Overview
A major global pharmaceutical company wanted a unique and memorable travel incentive that would put the emphasis on team building for 375 of their top sales people from around the globe.
Action
United Incentives chartered a ship for 375 top their top global sales representatives from a major global pharmaceutical company. The highlight of the week long program was a team-building event on a totally uninhabited private island in the Bahamas. The guests were from fifteen different European countries and spoke seven different languages.
The challenges were threefold:
- Find an uninhabited island where tides would permit anchoring a cruise ship.
- Once located, provide all the “creature comforts” needed to accommodate 375 people for a full day.
- Create a teambuilding event for sales representatives who came from fifteen different countries, fifteen different cultures and spoke seven different languages.
After poring over nautical charts and hiring a seaplane, we discovered a tiny island owned by a private investor and totally uninhabited, near the island of Eleuthera. All of the materials had to be brought in by barge from Miami, including portable toilets, generators, beach umbrellas, chairs, etc.
Once the island was secured fifteen teams — chosen by language — competed against each other in a “boat building” contest. Each team was provided with 4' x 8' sheets of plywood, lumber strips, saws, hammers, duct tape, chisels, spray paint, etc., and was given 90 minutes to build a seaworthy boat. Once built, the judges scored each boat in three categories:
- Marine Architecture
- Seaworthiness
- Speed (each team’s members had to race their boats)
What Happened
The overall incentive program theme was “PartnerShip,” because that's what it took to successfully build and race a boat, and the ingredient which created an unforgettable experience.