Adventure Incorporated

From rafting, rappelling, rock climbing to four-wheel drive safaris, trekking, river crossings… Outbound Training Programmes are adventures with a lesson. feBusiness Traveller takes a look at what’s on offer...

On my visit to New Jersey, USA in July last year after a grueling five-day schedule, my colleagues and I decided to do something different over the weekend to unwind. We travelled to Ohiopyle National Park in Pennsylvania for a five-hour white water rafting trip on the Youghioeny river and it was one of the most wild and exhilarating experience I have ever had," avers V Chandrasekaran, co-founder and vice president, technology and infrastructure, Secova eServices. Chandrasekaran’s experience is not isolated. Adventure activity breaks are no longer being restricted to a few passionate corporates. Even Indian corporate houses today are consciously encouraging their employees to move from the boardroom to the outdoors through Outbound Training Programmes. In a world of acquisitions and mergers adventure has become the next buzzword of corporate culture. Outbound Training Programmes or Experiential Learning, which incorporates adventure activities as a major part of its training modules has caught on big time with companies. Not only are companies willing to spend huge amounts on Outbound Training Programmes but many also prefer these over traditional conferences.

"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," states Anand Upadhyay, Vision Guardian, Xperentia Training Systems, which is a member of an international professional body for experiential education - The Association For Experiential Education (AEE). Experiential learning moves away from theoretical methods of education and the methodology is based on real experiences. Experiential learning for the business world goes under various names like Outdoor Management Development (OMD), Outdoor Development Programmes (ODP) or just Outbound Training. The aim of all these are to impart management skills, from the basic to the latest through the medium of fun and games.

Explains Vasant Limaye, director, High Places, another facilitator of 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."

Outbound Training Programmes include a range of activities from white water river rafting, river crossing, blindfolded tent building, treasure hunting, night trails, rappelling, etc. 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 where participants play and learn at the same time. 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’s 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 some time back. The programmes helped a lot in terms of bonding and integration as we had been through an expansion with launches in Delhi, Hyderabad and Pondicherry at that time. We have been doing these Outbound Training Programmes for the past four years. For a relatively new organisation like ours, the bonding that takes place through these Outbound Training Programmes is very important."

According to Atul Sharma, director HR, Prudential Process Management Services (PPMS), they have used outdoor adventure training for promoting team bonding and people management skills successfully. "For instance the white water rafting experience for the leadership team on the Ganges was conducted to promote synergy, bonding, communication and oneness of purpose," stated Sharma.

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.

"Experiential learning is all about simulating an environment to help participants overcome the mindset that their area of activity is limited to a field and experimentation is not possible," stated Upadhyay.

Corporate houses seem to have become more open to experimentation and some of them have begun to organise weekend adventure activity camps sans training for their employees as an extension of their incentive programmes. Anil D'Souza, vice-president, Kotak Securities, says, "Adventure activities help a great deal in bonding and work as a great confidence building exercise. Recently we had an adventure camp which included rock climbing and rappelling along with staff from other cities. It was great as we got to interact with people who till then had only been a voice on the other end of the phone or email. Sharing our fears of rappelling and chilling out in the evening has gone a long way in creating a bond between us. After such camps interaction is more fluid, there is less tension and conflicts are resolved more easily by people. However, I believe that debriefing by a trained facilitator at the end of adventure activities is important and necessary for any kind of output. In this sense Outdoor Training Programmes score over pure adventure camps."

Experentia has created a new programme Terrain X, a concept in therapeutic recreation and adventure to cater purely to this growing interest in adventure among corporates. "This revolutionary concept has been embraced by corporates all the over the world, who see great value in short, weekend 'stress busting' excursion for their employees," claims Upadhyay. According to him therapeutic recreation services aim to help people develop and use their leisure in ways that enhance their health, functional abilities and quality of life. In his opinion these kind of programmes can be introduced by organisations either as part of their ongoing rewards and recognition programme for the employees or as part of the employees ongoing overall, holistic development as valued associates. An individual can also sign on with friends or families as a group to take a weekend out. Terrain X arranges travel programmes to some of the most offbeat and exotic sylvan locations far from the madding crowds with the challenge of adventure sports like trekking, mountaineering, rock climbing/rappelling, white water river rafting, parasailing, hot air ballooning, four-wheel drive safaris for the executives and their families.

The other reason for companies going in for pure adventure breaks for their employees could be because the training market in India is yet to mature. There has been a proliferation of facilitators and operators in the past few years, majority of them adventure tour operators and former mountaineers who have jumped on the Outbound Training Programme bandwagon to cash in on the huge potential market. These facilitators do not have the adequate skills or knowledge to conduct such programmes as experiential learning is not just about outdoors and many companies have burned their fingers with such operators. However, the bottomline is that executives are happily trading their laptops for life jackets and growth charts for ropes and the numbers of adventure converts are increasing by the day.