sheet of paper, write down two unique characteristics or qualities that pertain to every member of the small group. Then there are three ways for discussion:

1)  Have each person share their unique qualities about the others.

2)  Have each person read the merits for the person to their right.

3)  You can have a spokesperson read aloud the quality at one time for the group to guess who it was.

This game will highlight what is unique about each individual in your group and help promote unity.

Rejuvenate as a Company

No matter which icebreaker you choose, there are plenty of options for those wanting to engage their employees and teammates before jumping into meetings. When you stay at Woodloch Resorts for the best corporate Poconos weekend getaway, you’ll find that there is more than work. At our lovely lakeside resort, we’ve got over 30+ activities available for company bonding beyond the walls of our meeting facilities. You’ll be able to grow, renew, and rejuvenate together as a team at our beautiful Poconos resort!

Pontoon boat on Lake Teedyuskung. Boy going down a water slide.

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How to make a meeting FAIL | Woodloch Resort

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How to Make Your Next Meeting FAIL

“A meeting is an event in which minutes are kept, and the hours are lost.” – Anonymous

I will be the first to admit it, for in my old age I find myself being “that guy” that has no shame in stating the obvious: I don’t like big meetings. In fact, I’ll take it a step further and say that I absolutely despise meetings. Yet, I wasn’t born an independently wealthy prince (though one from Zimbabwe keeps emailing me saying I am heir to his fortune) so like the rest of the bourgeoisie, I need to work and meetings just happen to be a part of my work. Maybe in my next life I’ll be luckier.

There’s something about being in a crowd of dozens, if not HUNDREDS of your coworkers that doesn’t resonate with me. It seems we spend a lot of TIME (which absolutely nobody has a surplus of) to go a short distance, if that. As an undiagnosed sufferer of ADD, anything that doesn’t involve mental or physical stimulation just doesn’t do it for me. I get jittery at first, which after tiring myself out from tapping my toes leads to me daydreaming and really not absorbing what is being said. I will take as many “bathroom” breaks as possible and will be the first out the door upon conclusion.

I’m not a horrible employee- I just don’t like meetings. And I’m part of a much larger problem that companies all face- ensuring that valuable meeting time and dollars are not spent in vain.

But all of the blame cannot be placed solely upon my shoulders. It is my belief that meetings do NOT have to be painful to employees- rather, they can be mentally stimulating, captivating, helpful and best of all, FUN.

But before we get there, we should probably focus on what we SHOULD avoid in the process. Therefore, in conjunction with the wonderful wizards at Woodloch Meetings, we’ve compiled a list of surefire ways to make your next business meeting FAIL.

  1. Have absolutely no purpose. It seems like this is an impossible mistake, but so many organizations set meeting dates, locations and times and don’t really put together a concrete purpose for doing so. Nothing loses the masses like meeting simply for the sake of meeting. Planners should know ahead of time what they want to accomplish and work their plans to set those goals into motion.
  2. Lack a proper agenda. So we’ve got our goal…now what? Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the modern meeting planner is figuring out how to budget what time they’ll be given for their retreat- and sometimes it might not be enough. Using your purpose, prioritize what you’d like to achieve and then do your best to stick to that time budget!
  3. Too many sub-meetings. While quick breakout sessions are certainly useful, remember the vision set forth in your meeting’s purpose. Constantly breaking out into subcommittees not only divides the team mentality up but also starts to strangle the clock. Use breakout groups wisely!
  4. Bore your employees to death. This is where I’m usually lost. If things aren’t engaging, I’m off to the theme park in my mind. Keep materials moving while they’re being presented, and encourage participation when it’s appropriate. This might take a little bit of showsmanship but it’s worth it.
  5. Don’t provide necessary breaks. Yeah yeah, I know, I said sticking to an agenda is critical, but there comes a point where a human just can’t sit any longer. So breaks are good. Serve some food, have a drink, play some games (that’s where WE come in) or just give your employees some free time. Don’t forsake their attention in an effort to cram.
  6. Lack any inspiration. What do Tony Robbins, William Wallace and Coach Gordon Bombay all have in common? They all knew how to INSPIRE their audiences. They lit a fire under their followers’ butts and got pushed them to get the job DONE. You have a microphone and a room full of people that are chomping at the bit to get pumped- don’t squander your opportunity!
  7. Provide absolutely no follow-up. So, meeting adjourned! Your employees have left with a burning heart of passion to improve your business- but your job isn’t done yet. One of the biggest mistakes an organization can make is providing little to know follow up after your meeting closes. Stay on objective, meet with your employee and make the effort to keep the fire alive in the days and weeks that follow your retreat.

So I hope I did you a solid. Meetings aren’t all resigned to failure, but they will if you aren’t careful. Don’t fall into the same pitfalls as so many have before you- take the effort to make sure that your investment pays off dividends in the ways that you hope. Time is money!

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