Annual business event and team build for a global satellite telecommunications company. July 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Every year our client, an Executive Assistant at a global satellite telecommunications company, turns to Oliver Myles Events to help deliver an annual business event for colleagues within her Corporate Affairs Office.
The event brings together all 35 members of the team, some of whom are based in London, others further afield across Europe and the Far East. This is the one time in the year when everyone has the chance to meet face-to-face and therefore is important to the business both strategically and socially. As our client describes, “this is a rare opportunity to review plans and reaffirm the company values, as well as to connect on a personal level and strengthen the department’s internal network.”
The brief for each event naturally differs year on year, yet with some consistencies. Venue and location-wise, the need is for a hotel which is close to London, with easy transport links, and which can accommodate 25-35 people (single occupancy) for 1-2 overnight stays. There must be a large meeting room for a whole-group meeting on the first day plus smaller break-out spaces for individual team meetings on day 2.
Outside these parameters, the event always includes one or more activity/team-building challenges and, of course, social aspects during and after dinner.
Working together
Oliver Myles Events work extremely closely with the client. This starts by presenting a number of different venue options, having shortlisted only those which we know will meet the client’s budget as well as their practical needs, followed by visiting all options together and finding solutions to any ideas or requests that the client has received from within the business.
As Melanie Langley describes, “our annual ‘venue recce day’ together has become a regular fixture in both our diaries, one which we always look forward to. A pleasure for us both! It is extremely useful for establishing the right venue, talking through our client’s needs, exploring options and getting to know the context within which our client is working. These ingredients enable us to be of the most help and support in the planning of her events.”
Event overviews
2019’s event was held at Pendley Manor in Hertfordshire, a beautiful manor house hotel. Set in 35 acres of wooded parkland and just 35 minutes by train from London Euston, Pendley Manor is a perfect country retreat and is extremely easy for attendee’s travel.
The morning was kick-started with an exhilarating drumming workshop. This was a great way to get participants’ energy flowing and to reconnect the group prior to commencing the main meeting of the day.
With the business of the day complete, participants had the opportunity to take part in model car building and racing activity, a fun challenge where each team’s outcome and success is completely determined by their ability to work well together and focus on the task in hand. A great message to build on!
Each team are given equipment to build their car, which they have to design, make and test before taking part in a number of finale races – always highly competitive, albeit good natured – to determine to fastest “dragster” and winning team.
“The challenge was great fun, and 
everyone embraced the technical and collaborative challenge.”
In 2018, the venue chosen was The Manor Elstree, near Edgware in Hertfordshire – just 25 minutes by train from London.
It was during this event that the department experienced a number of physical and mental challenges in “The Quest for the Best”. The activities were fun and interesting, and participants worked in teams to score points in a bid to be, as the name suggests, “the best”, and concluding in a competition to fire a catapult the furthest and land a hand-built rocket!
2017’s event was held in the Jacobean mansion Fanhams Hall, in Ware, Hertfordshire. Aside from being a beautiful venue, this was once 
again the perfect location due to its proximity to London and ease of train travel.
Outside of the business meetings taking place, participants took part in a “Crime and Dine” over dinner. This social activity “with a twist” enabled everyone to get a taste of what it is like to be a murder squad detective.
Using a specific room within the hotel, the “crime scene” was set up. This taped-off area is carefully designed for a real forensic investigation following a fictional murder. The challenge was to explore the evidence found at the murder scene and to establish, using a range of techniques from finger-print dusting to hair analysis, who out of the three possible suspects committed the crime, how and why. The activity happened between the courses of dinner, and under the guidance of experienced professionals and former Scotland Yard Detectives.
Working with Oliver Myles Events – a client’s perspective
We asked our client what she has valued about working with Oliver Myles Events over the past three years, and this is what she had to say: “As an Executive Assistant I am always busy. Working with Mel and the team takes a great amount of pressure off me. It also enables me to be part of the meeting rather than event managing on the day. So, for example, if we’re running late in one of our sessions or if we, say, run out of water, I simply send a WhatsApp message to the onsite team and they handle everything. Everyone at Oliver Myles Events are extremely flexible and responsive about changes we inevitably need to make both in the pre-planning and on the day.”
Expanding on her experience, the client continued: “It’s great to have a consistent team helping me with all our pre-planning and on the day. Everyone supporting me at Oliver Myles Events understands my situation – that sometimes I might not have all the information we need yet, that I am not party to all the internal event discussions, and that my stakeholders can be prone to changing their made or last-minute requests! None of this is a surprise to us anymore. The team bring a level-headed approach and I’m really grateful for the work and support I receive.”
Like the sound of this? Please get in touch with Oliver Myles Events to see how we can support you with your events. Telephone: 01442 768 110 or email: hello@olivermyles.co.uk
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