There’s a wide variety of team building offerings in the market. But as Human Resources explores, HR can make the most of team building in the snow
There’s a wide variety of team building offerings in the market. But as Human Resources explores, HR can make the most of team building in the snow
There’s any number of team building, executive retreat and employee incentive offerings on the market these days. It’s a virtual smorgasbord for HR professionals looking to organise something for their company, from mug painting and team laughter classes, through to corporate cooking lessons and bungee jumping sessions. The overall benefit and enjoyment participants get from such exercises can be questionable at times, so if you’re going to do it, you may as well do it properly.
Living in Australia does bring many lifestyle benefits, with plenty of sun, beaches and barbeques. But for those who are inclined towards the snow, facilities are pretty much limited to Victoriaand southern New South Wales. Thredbo is centred in the heart of the SnowyMountains– halfway between Sydney and Melbourne – and nestled in a valley of Kosciuszko National Park. It’s a bit of a hike if you’re located in Sydney (about 500 kilometres, or 5 to 6 hours’ drive) but plane flights take care of that (a 1 hour flight from Sydney to Cooma).
There are plenty of things to do once you get there, and there’s a lot to be said for the place when it comes to the aforementioned corporate activities. The resort has created a variety of team building activities that are unique to the mountain environment, regardless of the season. The natural landscape presents a number of challenges, where activities (that are actually fun) are combined with leadership, negotiation techniques and team cooperation. Activity-based leadership training and specialised theme events are a key feature at Thredbo.
For example, in winter there are the more obvious activities such as skiing and snowboarding, as well as snowshoeing, bobsledding, cross country and back country skiing, snow camping, snow climbing adventures and the like. While Thredbo attracts most visitors during winter, it also provides a good range of activities in the warmer months.
In summer, participants can avail themselves of activities such as whitewater rafting, horse riding, rock climbing, abseiling, tennis and more. All year round there are plenty of other activities, such as tripping across the range, indoor mini-Olympics, orientation team events, yoga and mountain biking. The Australian Institute of Sport has even accredited Thredbo Leisure Centre, which is able to design team building activities to suit different companies or complement conferences.
Thredbo resort is also well set up to for these. The purpose-built conference centre caters for up to 250 delegates, and comes with the full technological set-up including an audio-visual control room with equipment, full broadcast standard TV equipment, a concert level sound system and theatre lighting. Full event coordination support is also available.
While it’s great to make the most of Thredbo resort in the snow, Thredbo has a lot to offer year round.
Getting there
Flying:
Cooma: 1-hour flight from Sydney - Call Rex 13 17 13 www.rex.com.au
Canberra: 45-minute flight from Sydney - Qantas 13 13 13 www.qantas.com.au
Hire cars and taxis are available from both airports
Driving:
Distance and driving times from major cities
Sydney: 5-6.5 hours 500km (approx)
Melbourne: 5.5-7 hours 500km (approx)
Canberra: 2.5 hours 180km (approx)
