Travel Bonding

Outdoor training programmes or experiential learning is catching on big time with Indian corporate houses. Reema Sisodia learns more about...

White water rafting in the Ganges

A full-size cobra was 10 feet away from me. My team and the team leader was goading me to touch the snake. I thought of Mukta, my colleague, who had draped a snake around her neck. Confront your fear, said something at the back of my mind. I went ahead and touched the snake - Priyanka Chaturvedi, credit analyst, BNP Paribas We had to cross a garden without touching our shoes to the ground. A number of props were provided to us to fulfil the task and we tried various permutations and combinations with them. Everyone took approximately 20 minutes on an average to meet the target. After the activity, during the debriefing session, our instructor said the entire activity could be completed in approximately six seconds. How, we asked. He removed his shoes and ran bare feet across the garden. We looked like a bunch of idiots. Some things are learnt only by experience and such learning is far more impressionable than hearing or seeing - Eric D'Souza, general manager, Mumbai, Dainik Bhaskar

Priyanka and Eric were part of business training workshops with a difference. Their workshops, conducted by Xperentia Training Systems, was based on the concept of experiential learning and moving away from the confines of the office to the rugged outdoors. The concept is a big fad nowadays among business houses and Xperentia is just one company which offers such programmes. Outbound training programmes, it is claimed, are more impressionable, inspirational and therefore more effective.

Anand Upadhyay, principle facilitator, Xperentia Training Systems, which is a member of an international professional body for experiential education - The Association For Experential Education (AEE), says, "The outdoors provide an extremely powerful medium for training managers in new skills or helping them improve old ones. This is largely because outdoor learning is experiential in nature."

Those who have tried out such workshops swear by them. Says Shabnam Roy, former head, training, BPL Mobile Communications Ltd, "Our experience with Xperentia, regarding experiential learning through outdoor activities, has brought in fresh thinking along with generating a refreshed work culture. It provides a new lease of life to the everyday management thinking."

(Top, Bottom, Bottom right) - Rock Climbing at Sajan	Above - Walking the Plank

From Theoretical To Practical
Experiential learning moves away from theoretical methods of education. It is an extremely powerful medium to teach new skills and sharpen existing ones. The methodology is based on real experiences. For the business world, experiential learning usually goes under the names of Outdoor Management Development (OMD), Outdoor Development Programmes (ODP) or just Outbound Training. Management skills, from the basic to the latest, are learnt through the medium of fun and games.

Explains Vasant Limaye, director, High Places, which also conducts such programmes for the corporate sector, "The process begins with the experience, followed by analysis, discussion, reflection and introspection. It means undertaking a sojourn of adventure, challenge and discovery. It helps participants discover their inner strengths and resources, to recognise and dispel self-imposed limitations. They learn to work cohesively within a group for the benefit of all. We believe that the wilderness is our classroom and the elements of nature such as rocks, rivers, forests and lakes are the tools."

The activities range from river crossing, blindfolded tent building, treasure hunting, night trails, rafting, rappelling, etc and through these, various lessons of management schools are revised. Participants play and learn at the same time.

High Places conducted such ODPs for Siemens Ltd. Speaking about what the company gained, Anil Nadkarni, director-personnel, Siemens Ltd, says, "The Indian executive is now facing business challenges in a truly global environment. Going through a few ODPs gives him the chance to test his preparedness and endurance. Our executives have gained enormously through these programmes."

Team building, team bonding, stress management, time management and productivity, group dynamics and creativity, leadership techniques and effective negotiations, selling skills and effective communication are some of the results derived through outdoor learning. Explains Bomi Kavina, senior manager-training, BNP Paribas, who was part of an Xperentia workshop, "The activities bring to light aspects about yourself which you were completely oblivious about. In one of the exercises, I had to touch a snake. As someone who has a phobia of snakes, I said to myself 'no way' and tried to retreat. But I was forced to perform the exercise and even put the snake across my neck. I came out feeling a complete winner. In the debriefing session, which is in fact the most significant part of the outdoor training, I was told that facing one's fear is the best way to overcome them."

Camp of India Outdoors at Khodala village near Igatpuri

Bond With The Rest
In fact, one of the reasons why such workshops prove to be so successful is that the outdoors are highly effective ground for breaking the ice and understanding your colleagues. It gives everyone a chance to really be themselves, away from being just a boss, executive, officer or manager.

Says Pradeep Gidwani managing director, Foster India Limited, "High Places conducted an outdoor training programme for us at Rajmachi near Lonavala and another one at Khodala near Igatpuri was conducted by India Outdoors in March this year. The camp helped a lot in terms of bonding and integration as we had just been through an expansion with launches in Delhi, Hyderabad and Pondicherry. We have been doing these outbound training programmes for the past two years. For a new organisation like ours, the bonding that takes place through these outbound training programmes is very important."

Kumkum Nongrum, head, human resources, ABN AMRO vouches for the same thing. He says, "Travelling for these outbound training programmes works as a great form of bonding. Last year we were working day in and day out for months on the Finacle-IT project, a new banking software. On completion of the project, we took the team of 64 people with family and kids for a four-day trip to Pattaya, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The team was from across the country and departments. On the trip we saw tremendous bonding not only amongst the employees but also the families. The trip was a huge success. Xperentia has conducted quite a few outbound training programmes for us. Generally our camps are two-and-a-half day affairs from Friday afternoon to Sunday. Due to the time constraint, we generally have the camps around Mumbai at places like Malshej Ghat or Sajan. But we are looking at far off places like Dandeli in Karnataka and Rishikesh. Our company generally spends about Rs 7,000 to 8,000 per person for outbound training programmes. It's definitely worth the investment."

Australian plank at Rajmachi

Getting That High
Apart from curbing fears and bonding, such programmes give new insights about one's self. Says Ruhi Sinha, who belongs to a multinational pharmaceutical company, "Since I weigh around 82 kilos, I had never dreamt of rappelling. But during an outbound training programme, after I climbed the hill, reached the top and then rappelled down, I felt on top of the world. No corporate target achievement would have given me that sense of satisfaction. The impossible was made possible thanks to my colleagues who encouraged me throughout the drill." Enjoying the journey and making things happen against all odds is part of what one learns from these experiences. For example, crossing a puddle of muck through a narrow and shaky bridge of planks is an exercise that sounds quite messy, but it highlights the ability to perform in adverse circumstances.

"While crossing the plank within a stipulated time frame, there is the inevitable fall in the puddle. But you regain the balance again and move on to take your team toward victory. This is achievement in action, " says Kavina of BNP Paribas.

D'Souza of Dainik Bhaskar says the entire experience is so hard hitting that it's a complete eye opener. "It forces you out of your stiff corporate cufflinks and gets you in touch with reality, literally. It is a perfect avenue to bring about camaraderie. The superior and the subordinate are equal out there. You discover things about your fellow worker in a few hours, which you otherwise would have taken years to know. Playing together in a team brings out the best in you. Today the same job, which was considered drudgery earlier, seems to be fun." Anamika Dutt, head, youth programmes, Xperentia Training Systems, provides the concluding note, "As per research, man can retain 25 per cent of what he sees, 50 per cent of what he hears and 100 per cent of what he does. Thus, some things simply cannot be learned from books or lectures. Examples range from riding a bicycle to falling in love. So experiential learning is a natural and constant life process on which all development training aims to capitalise"

Rope activity at Rajmachi near Lonavala

(With inputs from Achal Dhurva)